Elkhart County, Indiana Genealogy

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

Description
The origin of the name "Elkhart" came from an island at the confluence of the rivers that was known by the Potawatomi word for “elk’s heart,” which the county was said to resemble in shape. It is located along the north-central border of the state.

County Courthouse
 Elkhart County Courthouse Courthouse Square Goshen, IN 46526-3297 Phone: 219-535-6430 County Website

Elkhart County Health Department 608 Oakland Avenue Elkhart, IN, 46514 Health Officer: Lydia Mertz, MD Phone Number: 877-523-2283 Fax: 574-295-6186 Email: cmast@elkhartcounty.com Health Department

County Health Department has birth and death records. County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and county court records from 1830. County Recorder has land records. Health Department has birth records and death records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Biographies

 * Indiana Biography Index at Indiana State Library
 * Pictorial and Biographical Memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph Counties, Indiana. 1893. Chicago, Goodspeed Brothers. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive.

Census Records

 * Index to Mortality Schedule (1860) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Index to Defective, Dependent & Delinquent Census (1880) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses (1858, 1868) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Local Histories

 * History of Elkhart County, Indiana. 1881. Chicago, Illinois : Chas. C. Chapman. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books; . Index:  EveryNameIndex.com, compiled by Cathy L. O'Connor, 2007.
 * A Standard History of Elkhart County, Indiana. 2 volumes. 1916. Edited by Abraham E. Weaver. Chicago, Illinois : American Historical Society. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Vol. 1 - Internet Archive, Vol. 2 - Internet Archive, Vol. 1 - Google Books, Vol. 2 - Google Books;.
 * A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Elkhart County, Indiana. 1905. By Anthony Deahl. Chicago : Lewis Publ. Co. Online at: Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Historic Indiana Maps at IUPUI University Library
 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Indiana

Military Records

 * Military Record Series Index at Indiana Digital Archives

Civil War Civil War service men from Elkhart 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 Elkhart County


 * 1st Regiment, Indiana Heavy Artillery, Company A
 * 2nd Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company M
 * 9th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C, and Reorganized Companies C, and F
 * 12th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies D, and I
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized D, and E
 * 19th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
 * 21st Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 23rd Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 29th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
 * 30th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K, and Reorganized C
 * 44th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 48th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, G, H, and I
 * 74th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies E, G, and I
 * 88th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 100th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
 * 129th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
 * 136th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company K
 * 142nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
 * 152nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, and E
 * 155th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F

Civil War Books:
 * "Military History", Chapter 10, in Dean K. Garber, Ivan Nunemaker, History of Elkhart 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. Chicago : C. C. Chapman, 1881. Pages 537-575 Online at: FamilySearch Digital Book; Internet Archive
 * "Military History" Chapter 11 in O'Connor, Cathy L. Every Name Index to History of Elkhart 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. By Chas. C. Chapman & Co., 1881. Edwardsburg, Mich: Cathy L. O'Connor, 2007. Pages 535-574, Regiment, Companies. FamilySearch Digital Library; WorldCat

World War I


 * 1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * Naturalization Record Series (for this county) at Indiana Digital Archives. Search by names.

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * Hoosier State Chronicles

Probate Records

 * 1798-1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry $

School Records

 * Alumni of Middlebury High School (1886-1916) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Students of Elkart High School (1923, 1937 and 1945) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Marriage

 * 1780-1992  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1800s-2007 Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast $
 * 1802-1892 Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 at Ancestry $
 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Death

 * Pre-1882 WEB: Indiana, Deaths, Pre-1882 at Ancestry.com - index, ($)
 * 1750-1993 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1882-1920 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1899-2011 Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 at Ancestry ($)

Divorce

 * Index to Divorce Cases Filed in Elkhart County, Indiana (1846-1905) at Indiana Genealogical Society

Adoption

 * Adoption Index, Elkhart County, Indiana, 1873-1914 at Indiana Genealogical Society

Family History Centers

 * South Bend Indiana Family History Center
 * Sturgis Michigan Family History Center
 * Elkhart Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Noble County Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * St Joseph County Library - an affiliate library.

Museums

 * Elkhart County Historical Museum 211 West Lincoln Ave. Goshen, IN 46526-3280 Phone: 574-535-6458 Email: [mailto:museum@elkhartcountyhistory.org museum@elkhartcountyhistory.org] Website
 * Middlebury Community Historical Museum 301 West Bristol Ave PO Box 270 Middlebury, IN 46540-0270 Phone: 574-825-0978 Email: [mailto:info@mchm.org info@mchm.org] Website
 * Goshen Historical Museum 124 S. Main St. Goshen, IN 46526 Phone: 574-975-0033 Email: [mailto:museum@goshenhistorical.org museum@goshenhistorical.org] Website

Societies

 * Elkhart County Genealogical Society PO Box 1031 Elkhart, IN 46515-1031 Phone 574-848-1623 Email:[mailto:queries@elkhartcogensoc.org queries@elkhartcogensoc.org] Facebook Website
 * Elkhart County Historical Society PO Box 434 304 West Vistula Street Bristol, IN 46507 Phone: 574-848-4322 Email:[mailto:research@elkhartcountyhistory.org research@elkhartcountyhistory.org]
 * Goshen Historical Society 124 S. Main St. Goshen, IN 46526 Phone 574-975-0033 Facebook Website
 * New Paris Historical Society PO Box 101 New Paris, IN 46553-0101 Phone 814-470-1718 Email:[mailto:contact@newparishistory.org contact@newparishistory.org] Facebook
 * Wakarusa Historical Society and Museum 403 Wabash Avenue Wakarusa, IN 46573 Phone 574-862-118 Email:[mailto:www.wakarusahistoricalsociety.com www.wakarusahistoricalsociety.com] Facebook Website

Websites

 * Indiana Digital Archives Search by name in all records or specific collections
 * Indiana Historical Society Digital Collections Search by county or keyword
 * Indiana Memory Click the map or select a statewide collection
 * List of indexes and databases at Indiana State Library
 * Indiana Genealogical Society Databases Free and Members-only. Select a county
 * EveryNameIndex.com for Indiana Free online genealogy indexes for county histories. Select a county.
 * Elkhart County INGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Elkhart County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.