Documents created by the courts or presented to the courts as evidence can be found in court and probate packets. FamilySearch has begun to digitize the Switzerland County packets. Currently packets found in drawers A to H are available for free online. Progress was probably paused due to the pandemic and hopefully more packets will be added in the future.
Packets at the Switzerland County Courthouse had previously been organized by surname into file cabinets. FamilySearch has divided the images into 4 categories: civil cases, divorce cases, military, and probate. Civil cases and probate files were not filed perfectly and both sets include civil, criminal, probate, divorces, naturalizations, military records, and more.
Documents have been unfolded and flattened inside file folders by FamilySearch. The images for each packet will typically begin and end with an image of a file folder or envelope. Make sure to scroll forward and backwards in the image sets to locate the beginning and end of each packet. Some packets contain multiple cases.
| Type | Drawers | Images | Index |
| Civil Case Files | A-H | FamilySearch | Court Part 1 |
| I-Z | FamilySearch Images | Court Part 2 Court Part 3 |
|
| Divorce Case Files | A-H | FamilySearch | Divorce Part 1 |
| I-Z | included in court packets | ||
| Military Records | A-H | FamilySearch | Military Part 1 |
| I-Z | FamilySearch Images | Military Part 2 | |
| Probate Case Files | A-H | FamilySearch | Probate Part 1 |
| I-Z | FamilySearch Images | Probate Part 2 |
Frequently Asked Questions:
What can be found in a packet?
Packets contain any piece of paper that was created by the courts or presented to the courts as evidence. Examples include: court summons, subpoenas, bonds, deeds, promissory notes, receipts. Probate packets may contain original wills and estate inventories.
What types of packets are included?
FamilySearch has divided the packets into 4 categories: civil cases, divorce cases, military, and probate. Civil and probate packets include civil, criminal, probate, military, and divorce cases. In addition, packets were also found for marriage returns, naturalizations, physician’s certificates, reform school referrals, pensions, and more.
Probate files may contain estates, guardianships, naturalizations, court cases involving an estate, adoptions, and more.
How are the packets organized?
Switzerland County organized the packets by the first letter of the first surname to appear on a packet. Some packets were misread and filed improperly. Other packets were misfiled by researchers. Court cases involving an estate may be filed as an estate packet.
Table of examples:
| If Court Case is: | File should be in: |
| John Doe vs. John Smith | Drawer D |
| John Smith vs. John Doe | Drawer S |
| John Doe & John Smith vs. John Jones | Drawer D |
| John Smith & John Doe vs. John Jones | Drawer S |
| Indiana vs. John Dow | Drawer D |
| John Doe, administrator of John Smith, vs. John Jones | Drawer D or Drawer S (if filed with estate) |
What if I can’t find my ancestor’s packet?
There may not have been a packet created for their case. The packet may be misfiled in a drawer that has not been digitized yet. The packet could be inside another packet as evidence in a second case. The packet may have been accidently combined with another packet.
How can I learn more about a case?
Order books detail the day to day actions of the court. Complete record books compile all court actions. See Court Records and Probate Records to locate more records.
What is included in the index?
The index only includes the names of the main plaintiffs and defendants. Additional names involved in the case may appear in the court records. Additionally the type of case and year are included when available.
Probate cases contain the name of the individual, the type of file, and a year. The year may be anywhere from when the estate went to probate to when it was finalized.
How do I use the indexes?
A detailed guide for using the indexes to locate the images is available.