Knox County article 13 registry, 1853-1858

Description:	Article 13 of the Indiana Constitution stated:Section 1. No negro or mulatto shall come into or settle in the State, after the adoption of this Constitution.Section 2. All contracts made with any Negro or Mulatto coming into the State, contrary to the provisions of the foregoing section, shall be void; and any person who shall employ such Negro or Mulatto, or otherwise encourage him to remain in the State, shall be fined in any sum not less than ten dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars.Section 3. All fines which may be collected for a violation of the provisions of this article, or of any law which ay hereafter be passed for the purpose of carrying the same into execution, shall be set apart and appropriated for the colonization of such Negroes and Mulattoes, and their descendants, as may be in the State at the adoption of this Constitution, and may be willing to emigrate.Section 4. The General Assembly shall pass laws to carry out the provisions of this article.This book appears to be a registry of Black and people of mixed African and European ancestry living in Knox County from 1853-1855. It is 10.5 x 16 inches and approximatley1.75 inches thick. The front cover is a brown material with pattern made up of squares and rectangles and other decorative enhancements. The back cover is the same with no legible verbiage on the covers or the deteriorated spine.The interior cover and endsheet are a multi-colored marble pattern on a patterned background. There are 3 blank flysheets before the index begins. There are 12 index leaves, each accommodating two alphabetical letters: AB, CD, EF… While no pages appear to be missing, the letters J and X are not included. Jacksons and one Johnson appear on the back of the GH leaf. The index pages are divided into four columns for names (two wider columns) followed by narrower columns for page numbers. Listings are chronological order with the initials.Following the index are light blue pages that carry the actual registrations, two to a page. Filled out by the Knox County Clerk they include a name and brief physical description of the registrant. A witness was listed and the form is signed and dated by the county clerk. The pages are hand numbered.The final entry at the top of page 207 is for a five year-old boy “about three feet high.” The rest of the pages up until page 516 and the forms there-on are blank.Following are three blank flysheets and an endsheet with the same pattern as the one at the front of the book.
Origin:	1853-1858
Source:	http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/kcpl/id/837
Collection:	Knox County Public Library
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Copyright:	No Copyright - United States
Geography:	Vincennes, Knox County, Indiana, United States
Subjects:	Court Records Domestic Life People African American

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