Browning Genealogy

Are you interested in learning about upcoming events or receiving our newsletters? If so, complete the information below and we will be sure to keep you informed. New users will also receive a FREE packet of research materials. After Mr. Browning opened his funeral home in 1954, countless community members approached him seeking information about t... heir deceased loved ones. Immediately, Mr. Browning recognized a deep community need for historical preservation and genealogical records, and he embarked on a project to document the stories of the people and families of Evansville, Indiana. The daily obituaries, listed in the Evansville Newspapers, were typed on 3x5 cards in a specific format that delineated the fifteen most consistent pieces of information listed (name, date of death, age, cemetery, church, occupation, survivors, etc.) by Mr. Browning and his secretary Gladys Goodson. They filed the index cards alphabetically in a card catalogue. Eventually, these records expanded to include birth announcements, weddings, anniversaries, local awards, and veterans information, allowing researchers to build family trees. Previously, genealogists seeking information in Evansville had to search through public records chronologically. The implementation of Mr. Brownings system enabled researchers to search by name in alphabetical order, saving them countless hours. Demand continued to grow, and in 1981, Mr. Browning and his daughter Jean Browning Hester microfilmed all his files and then distributed copies of this microfilm to ten local libraries, as well as the Allen County Genealogical Library and the Library of the Latter Saints. Local librarians commented that Mr. Browning's files were among their most used resources, and in 1999, the Browning records containing information from the 1906 to present daywere digitized and loaned to the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library. All of this information was incorporated in a programs created by Joseph Tawil and Troy VanAken. This allowed the public to easily search for ...Read More