Location: 300 S. Wayne St., Waterloo (DeKalb County), Indiana 46793
Installed 2023 Indiana Historical Bureau, Town of Waterloo and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation
ID#: 17.2023.1
Learn more about Hine's conservation work through the Indiana History Blog.
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Side One
Jane L. (Brooks) Hine, 1831-1916
Ornithologist Jane L. Hine was born in Ohio and graduated* from Oberlin College before moving to DeKalb County. She raised a large family, starting ornithological work later in life by studying the birds near her Sedan farm. Beginning in 1890, she contributed data to scientific publications, as well as articles to newspapers and journals, including the Farmer's Guide.
Side Two
Jane L. (Brooks) Hine
Hine advocated for conservation and legal protection of Indiana birds through poetry, articles, government reports, and speeches to clubs and Farmers’ Institutes in Waterloo and across the state. In publications such as “Game and Land Birds of an Indiana Farm” (1911), she combined colorful description and scientific observation to increase public appreciation of birds.
Annotated Text
Jane L. (Brooks) Hine, 1831-1916[1]
Side One
Ornithologist Jane L. Hine was born in Ohio[2] and graduated from Oberlin College[3] before moving to DeKalb County.[4] She raised a large family, starting ornithological work later in life by studying the birds near her Sedan farm.[5] Beginning in 1890, she contributed data to scientific publications, as well as articles to newspapers and journals,[6] including the Farmer’s Guide.[7]
Side Two
Hine advocated for conservation and legal protection of Indiana birds through poetry, articles, government reports, and speeches to clubs and Farmers’ Institutes in Waterloo and across the state.[8] In publications such as “Game and Land Birds of an Indiana Farm” (1911), she combined colorful description and scientific observation to increase public appreciation of birds.[9]
[1] 1850 Federal Census, Berlin Township, Erie County, Ohio, August 29, 1850, National Archives, Record Group 29, Series Number: M432, Page 460A, Line 10, AncestryLibrary.com; Indiana State Board of Health, Certificate of Death, “Jane Hine,” February 11, 1916, Richland Township, DeKalb County, Indiana, p. 127, Indiana State Board of Health Death Certificates, 1900-2017, microfilm, Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Roll Number 04, AncestryLibrary.com; “Jane L. Hine,” photograph of grave, Waterloo Cemetery, DeKalb County, Indiana, Find A Grave Index, AncestryLibrary.com “Mrs. Jane L. Hine Died Early Saturday Morning,” Waterloo Press, February 16, 1916, 1, 8, Newspapers.com.
[2] Ibid.
*[3] Seventy-Fifth Anniversary General Catalogue of Oberlin College, 1833-1908, (Cleveland, OH: O. S. Hubbell Printing Co., 1909), 121, HathiTrust. Note: Oberlin College records show only that she was "enrolled" in Oberlin College 1852-53 not that she "graduated."
[4] 1860 United States Federal Census, Berlin Township, Erie County, Ohio, June 14, 1860, National Archives, Record Group 19, Series Number: M653, Page 172, Line 38, AncestryLibrary.com;1870 United States Federal Census, Lawrence-Richland Township, DeKalb County, Indiana, Roll: M593_309, Page 364B, National Archives and Records Administration, Ancestry.com; History of DeKalb County, Indiana (Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Company, 1914), 991-92, GoogleBooks; History of Northeast Indiana (Chicago and New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1920, reprint 1979), 354, GoogleBooks; “Mrs. Jane L. Hine Died Early Saturday Morning,” Waterloo Press, February 16, 1916, 1, 8, Newspapers.com.
[5] Amos W. Butler, Birds of Indiana with Illustrations of Many Species, pamphlet (Indianapolis: Wm. B. Burford, State Printer, First Published 1890), 5, 59, 63, 83-84, 92, 100, 102, 104-105, 117, GoogleBooks; Amos W. Butler, “A Catalogue of the Birds of Indiana” in Transactions of the Indiana Horticultural Society for the Year 1890 (Indianapolis: Wm. B. Burford, State Printer, 1891), Appendix C, GoogleBooks.
[6] Amos W. Butler, Birds of Indiana with Illustrations of Many Species, pamphlet (Indianapolis: Wm. B. Burford, State Printer, First Published 1890), 5, 59, 63, 83-84, 92, 100, 102, 104-105, 117, GoogleBooks; Amos W. Butler, “A Catalogue of the Birds of Indiana” in Transactions of the Indiana Horticultural Society for the Year 1890 (Indianapolis: Wm. B. Burford, State Printer, 1891), Appendix C, GoogleBooks; A. W. Butler, “Additional Notes on Indiana Birds,” in Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science, 1894 (Indianapolis: Wm. B. Burford, State Printer, 1898), 162-166, HathiTrust; A. W. Butler, “Additional Notes on Indiana Birds,” in Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science, 1895 (Indianapolis: Wm. B. Burford, State Printer, 1898), 162-166, HathiTrust; A. W. Butler, “The Bobolink in Indiana,” in Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science, 1896 (Indianapolis: Wm. B. Burford, State Printer, 1898), 227-443, HathiTrust.
