Porter County, Indiana Genealogy

Guide to Porter 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 7 February 1835 from La Porte and Newton Counties.
 * County Seat:  Valparaiso

Description
The county was named for David Porter. The County Seat is Valparaiso and was founded 1836. It is located in the North West area of the state.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit https://indiana.hometownlocator.com/counties/cities,cfips,127,c,porter.cfm HomeTown Locator]. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Neighboring Counties
Lake •  Jasper  •  Starke  •  La Porte

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
Dec. 1934 Courthouse destroyed by fire; all records saved.

Census Records

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

Courtesy of the Porter County Public Library System:


 * Enumeration of Males in Porter County IN:
 * 1937 Liberty Townships Enumeration of Males in Porter County, Indiana
 * 1943 Morgan Township Enumeration of Males In Porter County, Indiana
 * Porter County 1930 Census Index

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses in Porter County, Indiana (1884) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Local Histories

 * History of Porter County INGenWeb


 * Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, and Charles Blanchard. Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana: Historical and Biographical.(Chicago: F.A. Battey, 1882.)FHL US/CAN Film 934917 Item 1,, Other Libraries, Internet Archive


 * Lewis Publishing Company. cn. 1911. History of Porter County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests FHL book 977.298 H2h FHL US/CAN Book, ,Internet Archive

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Indiana

Military Records

 * Veterans in Porter County (1894) (free, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Civil War
Civil War service men from Porter 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 Porter County.


 * 4th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 5th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery (Simonson's)
 * 5th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry (90th Regiment, Indiana Volunteers), Company I
 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies A, H, and K
 * 9th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B, and Companies B, E and H
 * 12th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry Companies A, and M
 * 20th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 20th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I, and Reorganized Company D
 * 37th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company A
 * 63rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
 * 73rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies E, and I
 * 99th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
 * 128th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies E, and H
 * 138th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company C
 * 151st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, and E
 * 28th US Colored Troops, Addition Recruits for Colored Troops

Civil War Books


 * "Military History", Chapter 6 in Lewis Publishing Company. cn. 1911. History of Porter County, Indiana: a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests 977.298 H2h FHL US/CAN Book,, Internet Archive

World War I

 * 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * Residents of Porter County One World War II Honor Roll ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Residents of Porter County Who Died in World War II (1942-1946) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Residents of Porter County Who Served in World War II ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Newspapers
Courtesy of the Porter County Public Library System:


 * Vidette-Messenger &amp; Vidette-times Obituary Index 1938-Jan., 2011
 * Porter County Herald Index 1933-1938

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

Courtesy of the Porter County Public Library System:
 * Guardianship Court Cases
 * Probate Estates

School Records

 * Directory of School Officials and Teachers of Porter County (1917) (free, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * School Enumeration of Liberty Township (1919, 1924) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Students and Teachers of Chesterton Junior-Senior High School (1952) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

County Courthouse
Porter County Courthouse 16 E Lincolnway #209 Valparaiso, IN 46383 Phone: 219.465.3450

Attached to St. Joseph County prior to organization 6 Feb 1836. County Health Department has birth and death records. County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1836. County Auditor has land records.

Family History Centers

 * Valparaiso Indiana Family History Center

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

Societies and Libraries
Historical Society of Porter County 153 Franklin Street Valparaiso, IN 46385 Telephone Number: 219-465-3595 Website

Beverly Shores Historical Society PO Box 242 Beverly Shores, IN 46301-0242 Telephone Number: 219-874-8000 E-mail: [mailto:bevshrshist@bevshrshistsoc.org bevshrshist@bevshrshistsoc.org]

Duneland Historical Society PO Box 2034 Chesterton, IN 46304 Telephone Number: 219-921-0963 E-mail: [mailto:dunelandhistoricalsociety@gmail.com dunelandhistoricalsociety@gmail.com] Website

Hebron Historical Society PO Box 679 Hebron, IN 46341-0679 Telephone Number: 219-996-3192

Historical Society of Ogden Dunes 115 Hillcrest Road, Suite 101 Portage, IN 46368-8503 Telephone Number: 219-764-7526 E-mail: [mailto:martinken@att.net martinken@att.net] Website

Kankakee Valley Historical Society 22 W. 1050 S. Kouts, IN 46347 E-mail: [mailto:jophod@gmail.com jophod@gmail.com] Website

Portage Community Historical Society Alton Goin Museum 5250 U.S. Highway 6 Portage, IN 46368 Telephone Number: 219-762-8349 E-mail: [mailto:pchs.1@frontier.com pchs.1@frontier.com] Website

Westchester Township History Museum 700 W. Porter Avenue Chesterton, IN 46304 Telephone Number: 219-983-9715 E-mail: [mailto:serena@wpl.lib.in.us serena@wpl.lib.in.us] Website

Porter County Library Valparaiso Branch 103 Jefferson Street Valparaiso, IN 46383 Website

Taxation
{{IN Tax Records Repositories|Porter|1260551}

Vital Records

 * Indiana State Digital Archives

Marriage Records

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


 * 1780-1992 - FamilySearch


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


 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images

Death Records

 * 1882-1920 at FamilySearch Historical Records - Index only
 * 1899-2011 Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 at Ancestry - ($), index and images
 * Indiana State Digital Archives

Courtesy of the Porter County Public Library System


 * Porter County Databases Marriage Index: 1921-1946

Websites

 * Porter County, Indiana Genealogy, History and Facts
 * Porter County, Indiana: A Part of the Indiana GenWeb Project
 * Swedish Farmsteads of Porter County, Indiana
 * Porter County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook