JENNINGS COUNTY, Ind. — Sheila Kell has been appointed the new county historian in Jennings County. She was born in Phoenix, and raised in Indiana and California. As was common then, her maternal grandparents lived with the family during her formative years, and since both were born prior to 1900, they spoke often of their early lives in rural southern Indiana.
At the age of 34, Kell discovered she had been adopted. Of course, there were some questions about members of her birth family, all of whom were from Indiana. Some of these questions her adopted parents could not answer — and so began a quest that continues to this day. Learning about her roots took her back to the founding of Indiana, and the more she researched, the more it interested her.
In 2005, Kell became the county coordinator for Jennings County and Jefferson County with INGenWeb, an online genealogy database project; she still serves in both positions. She became the local history and genealogy librarian at the Jennings County Public Library in late 2010 and remained there until 2021.
Shortly after, Kell became a member of the board of directors of the Jennings County Historical Society and at historic Eleutherian College in Lancaster, Jefferson County. She set up a research center focusing on family history in her home in Vernon, across the street from the Jennings County Historical Society.
County historians serve as volunteers appointed by the Indiana Historical Society and Indiana Historical Bureau to promote local history in their counties, connect individuals and groups with history resources, promote collaboration between local history organizations, and maintain connections with the Indiana Historical Society and Indiana Historical Bureau.
For information about Indiana county historians, visit https://indianahistory.org/
