Author Jacob Piatt Dunn (1855-1924) was a journalist, ethnologist and historian who grew up in Indiana and published his first book on history in 1886. Among his publications were a history of Indianapolis and a dictionary of the Miami language. He served as the recording secretary of the Indiana Historical Society for over 35 years, and served four years as the state librarian of Indiana.

The first two volumes of this 4-volume set consist of a 1,200-page history of Indiana. The last two volumes consist entirely of biographical sketches. To look up a person in volumes 3 and 4, use the index found in Volume 1 immediately after the Table of Contents.