Lake County was created on February 15, 1837 and was formed fromPorter and Newton Counties. The County was named for its location on Lake Michigan.
The County Seat is Crown Point. Crown Point wasn't always the County Seat. Prior to establishing the County Seat, court was conducted in the home of Milo Robinson, as nearly all the lands within the limits of Lake County were still the property of the government. Liverpool was selected the first County Seat, however, the site was not satisfactory to a majority of the citizens. The County Seat was moved back to the location of Milo Robinson's home and was originally to be called "Lake County Courthouse," however, the name being too cumbersome, it was suggest that the county agent, George Earle, and the two proprietors, Judge Clark and Solon Robinson, select a new name. They settled on Crown Point. First settled in 1835, by Solon Robinson, Esq., by 1849 Crown Point contained three stores, one hotel, Presbyterian and Methodist churches, a good High School kept by the Rev. Wm. Townley, and about thirty-five dwelling houses. See also County History for more historical details.
Lake County is divided into 10 Civil Townships as follows: Calumet, Cedar Creek, Center, Eagle Creek, Hanover, Hobart, North, Ross, St. John, West Creek and Winfield.
Cities, Towns and Communities include Aetna, Ainsworth, Belshaw,Buffington, Calumet, Cedar Lake, Clarke, Cook, Creston, Crown Point, Dyer, East Chicago, Gary, Griffith, Hammond, Hartsdale, Hobart, Hornbeck, Indiana Harbor, Leroy, Liverpool, Lottaville, Lowell, Maynard, Merrillville, Miller, New Chicago, North Hayden, Pine, Prairie View, Range Line, Roby, Schererville, Schneider, Shelby, St. John, Weston and Whiting.
Indiana Newspaper Holdings for Lake County: The county newspaper holdings are under regular revision, as new microfilm holdings are added. These files are not up to date; there are continuous updates and corrections.
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
NOTE: The date listed for each category of record is the earliest record known to exist in that county. It does not indicate that there are numerous records for that year and certainly does not indicate that all such events that year were actually registered.See also the Lake County Courthouse History
Lake County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1837 , Probate Records from 1854 and Court Records from ? and is located at Courts Building, 1st Flr, 2293 N. Main Str,
Crown Point, IN 46307;
Phone: 219-755-3465,
Fax: 219-755-3337 The Clerk of the Circuit Court is a ministerial officer who is the custodian of the Clerk's record and seal, issues process, accepts filings of commencement of actions in litigation, enters judgments and orders of the court, receives money in his official capacity, makes certified copies of record, issues many miscellaneous licenses, and keeps a record of all wills and matters of trust in probate proceedings.
Lake County Recorder has Land Records from 1837 and is located at Building 'A', 2nd Floor, 2293 N. Main Street,
Crown Point, IN 46307;
Phone: 219-755-3730 ,
Fax: 219-755-3257. The county recorder's function is to maintain permanent public records involving a wide variety of instruments. These documents detail transactions involving real estate, mining, personal property, mortgages, liens, leases, subdivision plats, military discharges, personal bonds, etc. Generally, all of these instruments are recorded either for giving legal public notice of their existence or for safekeeping and future reference. The recorder maintains and preserves all legal documents affecting title to real property.
Lake County Health Department has Birth / Death Records from 1882 and is located at 2293 North Main St,
Crown Point, IN 46307-1854;
(219) 755-3655, 3656 or 3657
Below is a list of online resources for Lake County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Lake County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Indianapolis Newspaper Index, 1848-1991: Select articles from 1848-1888 Indianapolis daily newspapers; heavily focused on deaths and marriages. Select articles from 1898-1991 about people, places, events, and topics in Indianapolis and the state of Indiana. Extremely limited for deaths; no coverage of marriages. Card file also available in the Microforms Area, second floor.
Reference & Government Services CD Collection: Database to allow searching of the hundreds of CDs from the federal government and other sources, part of the collections of the Reference & Government Services Division.
Indiana Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Indiana Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Birth Certificates:
The Division of Vital Records and Statistics maintains birth records that occur in Indiana since Oct 1907 to the present.
Prior to October 1907, records of birth are filed only with the local health department in the county where the birth actually occurred.
Cost: Initial search and one certified copy or certification of the record or No Record Statement is $10.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy.
