LaPorte County, Indiana Genealogy

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

Historical Facts

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

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.

Cemeteries

 * Cemetery &amp; Research Association Of LaPorte County, Indiana - website
 * Find A Grave Cemetery List


 * 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

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

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)

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 other libraries Digital version at


 * 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  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 &amp; Co., 1880; reproduction by Unigraphic, Inc., 1974. EveryNameIndex.com

Maps

 * 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    other libraries   Digital version at


 * "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 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)

Newspapers
The Herald Argus, City of LaPorte and surrounding area

Michigan City News Dispatch, Michigan City and surrounding area

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

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:

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 &amp; 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

 * 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)

Vital Records

 * Vital Records - Linkpendium


 * Indiana State Digital Archives

Marriage Records

 * 1780-1992 - FamilySearch


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


 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images

Death Records

 * Indiana, Death Index, 1882-1920 FamilySearch


 * Death Notices &amp; Obituaries Contributed for the LaPorte County Indiana - GenWeb

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.
 * Cemetery and Research Association Of LaPorte County, Indiana, (new website, under construction 6/27/2016)
 * 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