Jay County, Indiana Genealogy

Guide to Jay 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 from Adams New Purchase (Delaware/Randolph) in 1835
 * County Seat: Portland

Neighboring Counties
Adams •  Wells  •  Blackford  •  Delaware  •  Randolph  •  Darke  •  Mercer

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.

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

Cemeteries

 * Readings of all of the cemeteries in Jay County can be found on the ACPL Genealogy Center's website.
 * Cemeteries of Jay County - Linkpendium
 * Cemeteries of Jay County - INGenWeb

Census Records

 * Early Settlers of Jay County ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for Jay County (1880) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Index to Mortality Schedule for Jay County (1860) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Pioneer Settlers of Jay County ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Jay County, Indiana: Census Records and Indexes - Linkpendium

Directories

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

Local Histories

 * History of Jay County Linkpendium


 * Montgomery, M.W., History of Jay County, Indiana, (Chicago, Illinois : Church, Goodman &amp; Cushing, 1864)  977.267 H2m FHL US/CAN Book   INTERNET ARCHIVE   other libraries


 * Biographical and historical record of Jay and Blackford Counties, Indiana: containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Cleveland, with accompanying biographies of each ; a condensed history of the state of Indiana ; portraits and biographies of some of the prominent men of the state ; engravings of prominent citizens in Jay and Blackford Counties, with personal histories of many of the leading families, and a concise history of Jay and Blackford Counties and their cities and villages. (1978. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co.)    other libraries

Maps

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

Military Records

 * List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883 INTERNET ARCHIVE

Civil War 

Civil War service men from Jay 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 Jay County.


 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies E, and K
 * 8th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company C
 * 11th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company B
 * 20th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 34th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
 * 75th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 89th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
 * 91st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 100th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
 * 139th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Companies E, and I
 * 140th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 153rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
 * 154th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
 * 28th US Colored Troops, Company F, and Addition Recruits for Colored Troops
 * 40th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company F; (page 281, in "Jay County And The War")


 * Civil War Records, INGenWeb, Indiana Soldiers in the Civil War; Discharges, Pensions, Reunions and Soldiers in the News; Medal of Honor Recipient

Civil War Books


 * "Jay County And The War" Chapter 17 in Montgomery, M.W., History of Jay County, Indiana, (Chicago, Illinois : Church, Goodman &amp; Cushing, 1864), (page 220-288, Regiment, Companies, Name's),  977.267 H2m FHL US/CAN Book   INTERNET ARCHIVE


 * "Civil War" Part 2, Chapter 7 in Biographical and historical record of Jay and Blackford Counties, Indiana: containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Cleveland, with accompanying biographies of each ; a condensed history of the state of Indiana ; portraits and biographies of some of the prominent men of the state ; engravings of prominent citizens in Jay and Blackford Counties, with personal histories of many of the leading families, and a concise history of Jay and Blackford Counties and their cities and villages. (1978. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co.), (page 227-234, Regiment, some Companies),   other libraries; Digital copies

World War I


 * Gold Star Honor Roll, Genealogy Trails
 * World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, ancestry. com$
 * World War I INGenWeb, Draft Registrations; National Guard; Nurses; Book of Merit and Gold Stars

World War II


 * World War II Casualties, Army and Army Air Corps, Access Genealogy
 * World War II MIA list, INGenWeb

Korean Conflict
 * Casualties, INGenWeb

Vietnam
 * Casualties, INGenWeb

Newspapers

 * Jay Co. Newspaper 1871-1889 (index) -INGenWeb


 * Jay County newspaper clippings -

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

Courthouse
Jay County Courthouse Main and Walnut Portland, IN 47371 Phone 219-726-4951 County Health Dept has b and d rec from 1882; County Clk has m rec from 1843, div rec from 1882, pro rec from 1836 and court rec from 1837; County Auditor has land rec from 1836

Societies

 * Jay County Historical Society

Family History Centers

 * Muncie Indiana Family History Center

For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the Family History Center directory.

Vital Records

 * Indiana State Digital Archives

Marriage Records

 * 1780-1992 - FamilySearch


 * 1802-1892 Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 - Ancestry.com $


 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images

Death Records

 * 1882-1920 at FamilySearch


 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Jay County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Jay County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

Web Sites

 * Jay County, IN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook