Indiana's Marriage Mill and more

The Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society (Lake and Porter counties in the upper left-hand corner of the state) has published two new books:

Crown Point Justices of the Peace Marriages. Crown Point is the county seat of Lake County, but don't click away just because you think you have no research targets there. NWIGS volunteers were surprised to find that they indexed more marriages of people from Illinois than from Indiana here between 1935 and 1946. All amorous couples needed was a marriage license from wherever they lived, and until 1940 Lake County required no waiting period. 1100 pages. (Hat tip to the Indiana Genealogical Society blog.)

An Index of Land Transfer Records for Crown Point, Lake Co., Indiana, for the Years 1928-1940 -- including the key numbers you'll need at the Recorder's office for 1936-1940 deeds if you find something promising.

These books look like solid work and they're priced accordingly. You may want to recommend that your own library consider purchasing them.

Fulton County, Illinois

Working under the Illinois Ancestors umbrella, Janine Crandell has gathered a lot of online-only material as well as original documents and transcriptions on Fulton County (my home county in central Illinois) and 13 other mostly central and western counties. If you need the feel of a small town in the 1940s, check out Jan Van Doren on Table Grove and Camp Ellis. She catches it perfectly.