317 Project: From Cumberland? This lady might know more about your family than you do
What’s to know about Cumberland?
Joni Curtis is the woman to ask.
She knows stuff about the town — the only one in Indiana to straddle two counties; Marion and Hancock – that’s not in the books.
Literature has it plotted in 1831. Curtis thinks the town was in place before then.
“There’s a man buried in the cemetery in 1790. So he had to have been here before 1831,” she said.
Some of that knowledge comes from her role as the town of 6,000’s official historian for more than 20 years. But some of it is from her being a genealogist with deep roots there.
She’s the fifth generation within 10 miles of Cumberland. Her great-great-grandparents all lived in the area.
And she’s gathered information from the grandparents of others as well, hanging out at places like Sero’s Family Restaurant where retirees are regularly posted up.
Making those connections is how she’s gathered the vast amounts of records and materials documenting town history, and answering questions of out-of-towners about their Cumberland-reared loved ones.
“Anything a town can produce I have,” said Curtis, 68.
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The collection includes old telephone directories dedicated to Cumberland, maps, business cards and the first building permit bestowed in Cumberland.
It’s a volunteer job made easier thanks to digitization, she said.
She says she can work magic with an old receipt.
“Give me a receipt from 1960 and I can give you all kinds of information about it,” she said.
Combine that with family chats, obits and old property abstracts and she can produce tomes about residents.
“Sometimes the people will call the town hall and ask if we have a historical society where they have information and they're tickled pink when I tell them, ‘I've got a folder on part of your family that's about a half inch,” she said. “They get so excited.”
Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on Twitter:@cherylvjackson.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 317 Project: Cumberland historian questions official founding date
