Decatur County, Indiana Genealogy

Guide to Decatur County, Indiana ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records. 

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed in 1821 from unorganized territory.
 * County Seat:  Greensburg

Description
The county was named for Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr., naval officer in the First and Second Barbary Wars, and in the War of 1812. Decatur was mortally wounded in a duel in 1820. The county seat is Greensburg and the county was organized in 1822. The County is located in the South-east part of the state.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Neighboring Counties
Rush •  Franklin  •  Ripley  •  Jennings  •  Bartholomew  •  Shelby

The county is named after U.S. naval officer Stephen Decatur (1779-1820).



Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Indiana County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Indiana County Boundary Maps" (1790-1873) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Biographies

 * A Genealogical and Biographical Record of Decatur County, Indiana. 1900. Chicago [Illinois] : Lewis Publishing Company. Online at: Hathitrust; Internet Archive; Google Books;.

Census Records
Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for Decatur County, Indiana (1880) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses in Decatur County, Indiana (1858, 1868) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Ethnic and Religious Groups
African American
 * African Methodist Episcopal Church (Greensburg, Indiana) (Added Author), Negro Cemetery (Clarksburg, Indiana) (Added Author), Decatur County (Indiana). Historian (Added Author), Black history, Decatur County, Indiana,'(Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1987 ) FHL US/CAN Film 1531735 Item 18 {FHL|454999|item|disp=FHL Collection}}
 * Baldwin, Jane (Main Author), Baker, Ray Stannard, b. 1870 (Added Author), A history of the Negro in Decatur County, Indiana, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1987) FHL US/CAN Film 1531732 Item 6

Local Histories
Online County Histories
 * Atlas of Decatur Co., Indiana. 1976. Knightstown, Indiana : Bookmark. (Reprint of original published: Chicago : J. H. Beers, 1882.) Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library;.
 * History of Decatur County, Indiana. 2 Vols. By Lewis A. Harding. 1915. Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Hathitrust; Internet Archive - Vol. 1; Internet Archive - Vol. 2; Google Books; . Index: Every Name Index to History of Decatur County, Indiana. Every Name Index compiled by Cathy L. O'Connor, 2007; original text by Lewis A. Harding, Editor; published by B. F. Bowen, 1915. EveryNameIndex.com

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Military Records

 * List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883 Decatur County, Indiana (Source:Internet Archive)

Civil War
Civil War service men from Decatur County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Decatur County.


 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company I
 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, F, and Reorganized Companies D, E, G
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized H
 * 20th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 20th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Companies E, and G
 * 30th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company A
 * 37th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies E, and H
 * 52nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A, and D
 * 59th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
 * 74th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 83rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
 * 89th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies H, I, and K
 * 93rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
 * 123rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, B, C, D, H, and I
 * 134th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Companies B, C, D, and E
 * 146th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, E, G, and H
 * 156th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C

Civil War Books


 * "Civil War," in "Military Record," Chapter 17 of Harding, Lewis A. 1915. History of Decatur County, Indiana its people, industries and institutions, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families. (Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen.) (page 420-464, Regiment, Companies, Name's) 977.216 H2h v. 1, 977.216 H2h v. 2 FHL US/CAN Book    other library   Vol. 1 INTERNET ARCHIVE,  Vol.2 INTERNET ARCHIVE  eBooksRead

World War I (The Great War), 1914-1918

 * History of Decatur County's part in the World War, 1914-1918 (Source: Internet Archive)
 * World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 Decatur County (Source: Explore Ancestry for free) ($)
 * 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II, 1941-1945

 * Decatur County, Indiana World War II Casualties, Army and Army Air Corps (Source: AccessGenealogy)           (above was copy from Linkpendium)

Occupations

 * Doctors of Decatur County (1821-1915) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Probate Records
Online Records
 * 1798 – 1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Courthouse
Decatur County Courthouse 150 Courthouse Square Suite 5 Greensburg, In 47240 Phone: 812-663-8223 County Clerk has marriage record from 1822, divorce, probate and court records. Board of Health has birth and death records.

Societies
Historical Society of Decatur Inc. PO Box 143 Greensburg, IN 47240 Telephone Number: 812-663-2832 Website

Decatur County Historical Society PO Box 163 Greensburg, IN 47240

Tri-Genealogical Society 23184 Pocket Road West Batesville, IN 47006

Family History Centers

 * Batesville Indiana Family History Center


 * Decatur Indiana Family History Center

For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the family history center directory.

School Records

 * Directory of Teachers for Decatur County (1936) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Marriage Records

 * 1800s-2007 - Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1780-1992 - FamilySearch
 * 1802-1892 Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 - Ancestry.com $
 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images

Death Records

 * 1882-1920 at FamilySearch Historical Records - Index only
 * 1899-2011 Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 at Ancestry - ($), index and images
 * Indiana State Digital Archives

Websites

 * Decatur County, IN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * EveryNameIndex.com  Free online genealogy indexes for those big old county histories.
 * USGenWeb project page for Decatur County. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county..
 * Decatur County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)