St. Joseph County, Indiana Genealogy

Guide to St. Joseph 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 9 January 1830 from Cass County.
 * County Seat: South Bend

Description
The county was named for the St. Joseph River which flows through it toward Lake Michigan. The county seat is South Bend and the county was organized in January 10, 1830. The County is located in the North Central part of the state.

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:

Neighboring Counties
La Porte •  Starke  •  Marshall  •  Elkhart  •  Berrien  •  Cass

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.

Business Records

 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Dentist License Records Index (1892-1975), Saint Joseph County, Indiana
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Doctor and Midwife License Records Index (1892-1975), Saint Joseph County, Indiana
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Studebaker Employee List

Cemeteries
For a list of cemeteries that existed and still exist in St. Joseph County, see the South Bend Area Genealogical Society's webpage for their complete listing!

St Joseph County Cemeteries
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Cemetery Inscriptions Index, Saint Joseph County, Indiana

Census Records

 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for St. Joseph County, Indiana (1880) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Federal Census Records Combined Index (1870. 1880, 1910) Saint Joseph County, Indiana

Church Records
To find more church records try a search in Family Search's Catalog. Enter place: Indiana, St. Joseph. When a list comes up there are several church sources. By putting a comma after St. Joseph, in the place name, a drop down list of each township or subject will appear. Click on the township or subject for links to more records.

Christian Church, Walkerton

 * 1873-1875 - Christian Church, Walkerton, Baptism Index 1873-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


 * South Bend

Presbyterian

 * 1869-1889 - First Presbyterian Church, South Bend, Marriage Index 1869-1889 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

The South Bend Area Genealogical Society's website has information on these churches:

Holy Trinity Church Records

Roman Catholic Marriages

Court Records
Some court records are held in the St. Joseph County Archives Archives and Records:

Indexes

Civil Records 1832-1984

Criminal Indexes: 1850's-1959

Guardians, Wards, &amp; Minors Indexes 1830-1980

Probate Estate Indexes: 1830-1989

Mishawaka Civil Indexes: 1980-1992

Mishawaka Guardians, Wards, &amp; Minors Indexes: 1882-1990

Mishawaka Probate Estate Indexes: 1981-1995

Traffic and Misdemeanor Indexes for South Bend 1980-1992

Traffic and Misdemeanor Indexes for St. Joseph County: 1972-1999

Traffic and Misdemeanor Indexes for Mishawaka: 1972-1999

Court Dockets

St. Joseph County Dockets: 1899-1995

Mishawaka Dockets: 1980-1995

Order Books

Circuit Court: 1832-1997

Circuit Court Probate: 1839-1995

County Court - Juvenile: 1924-1945

Court of Common Pleas: 1853-1873

Court of Common Pleas - Civil: 1853-1873

Court of Common Pleas - Probate: 1853-1873

Criminal Court: 1832-1835

Superior Court: 1910-1997

Superior Court Probate: 1921-1995

Mishawaka Superior Court: 1981-1995

Mishawaka Small Claims: 1985-1987

Mishawaka Traffic and Misdemeanor: 1991-1997

Probate Court- Estate: 1945-1999

The following restrictions are on these records:

Criminal records must be approved by the corresponding court

Inheritance, Guardianship, Juvenile, and Mental Health records are confidential

Adoption/Paternity records are confidential after 1941

Coroner records are confidential for 75 years

Many indexes are available online at the South Bend Area Genealogical Society's website: South Bend Area Genealogical Society

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses in St. Joseph County, Indiana (1858) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Directory of Businesses in South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana (1902) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Emigration and Immigration

 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Family Trees of Immigrants Index
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Early Immigration Records Index
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: St. Joseph County Indiana Naturalizations

Ethnic and religious Groups
South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Polish Immigrants to the Midwest

Genealogies
South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Immigrant Family Trees

South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Michiana Genealogical Index

Local Histories

 * O'Connor, Cathy L., and Timothy Edward Howard. Every Name Index to A History of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volumes One &amp; Two, by Timothy Edward Howard, 1907. (Edwardsburg, Mich: Cathy L. O'Connor, 2007), Other Libaries, Vol.1 and Vol.2 (Volume 1 contains index)


 * Howard, Timothy Edward, A History of St. Joseph County, Indiana; Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Pub. Co., 1907. 977.289 H2h FHL US/CAN Book,, Internet Archive, Vol. 2, Google Books, Vol. 2.

