Owen County, Indiana Genealogy

United States &gt; Indiana &gt; Owen County

History
Owen County, Indiana was formed 1 Jan 1819 from Daviess and Sullivan Counties.

The first county seat was to be on land owned by John Dunn on the bend of White River, but this was quickly relocated to a new location across the river from the land of John Bartholemew. This new site, which became known as Spencer, was approved by the county commissioners at a meeting at John Dunn's house on 12 Feb 1820.

Owen County was named for Abraham Owen, a Kentucky officer who was killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Some sources refer to him as a colonel, but Blanchard's 1884 county history refers to him as Major Abraham Owen.

The county seat, Spencer, derives its name from a Captain Spencer, a Kentucky soldier who was also killed in the same battle.

Parent County
1818--Owen County was created 21 December 1818 from Daviess and Sullivan Counties. County seat: Spencer

Populated Places

 * Gosport
 * Spencer (county seat)

Unincorporated:


 * Coal City
 * Freedom
 * Patricksburg
 * Quincy

Neighboring Counties

 * Clay
 * Greene
 * Monroe
 * Morgan
 * Putnam

Cemeteries

 * Cemeteries (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Find A Grave: Owen County, Indiana
 * Madaris . . . Buried in Owen County, Indiana Cemeteries
 * Owen County, IN Cemeteries (IN Home Town Locator)

Census

 * 1820 census transcription (USGenWeb Archives)

Church

 * Churches (Owen County INGenWeb)

Court

 * Owen County Court Records, 1863-1897 (IN Historical Society)

Land

 * Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office (Owen County land patents can be searched and retrieved online)
 * Deeds (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Owen County Deeds (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Plat Book of Owen County, Indiana. W.W. Hixson &amp; Company, 192?.

Local Histories

 * Blanchard, Charles, ed. Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana: Historical and Biographical. Chicago: F.A. Battey &amp; Company, 1884. Digital copy in Google Books; may be downloaded in pdf or epub formats. Digital copy in Internet Archive; may be read online or downloaded in several formats.
 * History (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * History of Owen County (Owen County Online)
 * Owen County, Indiana. Town and Country Publishing Company, 1977.
 * Owen County, Indiana: A History. Owen County Historical and Genealogical Society, 1994.
 * Peterson, Roger. "General History of Owen County, Indiana." (OCHGS site)

Maps

 * Owen County Maps (bibliography from IN State Library)

Miscellaneous

 * Directories (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Funeral Homes (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Owen County Directories (USGenWeb Archives)

Military

 * Military (Owen County INGenWeb)

Civil War

Civil War servicemen from Owen 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 Owen County.


 * 1st Regiment, Indiana Heavy Artillery, Company B
 * 5th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry (90th Regiment, Indiana Volunteers), Company C
 * 6th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company F
 * 11th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company H
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company H
 * 14th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
 * 18th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
 * 19th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 31st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
 * 52nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company E
 * 57th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
 * 59th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies f, and B
 * 82nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 85th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 97th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies F, and H
 * 130th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 137th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company K
 * 144th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 149th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, and D
 * 28th US Colored Troops, Addition Recruits for Colored Troops

Resources:


 * Burns, Judi, Honorable Careers of Seven Brothers (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Civil War Diaries of Robert Thomas McKee (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Company B, Twenty-First Indiana First Heavy Artillery (under Owen County Military, USGenWeb Archives)
 * John P. McKee Civil War Pension Papers (in Greene County-related site)
 * Robert Thomas McKee Civil War Pension Papers (in Greene County-related site)
 * Vincent Anderson War Diary (with index) (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Vincent Anderson War Diary (with index) (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Zollinger, Vivian, ed., "'I Take My Pen in Hand:' Civil War Letters from Owen County Indiana," Indiana Magazine of History, Vol. 93, No. 2 (June 1997, pp. 111-196 [various Owen County soldiers, Owen County 135h, 14th, 19th, 21st, 59th, 97th, 149th Indiana Volunteer Infantries, 1861-1865]. Abstract and bibliographic citation | article (pdf)

Newspapers

 * Newspapers (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Obituaries (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Spencer Evening World

Probate

 * Wills (Owen County INGenWeb)

Vital Records
Births


 * Births (Owen County INGenWeb)

Deaths


 * Deaths (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Funeral Parlor Records (USGenWeb Archives)

Marriages

Blanchard's 1884 county history mentions that the first wedding in the county was a double wedding that predates the recording of marriages in the county record books. This was the marriage of two daughters of Philip Hart to James Bigger and Thomas Allen. The date of this marriage is unknown. The first recorded marriage is dated 4 Oct 1819.


 * Franklin, Charles M. Owen County, Indiana Marriages, 1819-1844. Indianapolis: Ye Olde Genealogie Shoppe, 1979. Digital copy in Internet Archive (can be read online or downloaded in several formats).
 * Index to Owen County, Indiana Marriage Records, 1819-1920. Spencer, Indiana: Owen County Historical &amp; Genealogical Society, [2000?].
 * Marriages (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Marriages (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Owen County, Indiana Marriage Record 1819-1849. (No further information). Digital copy in Internet Archive (can be read online or downloaded in several formats).
 * Owen County, Indiana Marriages Before 1850, Surnames A-J
 * Owen County, Indiana Marriages Before 1850, Surnames J-Z

Societies and Libraries

 * Owen County, Indiana Historical and Genealogical Society
 * Owen County, Indiana Public Library
 * Ten O'Clock Line Treaty Museum, Gosport

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Biographies (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Combs &amp;c Families of Owen Co., IN
 * Family Trees (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Genealogy (Owen County Public Library)
 * Marion Dale "Pete" Ranard of Owen County, Indiana
 * Owen County (contacts, from Indiana Historical Society)
 * Owen County (Crossroads of America: Early Indiana History)
 * Owen County (family history resources, from Indiana State Library)
 * Owen County InGenWeb Project
 * Owen County, Indiana (County History Preservation Society)
 * Owen County, Indiana (Genealogy Trails)
 * Owen County, Indiana (official government site)
 * Owen County, Indiana (RootsWeb)
 * Owen County, Indiana (Wikipedia)
 * Owen County, Indiana Ancestry &amp; Family History (ePodunk)
 * Owen County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Owen County, Indiana Genealogy Links (GenealogyLinks.net)
 * Owen County, Indiana History, Records, Facts, and Genealogy (Family History 101)
 * Owen County, Indiana Longs and Other Matters (Genealogy &amp; History Notes)
 * Owen County Interlink
 * Owen County Online
 * Owen County USGenWeb Archives
 * Spencer, Indiana: The Official Website of the Town of Spencer, Indiana
 * Spencer, Indiana: The Official Website of the Town of Spencer, Indiana