La Porte County (IN) Genealogical Society

A Brief History of the La Porte County (IN) Genealogical Society

At the invitation of Fern Eddy Schultz and Holly Jenks, a group of persons interested in genealogy met 10 January 1984 at the La Porte County Public Library for the purpose of organizing a La Porte County (IN) Genealogical Society. Those attending were:

• Fern Eddy Schultz
• Holly Jenks
• Gertrude (Jackie) Flotow
• Inez Jenks
• Patricia Harris
• Judy Hamilton-Averitt
• Dorothy Stephenson
• Virginia Seitz

The decision was made that meetings should be held in La Porte in order to better accommodate all persons from the county, as it is more centrally located. Arrangements were made for meetings to be held at the Activity Center for Older Adults, 910 State Street at a cost of $10.00 a month rental fee. The society met in these facilities for many years, but, due to a change in control of our long-tenured meeting facility, we have change meeting location. Information about meeting times and places are available on our Facebook page (La Porte County Genealogical Society).

The first meeting was held on Tuesday, 14 February with Schultz as Chairman. At the 13 March meeting an election was held with the following individuals being elected: President, Fern Eddy Schultz, Vice-President, Deloris Niendorf, Secretary, Inez Jenks, Treasurer, Patricia Harris, Genealogist-Historian, Holly Jenks.

The final date for charter membership was established as 13 March 1984. Following is a list of charter members of the Society:

By the end of the first year, we had almost 80 members. A number of those who were with us in 1984 are still members. Our first edition of a NEWSLETTER was issued June 1984. Through the quarterly newsletter, now called THE DOOR, much La Porte County information is disseminated to members who cannot take advantage of attendance at meetings. The focus of the newsletter has been to include as much La Porte County information pertinent to family history as possible. We also strive to cover information from all 21 townships to assist members from the various locations, and about every facet that would be of value to the researcher with La Porte County ties. This includes church, school, military, social organizations, cemeteries and others. From the very onset of the society, one of our goals was to accomplish some indexing projects. We are fortunate in La Porte County to have available to us a tremendous amount of information from the beginning of our county in 1832 of value to the researcher but, in most cases, unless you have the opportunity to access in person, indexing by the society can serve to be a valuable asset. Census indices, naturalization abstractions, marriage indices and other publications are offered on our publications page. We were very fortunate when yet a fledgling society in 1985, to have the Indiana Historical Society hold its Summer Conference here. This conference brought to this area speakers, who at that time were the top-notch speakers in the genealogy field. Among these were Marsha Hoffman Rising, of Springfield, VA, Pastor Frederick Weiser of Bigerville, PA and Daniel Schlyter of Salt Lake City. We strive to provide programs at our meetings with informational topics relevant to genealogy and to inform attendees of current events in the area as well as throughout the country. Each year, the Society offers a cemetery tour not only to members but guests. Historical information about the cemetery is provided. As the tour is conducted, biographical information about some of the “residents” is provided with emphasis on exceptional contributions made to the community, military experience or an unusual grave marker. Since 1985 the society has offered recognition to individuals who could document their lineage to an ancestor who was in La Porte County by 31 December 1840. First Family certificates are presented at the December meeting of each year and 146 have been issued to date. In 2005, this project was expanded to include categories of Pioneer (1841-1860), Settler (1861-1880) and Civil War (1861-30 April 1865).

In 2010 we awarded our first yearly Genealogist of the Year award to a nominee who shall promote genealogy in La Porte County, IN via publications, programs, assisting others in their search for ancestors, and/or abstracting records, indexing, or teaching. Each year, a bus trip is scheduled to the Allen County Public Library. With the financial assistance of the Michigan City Public Library to help defray the cost of the bus, the cost per person is minimized. The Society strives to meet the needs of persons researching their families in La Porte County by responding to e-mails and by allowing queries to be placed in the quarterly newsletter, THE DOOR, at no cost but limited in length. The web site includes information about the various activities and upcoming events, publications, membership in the organization as well as general information.