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Indiana
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Maps

Civil War
Civil War service men from St, Joseph 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 St. Joseph County.


 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company D
 * 9th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I, and Reorganized Company I
 * 12th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies A, and H
 * 15th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
 * 21st Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 29th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies F, H, and K
 * 48th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, E, and F
 * 73rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
 * 87th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 128th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, company D
 * 138th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company H
 * 151st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 155th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies H, and I
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Pension Applicants for Saint Joseph County (1860's-1880's)

Civil War Books


 * "Military History" Chapter 14, in Timothy Edward Howard, A History of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, p. 711; Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Pub. Co., 1907. 977.289 H2h FHL US/CAN Book, ;  Internet Archive; Google Books


 * Also see index for above book, O'Connor, Cathy L., and Timothy Edward Howard, Every Name Index to A History of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volumes One &amp; Two, by Timothy Edward Howard, 1907. (Edwardsburg, Mich: Cathy L. O'Connor, 2007), Other Libaries, Vol.1 and Vol.2 (Volume 1 contains index)

World War I

 * 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
Many St. Joseph County newspapers, including the South Bend Tribune, South Bend News Times, St. Joe Valley Register, Mishawaka Enterprise, and others from 1830 to the present are available on microfilm at the St. Joseph County Public Library

Obituaries
Obituaries from the Wakarusa Tribune 1800's to Present, Courtesy of the Wakarusa Public Library

Obituaries from The Bremen Enquirer 1884 to 2007, Courtesy of the Bremen Public Library

Obituaries from the South Bend Tribune 1913 to Present, Courtesy of the St. Joseph County Public Library

Occupations

 * Roster of Civilian Conservation Corps, South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana (1938) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Periodicals

 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: South Bend Times Name Index (1881-1913)
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Walkerton News (1886-1929) Saint Joseph County, Indiana

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

School Records

 * Students of South Bend High School (1912-1914) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Teachers of South Bend High School (1870-1911) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

County Courthouse
St. Joseph County Courthouse 101 S Main Street South Bend, IN 46601 Phone: 219.235.9635 County Health Department has birth, death and burial records. County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records. County Assessor has land records.

Family History Centers

 * South Bend Indiana Family History Center
 * St. Joseph County Public Library Family History Center

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

Libraries
St. Joseph County Public Library 304 S. Main South Bend, IN 46601

Hours: M-Th: 10am - 8pm; Fri-Sat 10am - 6pm; Closed Sunday

For help with genealogical queries, contact Local &amp; Family History Services: [mailto:local.history@sjcpl.org local.history@sjcpl.org]

Digital archive: Michiana Memory

Museums
The History Museum 808 W. Washington St. South Bend, IN 46601-1439 Phone: 574-235-9664 Email: [mailto:info@historymuseumsb.org info@historymuseumsb.org] Website

Societies
South Bend Area Genealogical Society 209 Lincoln Way East Mishawaka, IN 46544 E-mail: [mailto:irvm3@juno.com irvm3@juno.com] Website

Historic New Carlisle PO Box 107 New Carlisle, IN 46552-0107 Telephone Number: 574-654-3897 E-mail: [mailto:historicnc@townofnewcarlisle.com historicnc@townofnewcarlisle.com] Website

Michiana Jewish Historical Society 3202 Shalom Way South Bend, IN 46615-2955 Telephone Number: 574-233-1164

Osceola Historical Society PO Box 14 Osceola, IN 46561-0014

Walkerton Area Historical Society 413 Michigan St. Walkerton, IN 46574-1115 Telephone Number: 574-586-2852 E-mail: [mailto:janrhodes@embarqmail.com janrhodes@embarqmail.com]

St. John Historical Society PO Box 134 St. John, IN 46373

School Records

 * Students of Mishawaka High School (1936) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Vital Records

 * Indiana State Digital Archives

Birth Records

 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Time and Place of Birth Records Index, Saint Joseph County, Indiana

Marriage Records

 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Marriage Database Index
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Roman Catholic Marriages
 * 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
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Burial Permits Index (1910-1929) St. Joseph County, Indiana
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Cemetery Inscriptions
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Cemetery Locations for St. Joseph County
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Coroner's Index 1879-1960
 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Graves Registration Project

Websites

 * South Bend Area Genealogical Society
 * St. Joseph County, Indiana Genealogy, History and Facts
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * INGenWeb, St. Joseph County
 * USGenWeb, St. Joseph County
 * , St. Joseph County
 * St. Joseph County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)