Marshall County was created on February 7, 1835 and was formed fromSt. Joseph County and Unorganized Land. The County was named for U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall. At the time of its formation, the Pottawatomie Indians occupied the region around Twin Lakes, but two years later General John Tipton removed them.
The County Seat is Plymouth. It was first settled in 1834 by Grove Pomroy, M. Coe and U. Metcalf. By 1849 it contained good county buildings, seven stores and groceries, one Presbyterian Church, 51 houses and 300 inhabitants. See also County History for more historical details.
Indiana Newspaper Holdings for Marshall 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 Marshall County Courthouse History
Marshall County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1836 , Probate Records from 1834 and Court Records from 1834 and is located at 211 West Madison, # 101,
Plymouth, IN 46563;
(574)936-8922,
(574)936-8933 Fax, [EMAIL] 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.
Marshall County Recorder has Land Records from 1834 and is located at 112 West Jefferson Street,
Plymouth, IN 46563;
(574) 935-8513,
(574) 935-5099 Fax, [EMAIL] . 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.
Marshall County Health Department has Birth / Death Records from 1882 and is located at 112 W. Jefferson St., Room 103,
Plymouth, IN 46563;
(574) 935-8565
Below is a list of online resources for Marshall County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Marshall 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 Marshall County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Marshall 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 Marshall County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Marshall 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 Marshall County Maps. Email us with websites containing Marshall 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 Marshall County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Marshall 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 Marshall County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Marshall 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 Marshall County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Marshall County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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 Marshall County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Marshall 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 Marshall County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Marshall 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
Marshall County, named in honor of Chief Justice Marshall, was organized in 1836. It is bounded north by St. Joseph, east by Elkhart, and Kosciusko, south by Fulton and west by Starke, which is as yet unorganized, and is attached to Marshall for judicial and election purposes. Marshall County is twenty-one miles square, and contains 441 square miles. The civil townships are Center, Union, Green, Tippecanoe, Polk, German, Bourbon and North. The population in 1840 was 1,651, at this time [1849] it amounts to about 5,000. The surface of the country is generally level, though there are places in which it may be called rolling. About one-half the county is timbered land, the other half is oak openings, or barrens, interspersed with wet and dry prairies, which are mostly of small size, and in their vicinity are several small, beautiful lakes. The soil, in the timbered land, is generally of the richest description, as it is also in the prairies. In the barrens it is thinner, yet more than half of them are well adapted to wheat, oats and vines, and when farmed for some years, they seem to improve in quality. Seven hundred scholars are reported as attending the common schools. There are in the county three gristmills, eight sawmills, one forge, which turns out two tons of iron a week, eight stores, two groceries, five lawyers, six physicians, six preachers, and rather a small proportion of mechanics. Inexhaustible beds of iron ore, and of a good quality, are found, and there is much water power, which may yet be improved to advantage. The large amount of non-resident lands has hitherto retarded improvements, but Marshall will, at no distant day, become one of the best counties in the State. The taxable land amounts to 181,154 acres; about 70,000 acres still belong to the United States.
1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature
Marshall County is located in the north central section of Indiana and is part of the lake region. Most of the land is glacial drift, heavily forested at one time. With the clearing of the land, the soil was found to be admirable for the growing of corn, wheat, and oats. The county is traversed from northeast to southwest by Yellow River. The Tippecanoe River cuts across the southeastern corner.
Marshall County has an area of 441 square miles, divided into ten townships. The incorporated cities are Plymouth, 5,290, and Bremen, 2,105; towns: Culver, 1,502; Argos, 1,211; Bourbon, 1,193, and LaPaz, 375. The population of the county in 1890 was 23,818; 1900, 25,119; 1910, 24,175; 1920, 23,744; 1930, 25,077.
Plymouth is located twenty-two miles south of South Bend and is served by two railroads. In has a number of industries, including saw and planing mills, cannery, the manufacture of novelties, grinding materials, machinery, gas engines, boxes, barrels, automobile accessories, and baskets.
The city is one of the resort section centers. Twin Lakes and Lake Galbraith are nearest. At this latter is St. Amelia's Retreat, a home for aged Roman Catholic Nuns, and school for novices. At Twin Lakes is an interesting memorial, a monument to Chief Menomenee of the Pottawatomie Tribe. In Plymouth's Oak Hill Cemetery is a stone shaft in memory of the Gold Star heroes of the World War.
Culver Military Accademy was founded in 1894 by Henry Harrison Culver, a businessman of St. Louis, Missouri, who had come to realize the lack of system, order and immediate obedience on the part of the young men whom he took into his employment. Culver Military Academy opened n a frame building with twenty-five pupils. This building was destroyed by fire, but was replaced with a fireproof brick barracks, which was opened in 1895. The following year, after the military academy at Mexico, Missouri, had burned, Mr. Culver succeeded in effecting a combination of the Indiana and Missouri schools under the management of Colonel A. F. Fleet, the founder of the Missouri Academy. Under his superintendence, the Culver Military Academy acquired an enrolment of nearly seven hundred cadets and achieved high rank as a military school. Colonel Fleet retired as superintendent in 1910, and was succeeded by Major Leigh R. Gignilliat, who had been commandant of cadets at Culver from 1896. Mr. Culver, the founder, dying in 1897, members of his family since that time have greatly strengthened the institution and beautified the grounds. Five barracks, for cadets, a gymnasium, riding hall, hospital, administration building, class rooms and laboratories, and magnificent mess hall and kitchen, which Governor Marshall helped to dedicate in 1911, constitute the material equipment of the school. The academy is a member of the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges. The entire routine of the school is ordered closely on the lines followed at West Point. One of the favorite features of the work at Culver has been the cavalry drill and the Culver Black Horse Troop has made a reputation for horsemanship that has traveled beyond the United States. After President McKinley was inaugurated in 1896, the black horses used by his Ohio escort were sold to the Culver Academy and have always been replaced from time to time (many of the horses being lost on October 24, 1915 in a disastrous fire which destroyed the barns). During the inauguration of President Wilson and Vice-President Marshall, the Culver Black Horse Troop acted as personal escort to Mr. Marshall. The Culver Summer Naval School was established in 1902, with a session of eight weeks in which naval drills supplant the infantry drills of the winter school. The United States Navy Department supplies ten and twelve-oar cutters for the use of the school. The instructions are under an Annapolis graduate and an act of the Legislature has also authorized the mustering in each summer of the cadets in the First Battalion of the Indiana Naval Militia. In 1912, a school of woodcraft was added to the Culver program with Daniel Carter Beard, founder of the Boy Scouts of America and Chief Scout Commissioner, in charge of this department. The Culver Military Academy is located on the north shore of Maxinkuckee, overlooking Aubbenaubbee Bay.
Marshall County had twenty-seven manufacturing establishments according to figures of the 1935 federal census. These concerns employed 499 wage earners on payrolls totaling, $349,975. The value of the county's manufactured products was $2,780,811.
There were 2,808 farms in the county, with an average of 96.3 acres each. The total value of Marshall County farms was $15,454,533. A total of 77,438 head of livestock was reported. Total county tax valuation for 1936 was $1,535,855.
