SEVENTY-TWO YEARS OF COMMITMENT RECORDS IN LA PORTE COUNTY book now available

As government and society evolved in the 1800s, it was the thinking that government had a proper role in providing for the good of those who were out of the norm or from whom society needed protection. As a result, Indiana built prisons, insane asylums, and homes and schools for the feeble minded, the deaf, the blind, the epileptic, and the orphan. These governmental actions left a paper trail in the courthouses. A new book abstracts these records in La Porte County. The earliest entry of the 565 entries found was 13 October 1848. No records after 1920 were abstracted.

The compilers searched numerous records in the county clerk's office, including Court of Common Pleas Order books A-E and additional books covering 1869 to 1873; all Circuit Court Civil Order books from B to Z and 1 to 40; and Insanity Record Books 6, 7, 11, 12, and 13. Civil Order Book A and Insanity Record Books 1-5 and 8-10 are missing.

Pictures of pertinent Indiana institutions are included.

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La Porte County, Indiana, Commitments to Benevolent, Educational, and Reformatory Institutions and Related Guardianships, 1848-1920, compiled by Dorothy Palmer and Mary Wenzel (La Porte: La Porte County Genealogical Society, 2011). 98 pages, soft cover, comb bound, 8 1/2 x 11. $20 through http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inlcigs/booksales.htm

Unusual Early Indiana Court Index Now Available

In Court In La Porte is an every-name index to the first legal proceedings in La Porte County, Indiana, containing more than 800 distinct surnames. Compiled by Harold Henderson, it indexes every personal, business, and place name mentioned in Complete Record Book A (June 1833 to April 1837), Judgment Docket A (June 1833 to June 1838), and Minute Record A (June 1833 to October 1836). A very limited amount of relevant genealogical information is included, such as when an individual stood bail for someone else's payment or performance of a duty.

This book is a finding aid, not a substitute for the records themselves. The original handwritten books (with handwritten indexes of plaintiffs only) are in the office of the La Porte County Clerk and should be consulted for legal and genealogical information. Also in the clerk's office are microfilms of the “loose papers” for certain cases.

The legal proceedings offer glimpses of many aspects of life on the frontier more than 170 years ago: fights, liquor sales, gambling parties, road building, timber cutting, slander, divorce, death, murder, and – above all – debt and the repayment of debt. These proceedings may also provide unique information on the whereabouts of early settlers who do not appear in census or property records. It is hoped that this index will encourage genealogists to make court records a regular part of their research.

In Court In La Porte: An Every-Name Index to the First Legal Proceedings in La Porte County, Indiana (La Porte: compiler via blurb.com, 2011). 246 pages, soft cover, 5x8. $20, Indiana sales tax included; 25% donated to La Porte County Genealogical Society. Shipping & handling $5 if needed. Available from the compiler at hhsh@earthlink.net, or with slightly different pricing through blurb.com.

A professional writer since 1979 and professional genealogist since 2009, Harold Henderson has published genealogical articles in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Utah, and the National Genealogical Society Magazine. He maintains a blog, “Midwestern Microhistory.” He serves on the boards of the La Porte County Genealogical Society and the Association of Professional Genealogists; moderates the Transitional Genealogists Forum on-line discussion list; and is the Indiana Genealogical Society county genealogist for La Porte.

26 July 2011

August 2011 meeting -- mayors!

On Tuesday, August 9, you can learn about two Michigan City mayors for the price of one! Dorothy Palmer and Gloria Arndt will share the podium to describe two who served during the 20th century. When Wm. F. C. Dall ran for mayor in 1923, the Dispatch called his ticket "Pro-Klan," while the News endorsed it as made up of "Leaders, straight thinkers and good business men." In the 1930 and 1940s, Rheinhart C. "Hemp" Fedder led the city through the Great Depression and WWII years.

The society's business meeting will begin at 7:15 pm, followed by the program -- all at the Swanson Center for Older Adults, 910 State Street, La Porte. The society meets at 7 pm on the second Tuesday of each month at the Swanson Center, weather permitting. The public is welcome at all meetings.

Residency certificate applications for 2011 are due before the end of July, but it's not too early to apply for one or more residency certificates for 2012. Our web site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inlcigs/ has information for those who believe they have La Porte County ancestors (and can prove it!). There's information on how to apply for First Families of La Porte (before December 1840), Pioneer Families (1841-1860), Settler Families (1861-1880), and Civil War Families (1861-1865). You can also read or search back issues of the society's newsletter, December 2005 through December 2009, including genealogical and historical information from members' research and abstracting work in local records, on our blog at http://lpcgs.blogspot.com.

July genealogy meeting

As our intended speaker for the July 12 meeting, Mattie Dunlap, was indisposed, her friend Chuck West (who is not 101 yet!) filled in and relayed some of what she would have told us about the experience of black people who migrated north in the mid-20th century. Her family moved from Itta Bena, Mississippi, to Kingsford Heights in 1953 and then to Michigan City in 1963. Chuck told many wonderful stories, but the short version is that the family's high hopes for life in the North were not always fulfilled; not everyone made the move, but when someone wanted to come up they waited until there was a job lined up; and nowadays they are comfortable to go back south and visit, which was not always the case. After moving to Indiana, they still faced prejudice and discrimination (including the death of a daughter for lack of medical treatment), but unlike in the South in the 1950s they could vote and own property, and didn't have to ask permission for every little thing.

The business meeting followed the program and was brief. Nominations are still open for Genealogist of the Year, and applications are still available for residency certificates. Two new La Porte County books are just out from the abstracters and indexers. One abstracts guardianships and commitments 1848-1920, and the other is an every-name index of court records from the 1830s. More information on these later.

The society meets at 7 pm on the second Tuesday of each month at the Swanson Center, weather permitting. The public is welcome at all meetings.

Also at our web site, those who believe they have La Porte County ancestors (and can prove it!) can find information on how to apply for First Families of La Porte (before December 1840), Pioneer Families (1841-1860), Settler Families (1861-1880), and Civil War Families (1861-1865). You can also read or search back issues of the society's newsletter, December 2005 through December 2009, including genealogical and historical information from members' research and abstracting work in local records, on our blog.

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