"Cemetery & Research Association of La Porte County News"

Posted on February 1, 2010



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   Current Monthly Updates       

Added to our school histories in the month of January were some facts and a few names for the Springfield Township School History.

Cemeteries - Many of the Starrett stones in Union Mills Cemetery were added on line.

I have completed the photo project with older associated families contributed by Connie Novreske. Some of those glimpses back in time are: Harness, Watkins, Wolford, Moffit and Pliske family members. Connie also submitted a wonderful excerpt from a diary about Eight Square School which, being on the county line road, where many LaPorte and Porter County children attended classes.

Partially made possible because of some of the notes from the Mary Weston Diary, I was able to piece together a bit of the descendence of this family and place it on line for all to view at: Weston Notes .

The Charles Werden Deane photo has been added to his biography and was contributed by Margot Timberlake.

We continue to add to our old time schools on line. So please check back often to see what has been added. Also do a search to see if any of your family names appear in the school rosters.

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Local News from Yesteryear

Old Villages That Disappeared - continued from previous months -  In the 1970's Jim Landing wrote some wonderful articles for the News Dispatch concerning many of the "Lost and Vanishing" County Villages.
When the county was established in 1832, there were villages and hamlets dotting the landscape. A few survived but other remain only as a vague memory.
We break these down into categories.
  
1. Indian villages that were here during the early pioneers days.
2. Rural villages had their day when they were along well travel routes. And example would be Door Village on the old Sauk Trail. Many of these prospered for a period of time but then disappeared and no longer exist.

3. Commercial villages, who were established by proprietors who sold lots. A prime example of this would be Michigan City.
4. Villages come into existence from the Railroad. The railroads were good and bad for the smaller villages. Those lucky enough to have a rail station in their village fared much better than those on old foot trails or wagon routes.
So what were some of the Villages that came and then all but vanished?

Lakeland - an incorporated town that lay on the east limits of Michigan City in the general vicinity of Long Beach and Pottawattomie Park. Highway 12 ran through its center and at one time there was a shopping center located south of the highway along what is not known as Karwick Road. Lakeland was officially annexed to Micghian City, but this having taken place only a few decades ago, many residents still consider is a sub-unit of the City.

Lake Park was a stop on the South Shore Rialroad that served residents along the southern marin of Hudson Lake.

Lakeport was one of the earliest villages in the county being recorded in June 1834 by John Egbert. Original plat shows the village divided in 60 lots on the south shore of what is now known as Hudson Lake. When platted if was located in Wills township, but it became part of Hudson Township when Hudson was created in 1836. Shortly after it took on the name of Hudson and is known by that name to this day.

Laketon - large village consisting of 275 lots platted in November 1857, by W. J. Walker and his wife C. M. Walker. Walker was one of the earliest residents of LaPorte and owned extensive properties, most of which were subdivided and later annexed into LaPorte City.

Laketon - a political nightmare, portions lying in each of Center, Scipio, Kankakee and Pleasant townships, and covered parts of four different sections. The village was on the northern edge of what was then known as Walker Lake. The area would later be drained and would be used by a local truck farmer. Laketon was annexed into the city of LaPorte and is bounded by Runeley, Ohio, Robert and Clement streets. The Patton Cemetery occupies land located between Laketon and the old Walker Lake.

Disappearing Villages to be continued next month....

   Calendar Of Events

The Cemetery & Research Association of LaPorte
- The 2009 Bi-Monthly Meeting Schedule is:


February 4, 2010
April 1, 2010
June 3, 2010
August 5, 2010
October 7, 2010
December 2, 2010


Location - Home of LaPorte County Genweb Coordinator, Deanna West, 8074 W 200 North. LaPorte County Genweb  Meeting starts at 1:00 P.M. sharp. Our meetings are held every other month on the 1st Thursday of the month listed.

