Darke County, Ohio Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named for William Darke, a General in the American Revolution. It is located in the West-Central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Darke County Courthouse 504 South Broadway Street Greenville, Ohio 45331 Phone: 937-547-7340 Darke County Website

Probate Judge has birth and death records 1867-1908, marriage records from 1817 and probate records; Clerk Court has divorce and court records from 1820; County Recorder has land records from 1816 and burial records (veterans graves) from 1832

Populated Places
 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 Darke County:

Biographies

 * The history of Darke County, Ohio : containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; history of Ohio; map of Darke County; Constitution of the United State, Miscellaneous Matters, ect. W. H. Beers & Co., 1880. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Wilson, Frazer Ells, History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present… (Biographies) 1914 (Milford, Ohio: Hobart Pub. Co., 1974) Volume 2 online at FamilySearch Digital Library; Google Books; Internet Archives.
 * A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio: a compendium of national biography (Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1900) Online at Google Books; Internet Archives; FamilySearch Digital Library.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1790-1907 Land Records at OHGenWeb Archives
 * Landowner Search (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Local Histories

 * Wilson, Frazer Ells, History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present… (Milford, Ohio: Hobart Pub. Co., 1974) Volume 1 (History) online at ; Volume 2 (Biographies) online at FamilySearch Digital Library; Google Books; Internet Archives.
 * McIntosh, W.H., The History of Darke County, Ohio, containing a history of the county… (Chicago: W.H. Beers, 1880) Online at Google Books; Internet Archives; indexed in Index to History of Darke County, Ohio.
 * Ohio Indexes at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940) at MapofUS.org
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * 1888-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.

Civil War Civil War service men from Darke 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 Darke County.

World War I
 * 1914-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
 * 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
 * 1916-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1800-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.

Newspapers

 * 1888-present Minster Post/Community Post at Minister Historical Society - Newspaper covering communities within Auglaize, Shelby, Mercer, and Darke Counties
 * 1793-late 1900's at History Connection —  Select county.
 * 1793-2009 Ohio Newspapers, 1793-2009 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
 * 1850-1918 The Greenville Journal at Chronicling America
 * Early to late-1900's Newspapers at Ohio Memory — sort by County, City, Time Period, and more.
 * 1927-1996 Newspapers at OHGenWeb

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1786-1998 Ohio, Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998 at Ancestry ($) — index and images.
 * 1789-1996 at FamilySearch.org — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1817-1860 Darke County, Ohio Common Pleas Court Records, 1817-1860 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1818-1857 Darke County, Ohio Will Abstracts, 1818-1857 at Ancestry ($)
 * Wills at OHGenWeb Archives
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records
 * 1800-1850 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
 * 1800-1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Birth

 * 1800-1962 Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 at Ancestry ($) — Index
 * 1841-2003 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
 * 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry ($) — Index
 * 1959-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1959-1998 at MyHeritage - index ($)

Marriage

 * 1789-2013 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
 * 1800-1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index.
 * 1800-1958 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index.
 * 1817-1840 Darke County, Ohio Marriages at Ancestry
 * 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1833-1967 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1840-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
 * 1908-1953 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
 * 1908-1932, 1938-2018 Ohio, Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Divorce

 * 1962-2007 Ohio, Divorce Abstracts, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007 at Ancestry ($)

FamilySearch Centers

 * Dayton Ohio FamilySearch Center
 * Richmond Indiana FamilySearch Center
 * Piqua Library - an affiliate library
 * Preble Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Arcanum Public Library 101 North St Arcanum, OH 45304-1185 937-692-8484 Website

Bradford Public Library 138 E Main St Bradford, OH 45308-1108 937-448-2612 Website

Greenville Public Library 520 Sycamore St Greenville, OH 45331-1438 937-548-3915 Website

New Madison Public Library 142 S Main St P.O. Box 32 New Madison, OH 45346-0032 937-996-1741 Website

Worch Memorial Public Library 790 S Center St Versailles, OH 45380 937-526-3416 Website

Museums
The Garst Museum  205 N Broadway Greenville, Ohio 45331 937-548-5250 Email:[mailto:information@garstmuseum.org information@garstmuseum.org] Website

Societies
The Darke County Genealogical Society, Inc. P.O. Box 908 Greenville, OH 45331-0908 Website

Websites

 * Local Gov't Records by County at Ohio History Connection — Browse their list; records are not online.
 * Custom Browse of Historical Collections at Ohio Memory — Use map or alpha bar to select county or place, then browse search options in left sidebar.
 * Ohio Genealogical Society ($) - online databases
 * Darke County OH Genealogy at LDSGenealogy
 * Darke County Genealogical Researchers at Darke County Ohio Genealogical Society
 * Miami Valley Genealogy Index at Preble County District Library; Index to more than a half-million pointers to records all over Miami Valley including Darke County.
 * Oh GenWeb Darke
 * USGenWeb Archive
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.