Make your check or money order payable to "Indiana State Department of Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep check amount for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
In Person:
The ISDH Vital Records office is located at 6 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. The office is open for walk-in requests from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., E.S.T., Monday through Friday (excluding official State Holidays). The cost for the first certificate is $10.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Average wait time is less than an hour.
Processing Time: 5 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Death Certificates: The Division of Vital Records and Statistics maintains death records that occur in Indiana since 1900 to the present. Prior to 1900, records of death are filed only with the local health department in the county where the death actually occurred.
For deaths occurring from 1900 to 1917, the city and/or county of death is required in order to locate the record.
Cost: Initial search and one certified copy or certification of the record or No Record Statement is $8.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy.
Make your check or money order payable to "Indiana State Department of Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep check amount for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
In Person:
The ISDH Vital Records office is located at 6 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. The office is open for walk-in requests from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., E.S.T., Monday through Friday (excluding official State Holidays). The cost for the first certificate is $8.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Average wait Time is less than an hour.
Processing Time: 5 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Marriage Certificates: Certified copies of marriage certificates are not available from the State Health Department. They are available from the Clerks of the Circuit Court in the county where the marriage was granted. Fees vary.
Divorce Certificates: Certified copies of divorce certificates are not available from the State Health Department. They are available from the County Clerk in the county where the divorce was granted. Fees vary.
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Below is a list of online resources for Lake County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Lake County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Indiana newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Click Here to Search Indiana Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Below is a list of online resources for Lake County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Lake County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Indiana Census, 1790-1890: This collection contains the following indexes: 1790 (Northwest Territory) Federal Census Index; 1807 State Census Index; 1810 Wayne County Census Index; 1812 Census Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1870 Federal Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedule.
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Ohio and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Indiana showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Indiana showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at County Maps
Below is a list of online resources for Lake County Maps. Email us with websites containing Lake County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Indiana Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Lake County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Lake County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Indiana (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Indiana World War II Servicemen: Database to locate information about Indiana men and women who served in World War II who were mentioned in one of the Indianapolis daily newspapers during the war.
Records of county taxes were kept as early at 1842, although most were discarded. Remaining ones would be at the county courthouse. National Archives-Great Lakes Region has records of the Internal Revenue Service for Indiana for 1867 to 1873. These are tax assessment records, arranged by district and then chronologically.
Below is a list of online resources for Lake County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Lake County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Lake County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Lake County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Three Creeks Historical Association, Inc.,
% Lowell Co Library,
1505 Commercial Ave,
Lowell, IN 46356
Indiana State Library,
Attn: (Division or Staff Name),
140 North Senate Avenue,
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2296
Loan Desk and General Inquiries: 317-232-3675,
ind@statelib.lib.in.us
Genealogy Division: 317-232-3689,
genealogy@statelib.lib.in.us
Indiana Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Indiana Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
The commissioner's office of each Indiana county may have burial records for soldiers, sailors, and marines. If available, the records should include name, age, date of enlistment, discharge date, and death date. Records begin about 1862.
The Indiana State Library holds records of inscriptions from some Indiana cemeteries. The "Indiana Cemetery Locator File," compiled by the Genealogy Division, is an alphabetical listing of cemeteries, indicating the location in the state and the designation in the Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library where inscriptions may be found.
Below is a list of online resources for Lake County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Lake County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Indiana obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Indiana newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Indiana.
Click Here to Search Indiana Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Lake County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Lake County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Indiana Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
1849 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Gazetteer," published by E. Chamberlain
Lake County, organized in 1837, derives its name from its local situation, being bounded north by Lake Michigan, east by Porter County, south by the Kankakee River, and west by the State of Illinois. Its average length from north to south is thirty miles, the width sixteen miles, and it contains about 480 square miles. The civil divisions into townships are, North, Center, Winfield, West Creek, Cedar Creek and Eagle Creek. The population in 1840 was 1,468; at this time [1849] it exceeds 3,000. The north part of the county adjoining the lake for four or five miles inland, appears to be merely sand thrown up from the bed of the lake. It is mostly covered with dwarf pine and cedar, and the soil is of but little value. South of Turkey Creek the soil is rich and alluvial, but the central part of the county is better adapted to grazing than grain, the soil being a mixture of clay, marl and black "muck." Farther south there is more sand, with a mixture of black loam, easy of cultivation and the various kinds of grain raised in the west are produced in abundance; and still farther south, adjoining the Kankakee, are extensive marshes.
