Hi List--
I got a copy of my gggrandfather's obit today and am very excited about the goodies I
found in it that can, hopefully, help me find out more about my ancestry.
My ancestor, Leonard BURDEN, was born in Marshall Co, IN 19 March 1844. When he was 18 he
moved to LaPorte Co. In May of 1864 he enlisted with B Co 138th Inf Reg Indiana and was
mustered out in Sept of that same year. In 1869 he married Rachel COLEMAN of LaPorte Co.
They had two children: Alice BURDEN, who married George HAVERSTOCK, and Lillian BURDEN,
who married Melvin ROBBINS. Rachel died circa 1906 and Leonard died twenty-one years
later in June of 1927. He was a member of the Methodist Church and was buried in Oak
Grove Cemetery. He was also a member of the LaPorte Patton Post of the Grand Army of the
Republic.
My task now is to find documentation to go with this new information. Can anyone point me
towards the best source for obtaining copies of his birth, marriage and death
certificates? I'm not familiar with research in Indiana and don't know if there
might be one way of getting these documents that is better (faster/cheaper/less paperwork)
than another.
I'm assuming there is probably more than one Methodist church in LaPorte now. Would
anyone know if the one mentioned in the obit is still up and running? Can I assume that
Oak Grove Cemetery is connected to that church? I was unable to find out anything about
either place online, which is not surprising as I am not the brightest crayon in the box
when it comes to computerdom.
My thanks in advance for any help anyone may be able to give me.
Amy Robbins-Tjaden
atjaden(a)mindspring.com
Amy,
The Cemetery has an association at the present, they will be the ones who
have any records. Your family probably attended the Rolling Prairie Meth
Church, being that is where most of the Haverstocks began their history in
Wills Twp. Some of them were my neighbors for years. Oak Grove is a
beautiful cemetery on 600E.
We are collecting family histories for the Cemetery Histories we are
writing. We would be glad to help you with your ancestors. Send us a brief
history and we will see if we can add to it. Looks like you already have a
good start.
Looking forward to helping you,
Holly Jenks
LaPorte Co. Pioneer Cemetery Commisison