Research

VETERAN GRAVE REGISTRATIONS: Card file of information about veterans buried in the county. Each card contains individual veteran records, including family and military service information as available, and name of the cemetery where buried.

FAMILY HISTORIES (BOUND & MANUSCRIPT): Donated family history files may contain obituaries, family group sheets, photographs, and legal documents. Some of the collection is in file folders, and some is in book form. This collection will expand with current donations.

DIRECTORIES: Earliest La Porte city directory is 1859 and collection is considerable through current years for La Porte and County including Michigan City, earliest being 1890.  Collection of telephone directories is also shelved.

PHOTOGRAPHS: Extensive collection of photographs of historical and genealogical interest such as buildings, schools, school groups, churches, houses, industries, individuals, retail stores, and much more. Most have been identified.

NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS: Private collection donated to the Society is topically arranged covering a broad spectrum of categories including agriculture, archaeology, biography, cemeteries, chronology, commerce, inventions, lakes, libraries, music, newspapers, schools, social clubs and lodges, townships, veterans, weather, and others. This collection enhances the Society’s files which include these and many other topics.

LA PORTE COUNTY CENSUS INDICES: 1850 abstraction in book form.  Indices to 1840, 1860, 1870 & 1880.

LA PORTE COUNTY MARRIAGE RECORDS & INDICES: 1832-1850 (DAR), 1850-1920 (WPA), Supplemental Marriage Application Index, 1850-1920 (WPA), 1921-1930, La Porte Co. Gen. Soc.  Early marriage applications starting in 1890.  Marriage returns 1930 & beyond.

LA PORTE COUNTY BIRTH & DEATH RECORD INDICES: 1882-1920 (WPA), including Michigan City.

Histories:

Index of Names of Persons and Firms in La Porte County, Indiana (WPA):

• 1927 History of the Lake and Calumet Region of Indiana, Counties of Lake, Porter, and La Porte, Vols. I & II, Cannon, etc.
• History of La Porte County, 1880, Chapman
• La Porte, Indiana and Its Environs, Schultz & Rodgers
• 20th Century History and Biographical Record of La Porte County, 1904, Rev. E. D. Daniels
• Pictorial & Biographical Record of La Porte, Porter, Lake & Starke Counties, 1894, Goodspeed
• La Porte County, Indiana and Its Townships, Towns, and Cities, 1876, Packard
• La Porte, Indiana: First 100 Years, 1832-1932, Centennial Edition
• The Portable La Porte County, CETA
• Up Close and Personal, Arnold Bass
• Michigan City Illustrated, 1900, Evening News
• Michigan City’s First 100 Years, Munger
• The Life of a Town, Michigan City, Indiana, Nicewarner
• History of Michigan City, Oglesbee & Hale
• La Porte Today, 1904, La Porte Prtg. Co.
• La Porte Now and Then, 1832-1982, Sesquicentennial Edition
• Michigan City: First 150 Years, 1833-1983, Michigan City News-Dispatch
• Inventory of the County Archives, 1939, WPA and, among others, centennial and sesquicentennial books of La Porte County towns, villages and townships of Stillwell, Wanatah, Westville, Lincoln Twp., La Porte, La Crosse, Hanna, Noble Twp. and Union Twp.

CHURCH RECORDS: Histories, minutes, list of members and photographs.

SCHOOL RECORDS: Photographs of schools and school groups, historical data, graduation announcements, teacher licenses and contract ledgers, county school yearbooks, collection of La Porte High School yearbooks including some before start of El-Pe, abstractions of enumerations (1840s), La Porte High School Alumnus Directory 1869-1947, collection from Michigan City schools (Elston, Rogers, Michigan City High School), Marquette High School, private schools.

OBITUARY FILE: Mostly from La Porte Herald-Argus mid-1930s to current. Indices 1989 through current. Michigan City News-Dispatch 1992 through current.

INFORMATION FILES: Topical files on such subjects as banks, houses & buildings, business & industry, doctors and hospitals, lakes, politics, riverboat casino, schools, theater, transportation, and much more.

CEMETERY INFORMATION: Maps of locations, Pioneer Cemetery Assn., records of burials in La Porte County cemeteries, history.

Maps / Atlases / Plat Books:

• 1854 City of La Porte Reproduction Map
• 1889 City of La Porte Reproduction Map
• 1866 Birds-eye-view La Porte Reproduction Map
• Atlases of La Porte County 1874 (indexed), 1892 (indexed), 1907 and 1921
• Plat books, 1862 (indexed, 1935, 1949, 1951, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988 and more recent.
• Sanborn Fire Insurance maps (La Porte & Michigan City)
• Maps of trails, railroads, post offices, first survey of county, mills and cemeteries.

NATURALIZATION INFORMATION: Index to La Porte County Naturalization Records in Order Books, Schultz; Index to Indiana Naturalization Records Found in Various Order Books of the 92 Local Courts Prior to 1907, IHS; the following abstractions by the La Porte County (IN) Genealogical Society: Books of Intentions 1854-1856, 1856-1858, 1858-1870, 1870-1876, 1876-1884, 1884-1894, 1894-1906, 1906-1910, 1910-1913, 1913-1918, Mar 1918-Sep 1918, Sep 1918-Nov 1922, Dec 1922-Jun 1929; Second Papers:  Oct 1854-Apr 1888, May 1888-Apr 1903.  Some from Superior Court.

SURNAME INDEX FILE: Card file of family names including all names contained in the applications of the La Porte County (IN) Genealogical Society’s Residency Certificate project.  This file continues to grow as the genealogical society’s project grows.

La Porte County Miscellaneous (all indexed):

• Michigan City Headlight, 1894
• Our Heritage
• Souvenir of Police & Fire Departments of Michigan City, Indiana
• Roll Call Book of Westville School
• La Porte Fire Department History
• Impressions of La Porte, Indiana, 1893
• The City of Maples
• Leaves from the City of Maples
• La Porte County Churches
• Old Mills of La Porte County
• Did You Know?
• Pictorial La Porte: Homecoming 1929
• La Porte, Indiana, and Its Lakes
• Northern Indiana–La Porte and Vicinity
• Cruise of the (Michigan City) Zoo Board
• Washington Park (La Porte)
• Political History of La Porte
• Michigan City Fire Department
• Lake Shore Outlook
• Pioneer La Porte County
• Old Settlers, 1869-1894.

Military / War Records – Various Military Records & History:

• Civil, WWI, WWII, Vietnam and Gulf wars
• Grand Army of Republic records
• “List of Hero Dead of La Porte County, Indiana”
• Gold Star Honor Roll, 1914-1918
• WWII “In Service”
• “Isaac Smart’s Book” by Guil Dye based on Isaac Smart’s Diaries

Other Miscellaneous:

• Photograph clippings (from La Porte Herald-Argus) indexed
• La Porte County authors; various topics of historical interest, poetry, and also novels
• Records of organizations (Kiwanis, Lions, Little Theater, etc.)
• Journals, land sales, business treasurer’s and account books, scrapbooks, slides, financial records of trustees, strays
• Ordinance of La Porte (1881, 1898 & 1916)
• “Kankakee River History”
• Abstracts from Physicians Certificates and Licenses (1897-1926), Schultz
• “La Porte Headlight” (1894)
• Will abstracts (1844-1871), Rowley
• Forgotten Towns
• History of La Porte City Parks
• Soil Survey (1944)
• and much more.