LaPorte County Genealogical Society Calendar:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inlcigs/meetings.htm

2009 Previous Updates -

December, 2009, thanks to Betty Hucker of La Crosse, we received several graduation and some wonderful student pictures pertaining to the LaCrosse Grade and High Schools.

Work in progress. Connie Novereske donated a lot of data about Eight Square Cemetery along with photos and notes on the Weston, Wolford and Frame families; including some of the ancestors associated with these families.

Many of the photos are posted on line now and I am in the process of adding more, as time permits. Also we have biographical notes combined with a little research on our end and an outline from an old diary on the Weston family.

gopher reads

Contact Information:
Deanna West at
laportecountyin@yahoo.com

See our links page for where to obtain various documents from.
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LaPorte County - Indiana Cemeteries
 

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Archival News
News from previous months and years.

On-Line Cemetery
Transcribing Disclaimer

"Cemetery & Research Association of La Porte County News" disclaimer for cemetery readings:
"This website was developed and is sustained by volunteers who donate their time and personal resources for the purpose of providing valuable research information to fellow researchers. We are dedicated to providing free access to La Porte County cemetery listings. If you have documentation of a burial which does not appear on the cemetery list, we are pleased to receive that information from you."

Please keep in mind that some of the cemetery listings that are being placed on the WWW were done more than 30 or 40 years ago.
Every cemetery that you view through your genealogical research should be considered a "Partial" listing for various reasons, such as errors in spelling occurring at the time of burial., some burial locations were known only to the cemetery sexton and information was lost when he moved, resigned or died. And many written logs were destroyed by accidental fires.
We are not responsible for errors, misspellings or incorrect information. Every attempt to correct misinformation is entered onto our listing(s) upon being notified of a burial with source and/or family history.

Sources:
1. Readings done by the D.A.R. Ind. Miriam Benedict Chapter of LaPorte County, Indiana.
2. Older LaPorte County Pioneer Cemetery Readings
3. Current readings
4. Individuals who have donated obituaries, family histories and burial locations.
5. Obituary
6. Church records
7. Cemetery burial records; handwritten, typed or computerized  

We have a great collection of old articles on our
ARCHIVE PAGE

Donating Information & Photos

Obituaries, Family & Tombstone Photos
On-going request  (Photos and Obits must pre-date 1950)

We always welcome family information on the ancestors of La Porte County. Donated information will always remain free to our viewers.

We are also looking for old school graduating classes before 1950. Can you help? Have something in the attic?


Among items being collected are: Pre 1950 - burial records, obituaries, newspaper clippings, cemetery information, ancestor' stories, diaries, photos, old family bible information, School info & photos along with early marriages.

Family Histories & Biographies
Please - No ged coms from family tree maker or any other genealogy based programs. Please submit family information either in biographical or story form. I and other volunteers have done quite a few of the ged com revisions and it really takes a lot of time to alter and remove the repeated information within.

Tombstone Photo Request Fees

1. All photos already on site are free and may be printed for family files you are researching. However they may not be used on another commercial or nationally based site without the implicit permission of The LaPorte County Cemetery & Research Association
2. Fees for going out and photographing stones in a cemetery start at $5.00 to cover gas fees due to the increasing cost of fuel. Each photo taken will be $1.00 for each stone photographed. Digital photos will be taken and emailed to requester. If hard copy is desired, then please add $1.00 for paper and postage. Additional postage will be charged only if several hard copies are requested and postage increases due to weight of package.
3. You must know where the deceased is buried at or a general location before we can fulfill your request. Please, do not ask our researchers to hunt for a stone.

Obituary Request
Look Up Fees

We have people willing to do obituary look ups. Initial fee is $5.00 for fuel cost and 1.00 for each obit look up and email to the requester. Obits will be looked up and an email sent with the content of what was in obituary.
If hard copy is desired of original newspaper article, then please include going rate for postage at time of look up.

This site updated and maintained by Deanna West - Dune Lady Web Design