La Porte County, Indiana Genealogy

United States

Indiana

La Porte County

Guide to LaPorte County, Indiana ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

La Porte County, Indiana
Map
Location of Indiana in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	January 9, 1832
County Seat	La Porte
Courthouse
Address	La Porte County Courthouse 813 Lincoln Way La Porte, IN 46350 Phone: 219.326.6808 Website
Adopt-a-wiki page This page adopted by: Indiana Genealogical Society who welcome you to contribute. Adopt a page today

Historical Facts

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1882	1832	1882	1834	1831	1834	1807
Statewide registration for births in 1907 and deaths in Oct 1899. General compliance by 1917.

• Parent Counties: Formed from St. Joseph county, and unorganized territory in 1832
  
• County Seat: La Porte
  

Description

The county was named La porte means "the door" or "the port" in French. The County Seat is La Porte and was founded April 1, 1832. It is located in the North-central area of the state.

Neighboring Counties

Porter  • Jasper  • Starke  • St. Joseph  • Berrien

Boundary Changes

For animated maps illustrating Indiana County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Indiana County Boundary Maps" (1790-1873) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Resources

Cemeteries

Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Tombstone Transcriptions in Print	List of Cemeteries in the county
Findagrave.com	Family History Library	Findagrave.com
INGenWeb	WorldCat	Billion Graves
INGenWeb Archives
Tombstone Project
Indiana Interment
Billion Graves
See Indiana Cemeteries for more information.

• LaPorte County INGenWeb
• Greenwood Cemetery, Michigan City
• Springville Cemetery, Springville
• Rolling Prarie Cemetery, Rolling Prarie
• St John Kanty Cemetery, Galena Township
• Pine Lake Cemetery, Laporte
• St Stanislaus, Michigan City
• Swan Lake, Michigan City

Census Records

For tips on accessing La Porte County, Indiana Genealogy census records online, see: Indiana Census.

• Index to Mortality Schedule for LaPorte County (1860) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)
• Index to Defective, Dependent & Delinquent Census for LaPorte County, Indiana (1880) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Church Records

Most church records are held by individual churches. For contact information, check a phone directory, such as SearchBug or Dex Knows. Some denominations are gathering their records into a central repository.

For more information about these major repositories, see Indiana Church Records.

Finding More Church Records

Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as La Porte County, Indiana Genealogy Church Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Court Records

LaPorte County is the only county in Indiana that has 2 courthouses. One is located in Michigan City and the other is in the county seat of the City of LaPorte.

Directories

• Directory of Businesses in LaPorte County, Indiana (1868) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Histories

Local Histories

• Packard, Jasper. 1976. History of LaPorte County, Indiana, and its townships, towns and cities. (Evansville, Ind: Unigraphic.) 977.291 H2p FHL US/CAN Book FHL Collection other libraries Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library

• History of La Porte County, Indiana: together with sketches of its cities, villages, and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons and biographies of representative citizens. History of Indiana : embracing accounts of the pre-historic races, aborigines, French, English and American conquests, an a general review of its civil, political and military history. (2004. La Crosse, WI: Brookhaven Press.)  977.291 H2h FHL US/CAN Book FHL Collection other libraries Google Books.

• History of La Porte County (Linkpendium)

• Every Name Index to History of La Porte County, Indiana.  Every Name Index compiled by Cathy L. O'Connor, 2007; original text by by Chas. C. Chapman & Co., 1880; reproduction by Unigraphic, Inc., 1974. EveryNameIndex.com

Land and Property

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

After land was transferred from the government to private ownership, subsequent transactions were recorded at the courthouse, where records are currently housed.

See Indiana Land and Property for additional information about early Indiana land grants and patents.

Finding More Land Records

Additional land records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as La Porte County, Indiana Genealogy Probate Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana
• Maps and Gazetteers - Linkpendium
• Library of Congress Map Collection
  • 1866 Map of La Porte County (Plat Map)
  • 1869 Bird's Eye View of Michigan City
• David Rumsey Map Collection
  • 1874 Atlas of La Porte County (59 images/maps)
  • 1876 City Maps of La Porte and Michigan City
  • 1876 Map of La Porte County

Military Records

Civil War

Civil War service men from LaPorte County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in LaPorte County.

