Large group of 238 petitions for tavern licenses in Indiana County, PA, 1814-1865

Indiana County, PA, 1865. Good. Large archive of tavern petitions from Indiana County, the earliest noted being from 1814 and the latest from 1865, with the heaviest concentration from the mid-1840s to the mid-1850s, very few from 1814 to 1830s; only a handful from the 1820s. Almost all are handwritten and are mainly in good condition, many have some degree of splitting at folds but generally they would not require extensive repairs or preservation. Almost all are a single sheet and at most 2 pp. and usually are in the same format: a petition made in the Court of Common Pleas to establish a public house of entertainment, with variations as to the inclusion of lodging, stables, liquor, employees, etc., the address of the proposed venue, assurances that the necessary forms have been filled out and that requirements as to zoning, fixtures and financial wherewithal have been met, and further assurances that the prospective innkeeper is a member of the community in good standing, of high moral character, etc., with signatures from other citizens of the town attesting to this. The court would then grant or deny the petition, which would often be noted on the versos (and many were indeed denied, the reasons not given). With a wealth of information on the public life of towns in Indiana County, including Saltsburg, Homer City, Armagh, Clymer, Indiana itself, Marion Center, Blacklick, Home, parts of Blairsville, etc., and with the signatures of many of the county's most prominent citizens. NB: we haven't looked at them thoroughly enough to determine how many are petitions for renewals as well as recurrence of petitioners.