Lake County, Indiana Genealogy

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

Description
Lake County was named for its location on Lake Michigan. It is located in the northwestern corner of the state.

County Courthouse
 Lake County Courthouse 2293 N Main Street Crown Point, IN 46307 Phone: 219-755-3000 County Website

Lake County Health Department 2900 West 93rd Ave. Crown Point, IN, 46307 Health Officer: Chandana Vavilala, MD Phone Number: 219-755-3655 Fax: 219-755-3668 Email: doffinx@lakecountyin.org Health Department

County Health Department has birth and death records. Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1837. County Recorder 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

 * Encyclopedia of Genealogy and Biography of Lake County, Indiana: with a Compendium of History 1834-1904. 1974. Ed. by T.H. Ball. Evansville, Indiana : Unigraphic. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books; .  Reprint. Originally published: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co., 1904. Index: Every Name Index, compiled by Cathy L. O'Connor, 2007.
 * A Standard History of Lake County, Indiana, and the Calumet Region. 2 volumes - vol. 2 contains biographical material. 1915. Edited by William Frederick Howat. Chicago, Illinois : Lewis Pub. Co. Online at: Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, Internet Archive;.
 * Indiana Biography Index at Indiana State Library

Census Records

 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for Lake County, Indiana (1880) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Register of Farms in Lake County, Indiana (1914-1966) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Residents of Gary, Lake County, Indiana (1909) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

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


 * Gary
 * South Shore

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1945-1956 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection

Local Histories

 * Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana: Historical and Biographical. 1882. Editors: Weston A. Goodspeed, historical editor; Charles Blanchard, biographical editor. Chicago: F.A. Battey.  Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($);.
 * Encyclopedia of Genealogy and Biography of Lake County, Indiana: with a Compendium of History 1834-1904. 1974. Ed. by T.H. Ball. Evansville, Indiana : Unigraphic. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books; .  Reprint. Originally published: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co., 1904. Index: Every Name Index, compiled by Cathy L. O'Connor, 2007.
 * Lake County, Indiana, from 1834 to 1872. 1873. Ed. Timothy Horton Ball. Chicago : J.W. Goodspeed. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books;.
 * A Standard History of Lake County, Indiana, and the Calumet Region. 2 volumes - vol. 1 contains history. 1915. Edited by William Frederick Howat. Chicago, Illinois : Lewis Pub. Co. Online at: Vol. 1 - Google Books, Internet Archive;.
 * Transcribed Lake County History Books - GenealogyTrails

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Historic Indiana Maps at IUPUI University Library
 * Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana

Military Records

 * Military Record Series Index at Indiana Digital Archives
 * Our Civil War Dead - INGenWeb, under Military
 * Indiana Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients - INGenWeb, under Military

Civil War Civil War service men from Lake 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 Lake County.


 * 5th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry (90th Regiment, Indiana Volunteers), Company I
 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company G
 * 9th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorgainized Company E, and H
 * 12th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company G
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry Company K
 * 20th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B, and Reorganized Company K
 * 24th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 73rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A
 * 99th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A
 * 100th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
 * 151st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
 * 155th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G

Civil War Books:
 * "Our War Record and Progress1860-1869" Chapter 6 in Ball, T. H. (Timothy Horton), 1826-1913. Lake County, Indiana, from 1834 to 1872. 2007. FHL US/CAN Film 934910 Item 3 ; online at:FamilySearch Digital Library; INTERNET ARCHIVE

World War I
 * 1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * Hoosier State Chronicles

Other Records
Voting Records
 * Qualified Electors in Lake County, Indiana (1890-1892) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Probate Records

 * 1798-1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry $

School Records

 * Graduates of Hammond High School (1926, 1934, 1941, 1952) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Students and Teachers of Washington High School, East Chicago (1929) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

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
 * 1800s-2007 Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast ($)
 * 1802-1892 Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 at Ancestry $


 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Death

 * Pre-1882 WEB: Indiana, Deaths, Pre-1882 at Ancestry.com - index, (Free collection)
 * 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 $

Archives
Marlene Polster, County Genealogist 1437 W. 97th Ave Crown Point, IN 46307 Phone: 219-776-4997 Email: [mailto:lakecogen@sbcglobal.net lakecogen@sbcglobal.net]

Family History Centers

 * Griffith Indiana Family History Center
 * Valparaiso Indiana Family History Center
 * Gary Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Hammond Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Lake County Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries

 * Lake County Public Library 1919 West 81st Avenue Merrillville, IN 46410-5488 Phone: 219-769-3541 Website Multiple branch locations
 * Hammond Public Library 564 State Street Hammond, IN 46320 Phone: 219-31-5100 Email: [mailto:localhistory@hammond.lib.in.us localhistory@hammond.lib.in.us] Website

Museums

 * Lake County Historical Museum Old Lake County Courthouse Courthouse Square, Suite 202 Crown Point, IN 46307 Phone: 219-662-3965 Website

Societies

 * Gary Historical & Cultural Society, Inc. P.O. Box 64603 Gary, IN 46401 Phone: 219-985-1315 Email: [mailto:ghcsin@yahoo.com ghcsin@yahoo.com] Website
 * Griffith Historical Society 201 South Broad Street Griffith, IN 46319 Phone: 219-924-9701 Facebook Website
 * Highland Indiana Historical Society 2450 Lincoln Street Highland, IN 46322 Email: [mailto:highlandhistory@sbcglobal.net highlandhistory@sbcglobal.net] Facebook
 * Hobart Historical Society 706 East 4th Street Hobart, IN 46342 Phone: 219-942-0970 Email: [mailto:hobarthistory@gmail.com hobarthistory@gmail.com] Facebook
 * Merrillville Ross Township Historical Society 13 West 73rd Avenue Merrillville, IN 6410 Phone: 219-756-2042 Email: [mailto:merrillvillehistory.org merrillvillehistory.org] Website
 * Lake Station Historical Society 2400 Central Avenue Lake Station, IN 46405-2233 Phone: 219-962-2001 Facebook
 * Miller Historical Society 264 N Lake Street Miller, IN 46403 Email: [mailto:MillerHistoricalSociety@Gmail.com MillerHistoricalSociety@Gmail.com] Facebook Website
 * Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society P.O. Box 595 Griffith, IN 46319 Email: [mailto:nwigsweb@gmail.com nwigsweb@gmail.com] Facebook Website
 * Whiting-Robertsdale Historical Society 1610 119th Street Whiting, IN 46394 Website

Websites

 * 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 Free and Members-only. Scroll the list.
 * INGenWeb, Lake County. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * EveryNameIndex.com for Indiana Free online genealogy indexes for county histories. Select a county.
 * Lake County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * – 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.
 * Lake County, Indiana (Genealogy Trails)