Sources checked October 25, 2026. Collection and access corrections supplied by Keefer Center staff in email correspondence, October 25, 2026; public institutional sources also consulted. No onsite inspection. Confirm hours, fees and availability before visiting.
Start with one connection.
Bring a person, a place, approximate years, and one question. A township, congregation, school, or employer may reveal records a surname search misses. The custodian can be outside the county.
STOP 01 / Huntington and onlineB. Joan Keefer Center and Huntington News archive
Use digitized issues, microfilm and an obituary index together.
Staff report that the digitized Huntington News contains the sole known surviving issues of a newspaper published September 1930–November 1969. There is a substantial gap between August 1931 and March 1936, with only scattered issues. The Herald-Press is not available digitally, according to staff; the Keefer Center has an obituary card file beginning in 1920 and continuing to the present. The center also holds extant local newspapers on microfilm from before the 1980s and is working to fill later gaps.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Send a focused question to genealogy@hctpl.info. Staff report no charge for email research, usually answered within a few days. The room is open during library hours, generally Monday–Thursday 9–8 and Friday–Saturday 9–5. Paper copies are $0.20 black-and-white or $0.50 color; phone photography and scanning to your own flash drive are free. A scooter-accessible table and a public PC are available. Confirm arrangements before travel.
A question you can ask
Does the newspaper mention the family’s business, address or social visits around this date?
Keep in mind
Publication dates are not continuous digitized coverage. Staff estimate Newspapers.com covers about 85% of Huntington city papers from 1848–June 1929 and NewspaperArchive.com about 12%; remaining material requires microfilm. These are staff estimates, not a completeness audit. Search spelling variants and browse dates; OCR misses do not establish absence.
STOP 02 / MarkleMarkle Branch Local History Room
Ask which branch has the resource and equipment you need.
The Markle library and its Local History Room are a branch of Huntington City-Township Public Library. Staff say its research resources are also available at the Keefer Center, with one exception: a 1940s–1950s community genealogy study at Markle.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Contact the library before visiting to ask about the community genealogy study and where to consult other materials. Markle’s microfilm reader is broken and is not being replaced; arrange microfilm research through the Keefer Center instead.
A question you can ask
Could the 1940s–1950s community genealogy study mention this family, and how can I consult it?
Keep in mind
Do not plan a Markle visit around microfilm viewing. Confirm the location and access method for each item; a listed holding does not guarantee usable equipment.
STOP 03 / Indianapolis and onlineIndiana State Library county research guide
Use a record title and call number to move beyond a surname search.
The guide lists marriage volumes, 1837–1883 and 1883–1900, supplemental marriage transcripts, 1882–1920, and wills, 1879–1900.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Open the county guide, follow its catalog and records links, and ask the library about the exact volume before visiting.
A question you can ask
Can a supplemental marriage transcript add information absent from the basic index?
Keep in mind
These are selected published holdings, not a complete inventory of original records.
Leave a trail another researcher can follow.
Save the repository, collection title, dates, volume, page or item identifier, link, and the date you consulted it. Follow an index to the original record when possible. Keep uncertain names and inferred relationships visibly separate from what the source states.
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