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Register of Trained Nurses, Lake County

Indiana House Bill 15 was signed into law on February 27, 1905. This Act required the registration of all trained nurses.

After June 1, 1908, a nurse had to furnish evidence that: 1) he or she was 21 years of age or older, 2) of good and moral character, 3) had completed high school, and 4) had graduated after attending two years of training from a nursing school connected with a general hospital approved by the State Board of Registration and Examination of Nurses. The State Board then issued a certificate to the nurse, which had to be presented to the county Circuit Court Clerk for the county in which the nurse planned to work. The applicant had to pay fifty cents for this registration. The Clerk was required to keep a book in his office in which he was to record the date of registration and the name and residence of the holder of the certificate, and issue the applicant a certificate of registration under the seal of the Circuit Court of that county. This book was to be labeled “Registration of Trained Nurses.”

One book of “Registration of Trained Nurses” has been located at the Lake County Government Center. On one of the last pages it states “see book two,” but this second book has not yet been located. This first book is slated to be transferred to the State Archives for preservation. In this book, more than just the applicant’s name, residence, and date of registration was found. In some cases, it also noted the hospital or other institution in which the nurse worked and whether he or she had paid a poll tax or property tax for that year; in some cases, a marriage might also be mentioned.

The information in this database will not lead a genealogist to a copy of the registration, but it will verify that an ancestor was a nurse, and might help locate where the individual resided during a certain timeframe. From this information, a check of city directories might show the person’s address, whether the residence was owned or rented, and the address of the hospital at which he or she was employed.  If the residence was owned, the Recorder’s office should have a deed for the property. In those rare instances where a marriage was indicated, the Clerk’s office can be checked for a marriage date, which can be used to obtain the marriage application and certificate. In some case there are indications of the nurse’s religion, which might suggest where to search for church records.  

A usage note: When the clerk listed the names, often another name would be listed next to the first name; normally, this would seem to imply that it was a middle name. When looking at these names, however, they appeared to possibly be maiden names. Since there was no way to verify this, these names were not indexed under a maiden name. If it was stated that the nurse had married, the maiden name was put in (parentheses) and the married name in [brackets].

We hope this database will help with your search for your nursing ancestors.