There are six sawmills in operation in the county, and three good flouring mills, with two run of stones each, in successful operation on Deep River. About one-half of the surface of the county is prairie, interspersed with groves of various kinds of timber. The taxable land in the county amounts to 58,692 acres.
1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature
Lake County is Indiana's great industrial county and is known nationally for its vast steel enterprises. In population the county is second only to Marion County. Situated as it is, on Lake Michigan, and adjacent to the great metropolitan area of Chicago, the county's commercial activities are among the greatest in the country.
The railroad facilities in Lake County are the best in the state and all the main lines from east to west run through it. In the southern part of the county the interests are chiefly agricultural, with a great deal of attention being given to horse raising and breeding; some of the finest breeding farms in the state are located here. Dairy cattle breeding is an important business and many hogs are also raised for the market.
Lake County is at the northwest corner of Indiana, its west line part of the Illinois boundary, and the northern border lower Lake Michigan. It has eleven townships covering an area of 492 square miles. The incorporated cities are Crown Point, 4,046; Gary, 100,426; Hammond, 64,560; East Chicago, 54,784; Whiting, 10,880; Hobart, 5,787; towns: East Gary, 2,409; Highlands, 1,533; Lowell, 1,274; Munster, 975; Dyer, 672; Schererville, 580; New Chicago, 481; St. John, 332, and Schneider, 264. The total county population in 1890 was 23,886; 1900, 37,892; 1910, 82,864; 1920, 159,957; 1930, 261,310.
Crown Point is located forty-one miles southeast of Chicago and is served by two railroads. The center of the grain and stock raising district of the county, it also has a number of manufactures, including feed, piston rings, and incubators.
As the formation of the United States Steel Corporation in 1902 with its stupendous capitalization of $1,450,000,000 astounded the financial world, so has the creation and development of the City of Gary amazed the industrial world and Gary has been called "America's Magic City. In 1906, what is now Gary was only a wilderness. But since its founding that year it has grown to a population of more then one hundred thousand, and developed into a model city with fine public buildings and splendid residences. The city's population very nearly doubled between 1920 and 1930, having, according to the earlier census, 55,378. In location it is twenty-six miles southeast of Chicago, on Lake Michigan.
This amazing city is the result of gigantic national steel interests. It would be difficult to find a parallel to Gary, which loomed upon the horizon with such sudden force as to astound the industrial world. The latest figures I 1935 listed fifty-five manufacturing establishments employing 18,427 persons. Six railroads and the lake offer great transportation facilities.
Through manifestly a city of steelworkers, Gary has many cultural advantages. The public school system, creation of the late Doctor Wirt, is famous as the "Gary Plan," a combination of work, study, and play, which has been adopted in many cities. The schools own some highly valuable paintings, the value of the collection estimated at $70,000. The Public Library is one of the big three in the state, containing 159,802 volumes. Outstanding features of the city are Lake Front Park and the Civic Gateway group of buildings.
Hammond, the second largest city in Lake County, is much older than Gary. It is of outstanding industrial importance, since steel also is its chief product. Hammond is located twenty miles southeast of Chicago, and is served by a dozen main railroads and several lesser ones. Besides steel, chemical and car factories are the important industries. The census of 1935 listed seventy-four manufacturing establishments in Hammond, employing 4,560 wage earners. These earned $4,848,247. Value of the manufactured products was $46,985,449.
The city has a number of points of interest. Among these is Wicker Park, the only Township Park in the state. It was dedicated to the memory of war heroes by President Calvin Coolidge. In Harrison Park is another memorial in the form of a bronze tablet to the World War heroes. The public school system has a collection of pictures and prints of note.
East Chicago, third largest city in the county, had sixty manufacturing establishments, according to federal census figures of 1935. A total of 19,933 wage earners were employed on pay rolls of $27,664,205. The value of the products was $215,086,345. Steel is the most important product.
Whiting had ten manufacturing establishments according to the 1935 federal census, employing 3,486 wage earners. The largest oil refineries in the world are located here.
According to 1935 federal census figures, Lake County had a total of 221 manufacturing establishments employing 47,884 wage earners on pay rolls of $64,714,141. Value of the products was $528,038,096. The county had 1,805 farms averaging 116.6 acres each. Their value was $14,293,341. A total of 29,254 head of livestock was reported.
Total county tax valuation for 1936 was $363,491,720.