[7] W. S. Blatchley, ed., Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources Twenty-Second Annual Report (Indianapolis: Wm. B. Buford, Contractor for State Printing and Binding, 1893), 543, GoogleBooks; W. S. Blatchley, ed., Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources Twenty-Second Annual Report (Indianapolis: Wm. B. Buford, Contractor for State Printing and Binding, 1897), 544, GoogleBooks; Jane L. Hine, “The Story of the Wasp,” Farmer’s Guide (Huntington), February 22, 1902, 128, Google Books; “Our Indiana Bird Law,” Waterloo Press, November 24, 1903, 1, Newspapers.com.
Hine wrote several series of articles to the Farmer’s Guide: “Birds That Befriend Our Trees,” 1893; “Farmers, Take Care of Your Birds,” 1894; “Farm Birds in Northern Indiana,” 1896. (She likely wrote more but only a few issues are accessible). She also wrote stand alone articles on birds (and one on insects) for the Farmer’s Guide and other Indiana newspapers.
[8] “Our Native Birds,” Waterloo Press, March 9, 1899, 5, Newspapers.com; “Our Indiana Bird Law,” Waterloo Press, November 24, 1904, 1, Newspapers.com; William Watson Woolen, Birds of Buzzard’s Roost: One for Each Week and Other Essays (Indianapolis: Scott-Miller Company, 1907), 182, GoogleBooks; “Woodpeckers,” Auburn Courier, January 28, 1909, 2, NA.com; “More Indiana Bird Stories from A Plain Country Woman, Mrs. Jane L. Hine of Sedan,” Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, August 13, 1911, 18, NewspaperArchive.com.
Hine advocated for the “Indiana Bird Law,” which protected insect-eating birds essential to the ecosystem and especially certain species of trees used in orchards and for timber. The Waterloo Press reported: “Mrs. Jane L. Hine, of Sedan, is the most earnest defender of our native birds and is [a] good authority on their habits and values to the community. She writes to us to publish the Indiana bird law . . .” The newspaper quoted Hine: “The people of DeKalb county have reason to be proud of our Indiana Bird Law. Only two counties of the state sent petitions, through their Farmer’s Institutes, to the State Legislature for its passage, without which no action could have been taken. Our county, DeKalb, was one of the two counties. The law provides for the protection of our insectivorous birds . . . Our timber and orchards have need of them. Sometimes, both before and since the passage of this law, there has been much slaughter among our woodpeckers . . . but that is in the past; and now boys let us loyally stand by our Indiana Bird Law.” The newspaper also published her poem, “My Birds.”
“Farmers’ Institute,” Waterloo Press, March 5, 1891, 1, Newspapers.com; “Sedan,” Waterloo Press, January 28, 1892, Newspapers.com; Waterloo Press, January 11, 1894, 5, Newspapers.com; No Title, Waterloo Press, January 20, 1898, 1, NewspaperArchive.com; “Institute Proceedings,” Albion Noble Democrat, February 10, 1898, 1, NewspaperArchive.com; “Sedan Bulleted,” Waterloo Press, October 13, 1904, 8, Newspapers.com; “The Twenty-Fourth Annual Congress of the American Ornithologists’ Union: Program,” in Bird Lore, edited by Frank M. Chapman (Harrisburg, PA and New York City: D. Appleton & Co., 1906), 212, GoogleBooks. Jane L. Hine, “The Stars in the Nigh Hawk’s Wings,” in William Watson Woolen, Birds of Buzzard’s Roost: One for Each Week and Other Essays (Indianapolis: Scott-Miller Company, 1907), 182, GoogleBooks; “Woman Assists Miles with Report,” Waterloo Press, August 3, 1911, 2, Newspapers.com; “Personal Mention,” Waterloo Press, April 25, 1912, 5, Newspapers.com; “All Around Pick Up,” Waterloo Press, May 27, 1915, 4, Newspapers.com.
[9] Jane L. Hine, “ A Family of Feathered Friends,” in Forty-Second Annual Report of the Indiana State Board of Agriculture, 1892-1893 (Indianapolis: Wm. B. Buford, Contractor for State Printing and Binding, 1893), 555-56, GoogleBooks; Jane L. Hine, “ A Family of Feathered Friends,” in Forty-Second Annual Report of the Indiana State Board of Agriculture, 1892-1893 (Indianapolis: Wm. B. Buford, Contractor for State Printing and Binding, 1893), 555-56, GoogleBooks; W. S. Blatchley, ed., Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources Twenty-Second Annual Report (Indianapolis: Wm. B. Buford, Contractor for State Printing and Binding, 1893), 545, GoogleBooks; “Our Native Birds,” Waterloo Press, March 9, 1899, 5, Newspapers.com; “Our Indiana Bird Law,” Waterloo Press, November 24, 1903, 1, Newspapers.com; Jane L. Hine, “Game and Land Birds of an Indiana Farm,” in Biennial Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries and Game for Indiana (Indianapolis: Wm. B. Burford, State Printer, 1911), 294-470, GoogleBooks; Jane Hines, “My Birds,” Birds and Nature 1, No. 6 (November – December 1914), 127, GoogleBooks.
Keywords
Women; Science , Medicine & Invention; Nature