Orphans no more -- stories of the Indianapolis Orphan Asylum

For 90 years, 1851-1941, parents and children in trouble found help at the Indianapolis Orphan Asylum. Most of its records survive at the Indiana Historical Society -- dozens of volumes documenting life events among the people hardest to trace, those at the bottom of the social ladder. Harold Henderson came across the collection by accident while searching for his great-grandfather's cousin, and published an article about it in the Spring-Summer 2011 issue of the magazine The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections. Find out more about the institution, the records, and the children -- who were not always orphans! -- at the La Porte County Genealogical Society's meeting 7 pm Tuesday, July 10, at the Swanson Center for Older Adults, 910 State Street.

Weather permitting, the society meets there on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 pm. The public is welcome at all meetings. Membership dues are $10 individual, $12 family.

It's not too early to apply for one or more residency certificates for 2012. Our web site at 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.