Indiana Law and Legislation

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Indiana

Law and Legislation

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Online Resources

• Historic Indiana Statutes at The Advancing Genealogist – Includes links to Indiana territorial and state session laws and compiled statutes found online.
• American Law Sources online - For Indiana

Divorce Records

Divorces were first authorized by legislation in the Northwest Territory in 1795. They were granted through the General Court or Circuit Court. Generally this legislation remained in effect through Indiana’s territorial period (1800–1816), and courts having civil jurisdiction also heard divorce cases. In 1807 the territorial General Assembly also had power to grant divorces; in 1811 they passed two acts granting divorces. From 1817 to 1852 the Circuit Court in each county had jurisdiction over divorces, and the Indiana General Assembly could also grant divorces, through special legislation. These early divorces have been abstracted:

Divorces Granted by the Indiana General Assembly Prior to 1852 by M.E.E. Newland. 1981. To locate a copy nearest you, search WorldCat.org

Vital Records

Births and Deaths

• 1882 Law required recording of births and deaths by county officials
• 1891 Law required clerks of incorporated cities and towns to gather, keep the records. Low compliance
• 1907 State of Indiana passed a law requiring all counties to register their births and deaths with the Indiana State Board of Health

Marriages

Marriages can exist as early as 1788, when the first law regulating marriages was passed by statutes of the Northwest Territory, which included what is now Indiana.

The 1788 statute for marriages required:

1. banns to be read 15 days before the marriage
   
2. the male to be 17 years old
   
3. the female to be 14
   

By 1800, marriage licenses were manditory.