• 1st Regiment, Indiana Heavy Artillery, Company B
• 4th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company E
• 4th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
• 5th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery (Simonson's)
• 5th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry (90th Regiment, Indiana Volunteers), Company K
• 9th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, F, and Reorganized Company B, F, G, and H 
• 12th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies A, F, G, and M
• 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company C
• 15th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
• 20th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
• 21st Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
• 29th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C, G, H, and I
• 30th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company C
• 35th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
• 73rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, and K
• 87th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies G, H, and I
• 109th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, and H
• 128th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies C, E, H, and I
• 138th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Companies B, and D
• 151st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, E, and K
• 155th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, and G
• 28th US Colored Troops, Addition Recruits for Colored Troops

Civil War Books

• "Military Record" Chapter 25 in Packard, Jasper. 1976. History of LaPorte County, Indiana, and its townships, towns and cities. (Evansville, Ind: Unigraphic.), (page 195-400; Regiment, Companies, Name's)  977.291 H2p FHL US/CAN Book  FHL Collection  other libraries   Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library
  

• "The War For The Union" in History of La Porte County, Indiana: together with sketches of its cities, villages, and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons and biographies of representative citizens. History of Indiana embracing accounts of the pre-historic races, aborigines, French, English and American conquests, an a general review of its civil, political and military history. (2004. La Crosse, WI: Brookhaven Press.), (page 198-246; history of Regiment),977.291 H2h FHL US/CAN Book FHL Collection other libraries   Google books   INTERNET ARCHIVE

Civil War Databases

• Residents of LaPorte County Who Served in the 9th Indiana Infantry (1861-1865) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

World War I

• 1919 - Indiana, World War I, Enrollment Cards, 1919 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

The Herald Argus, City of LaPorte and surrounding area

Michigan City News Dispatch, Michigan City and surrounding area

Probate Records

In most counties in Indiana, probate records have been kept by the county clerk of the circuit court. They include wills, fee books, claim registers, legacy records, inheritance records, probate ticklers, and dockets. The records are available at the county courthouse.

Online Records

• 1798 – 1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Finding More Probate Records

Additional probate records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as La Porte County, Indiana Genealogy Probate Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
• South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Wills Index 1830-1971 for St. Joseph County

Repositories

Courthouse

LaPorte County Courthouse
813 Lincoln Way
LaPorte, IN 46350
Phone: 219-326-6808

County Clerk has marriage records from 1832, divorce, probate and court records from 1834. County Recorder has land records. County Health Department has birth, death and burial records.

Libraries

• LaPorte County Public Library, City of LaPorte (Branch locations throughout county)

• Michigan City Public Library, Michigan City

Societies

LaPorte County Genealogical Society members have indexed and abstracted a variety of local records, which may be available for purchase ($) at their website Facebook Home

Marriage Index, LaPorte Co., IN 1921 - 1925
Marriage Index, LaPorte Co., IN 1926 - 1930
Index to 1870 Census, La Porte Co., IN Compiled by Betty Newland Warner
Index to 1880 Census, LaPorte Co., IN
Declaration of Intentions & Final Papers 1833 thru July 1854
Declaration of Intentions 22 Aug 1854 – 02 May 1870
Declaration of Intentions 02 May 1870 – April 1894
Declaration of Intentions 27 April 1894 – March 1918
Declaration of Intentions Aug 29 1913 – 29 June 1929
Superior Ct., Michigan City Declaration of Intentions March 1918 – June 1929
Superior Ct., Michigan City 12 April 1912 – 23 December 1920
Second Papers Oct 1854 – Apr 1903
State of Indiana vs. (Defendants) 1837-1850 LaPorte County Circuit Court Cases
State of Indiana vs. Defendants 1851-1872
Divorce Book #1 - 1833-1860
Divorce Book #2 - 1861-1875

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

• Valparaiso Indiana Family History Center

For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the family history center directory.

School Records

• Students and Teachers of LaPorte High School (1939) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Taxation

Indiana tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses or to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned taxable property were listed, many residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties.

For more information see the wiki page Indiana Taxation.

Finding More Tax Records

Additional tax records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as La Porte County, Indiana Genealogy Tax Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Vital Records

• Vital Records - Linkpendium
  

• Indiana State Digital Archives

Marriage Records

• 1800s-2007 - Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $

• 1780-1992 Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992 - FamilySearch
  

• 1802-1892 Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 - Ancestry.com $
  

• 1811-2007 Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images

Death Records

• 1882-1920 Indiana, Death Index, 1882-1920 at FamilySearch Historical Records - Index only
• 1899-2011 Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 at Ancestry - ($), index and images
  
• Indiana State Digital Archives
  
• Death Notices & Obituaries Contributed for the LaPorte County Indiana - GenWeb

Finding Vital Records at Other Repositories

Additional vital records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as La Porte County, Indiana Genealogy Vital Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Websites

• La Porte County, IN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
• [http://sites.rootsweb.com/~inlpccem/cems.htm Cemetery and Research Association Of LaPorte County, Indiana
• LaPorte County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• EveryNameIndex.com. Free online genealogy indexes for those big old county histories.

Places

• City of LaPorte
• Rolling Prairie
• Michigan City
• Otis
• Westville

Family History Library

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.