Home ---> Online Archives ---> Lake County, Indiana, Business Partnerships Index, 1910-1960


Lake County, Indiana
Certificates of Partnership, 1910-1960

Background
A partnership is a relatively simple and flexible way for two or more people to own and run a profit-making business together.

Unlike the shareholders in a corporation, the members of a general partnership have no financial protection if the business runs into trouble - each partner is responsible for the debts of the partnership as a whole. This means that each partner's personal assets may be at risk if the business fails.

Disputes between partners can cause difficulties, and the partnership may have to be dissolved if one of its members resigns or dies. It is possible to resolve these issues in advance by drawing up a deed of partnership. It may be a good idea to consult an attorney so that each partner gets legal advice before finalizing their level of responsibility in a deed.

A partnership must file an annual information return to report the income, deductions, gains, losses, etc., from its operations, but it does not pay income tax. Instead, it "passes through" any profits or losses to its partners. Each partner includes his or her share of the partnership's income or loss on his or her tax return.

Index of Lake County, Indiana, Clerk’s File
The Calumet Regional Archives at Indiana University Northwest has copies of the Certificates of Partnership provided by the Lake County, Indiana Clerk’s Office. The date range for these certificates is from approximately 1910 to 1960. The information given in these records is as follows:

• Name of business

• Names of the partners

• Location(s) where doing business

• Date of filing

Types of Certificates in this Index
Initial Certificates of Partnership, reflecting the date of filing, name of business, and names of the partners.

During the time period covered by this index, some Certificates of Partnership were signed and filed with the County Clerk in order to register the “Trade Name” of the business. This was done even though the business might have been a sole proprietorship and not a partnership.

Also, in this index are Certificates of Partnership, doing business in Lake County, Indiana, and later filing to do additional business in another city and state.

Additionally, partnerships doing business under an “Assumed Name” in one or more locations were filed with the Lake County, Indiana, Clerk. This was done in order to associate the given name for the business with the true owners of the partnership.

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

Copies of Certificate of Partnerships can be obtained by completing the following form.