Porter County, Indiana Genealogy

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

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.

County Courthouse
 Porter County Courthouse 16 E Lincolnway #209 Valparaiso, IN 46383 Phone: 219-465-3450 County Website

Porter County Health Department 155 Indiana Avenue, Suite 104 Valparaiso, IN, 46383 Health Officer: Maria Stamp, MD Phone Number: 219-465-3525 Fax: 219-465-3531 Email: Letty.Zepeda@porterco.org Health Department

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. Health Department has birth records and death records. Copies may be obtained from the county health department or the Indiana State Division of Vital 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

Census Records

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

Courtesy of the Porter County Public Library System:


 * Enumeration of Males in Porter County IN:
 * 1937 Liberty and 1943 Morgan Townships Enumeration of Males in Porter County, Indiana The data base combines the two years into alphabetical order.
 * Porter County 1930 Census Index

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses in Porter County, Indiana (1884) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Guardianship

 * Guardianship Court Cases from the Porter County Library.

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.) Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; 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 and Gazetteers

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Indiana


 * Historic Indiana Maps at IUPUI University Library

Military Records

 * Military Record Series Index at Indiana Digital Archives
 * Veterans in Porter County (1894) at 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 - How to Use this Collection

World War II
 * Residents of Porter County One World War II Honor Roll at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Residents of Porter County Who Died in World War II (1942-1946) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Residents of Porter County Who Served in World War II at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Military Service: 1940-1945 at Porter County Public Library

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Newspapers

 * Porter County Herald Index 1933-1938 at Porter County Library

Obituaries

 * Obituary Index 1938-Jan 2011 from Porter County Library

Probate Records

 * 1798-1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry
 * 1914-1963 - Probate Estates at Porter County Public Library

School Records

 * Directory of School Officials and Teachers of Porter County (1917) at Indiana Genealogical Society
 * School Enumeration of Liberty Township (1919, 1924) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Students and Teachers of Chesterton Junior-Senior High School (1952) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * 1899-1931 - Teacher Contracts at Porter County Public Library
 * 1919 - Liberty Township School Enumerations 1919 at Porter County Public Library
 * 1924-1925 and 1931 - Miscellaneous Contracts for Porter School District at Porter County Public Library

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
 * 1800-2007 Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast $
 * 1802-1892 Indiana, Compiled Marriages, 1802-1892 at Ancestry
 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 *  1836-1976 - Marriages at Porter County Library

Death

 * 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

 * 1914-1963 - Divorce Records at Porter County Library

Family History Centers
Valparaiso Indiana Family History Center 503 Burlington Beach Rd Valparaiso, IN 46383 219-476-7641 E-mail: IN_Valparaiso@familyhistorymail.org Website

Libraries
Porter County Library Valparaiso Branch 103 Jefferson Street Valparaiso, IN 46383 E:mail: info@pcpls.org 219-462-0524 Website

Museums
Portage Community Historical Society Alton Goin Museum 5250 U.S. Highway 6 Portage, IN 46368 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 219-983-9715 E-mail: [mailto:serena@wpl.lib.in.us serena@wpl.lib.in.us] Website

Porter County Museum 153 South Franklin Street Valparaiso, IN 46383 Phone: 219-465-3595 Website

Societies
Historical Society of Porter County 153 Franklin Street Valparaiso, IN 46385 219-465-3595 Website

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

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

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

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

Kankakee Valley Historical Society 22 W. 1050 S. Kouts, IN 46347 219-766-2302 E-mail: [mailto:jophod@gmail.com jophod@gmail.com] Website

Websites

 * Porter County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Indiana Digital Archives Search by name in all records or specific collections
 * Indiana Historical Society Digital Collections Extensive - keyword searches suggested
 * Indiana Memory Click the map or select a statewide collection
 * List of indexes and databases at Indiana State Library
 * Indiana Genealogical Society Databases Select a county
 * Every Name Index.com Online indexes for county histories. Select a county
 * Porter County, Indiana: A Part of the Indiana GenWeb Project
 * Swedish Farmsteads of Porter County, Indiana
 * – 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.