LaPorte County, Indiana Genealogy

United States Indiana  LaPorte County

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)

Methodist

 * 1855-1925 - German Methodist Episcopal Church, LaPorte, Baptism Index 1855-1925 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1855-1919 - German Methodist Episcopal Church, LaPorte, Marriage Index 1855-1925 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

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 La Porte.

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 La Porte, 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:

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, La Porte 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

These are available in select libraries or for purchase on the society's web site.

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. Select the state, then the county.
 * LaPorte County GenWeb
 * Cemetery &amp; 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 Prarie
 * Michigan City
 * Otis
 * Westville