Putnam County, Indiana Genealogy

Guide to Putnam 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 31 December 1821 from Vigo and Owen Counties and unorganized territory.
 * County Seat:  Greencastle

Description
The county was named for Israel Putnam. The County Seat is Greencastle and was founded December 31, 1822. It is located in the West Central area 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
Parke •  Motngomery  •  Hendricks  •  Morgan  •  Owen  •  Clay

The county is named after Revolutionary War Major General Israel Putnam (1718-1790).

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.

Cemeteries

 * see Cemeteries - Linkpendium


 * Putnam County pioneer cemeteries

Census Records

 * Index to Mortality Schedule for Putnam County (1860, 1870, 1880) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for Putnam County (1880) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Church Records

 * Putnam County Churches - INGenWeb

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses in Putnam County, Indiana (1858) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Local Histories

 * Ellsworth, Spencer. Records of the Olden Time, or, Fifty Years on the Prairies Embracing ... the Organization of the Counties of Putnam and Marshall, Incidents and Reminiscences Connected Therewith, Biographies of Citizens, Portraits and Illustrations. (La Crosse, Wis: Brookhaven Press (a division of NMT Corp.), 2003.), Other Libraries, Internet Archive


 * History of Putnam County - Linkpendium

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

 * Military War data (all wars):
 * INGenWeb
 * USGenWeb


 * see Military Records and History - Linkpendium
 * Veterans in Putnam County, Indiana (1913) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Mexican War

 * Residents of Putnam County Who Served in the Mexican War (1846-1848) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Civil War
Civil War service men from Putnam 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 Putnam County.


 * 1st Regiment, Indiana Heavy Artillery, Company E
 * 6th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company C
 * 10th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
 * 11th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Companies F, H, and K
 * 13th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company F, and H
 * 14th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
 * 15th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 16th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 20th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 27th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, and I
 * 43rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, and H
 * 59th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
 * 78th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (60 days, 1862), Companies A, and B
 * 97th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
 * 99th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 115th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (6 months, 1863-4), Companies C, H, and I
 * 123rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies E, and G
 * 133rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864),
 * 149th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies C, H, and I
 * 156th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D, and E
 * 28th US Colored Troops, Addition Recruits for Colored Troops

World War I

 * 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * see Newspaper Records - Linkpendium

Obituaries

 * Wabash Valley Obituary Index - contains most of Vigo County, but includes Putnam and other counties. These are indexes to obituaries published in Terre Haute newspapers from 1900-2007.


 * Putnam Public Library - obituary index from The Banner Graphic, newspaper of Greencastle, covers 1972 to the present and is updated every two weeks.

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

School Records

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

County Courthouse
Putnam County Courthouse 1 Courthouse Square Street PO Box 546 Greencastle, IN 46135-0546 Phone: 765.653.2648 County Health Department has birth and death records. C ounty Clerk has marriage records from 1822, Divorce and Probate Records from 1825 and Court Records from 1828. County Recorder has land records.

Family History Centers

 * Crawfordsville Indiana Family History Center

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

Libraries
Putnam County Library 103 E. Poplar Street Greencastle, IN 46135 Phone: 765-653-2755 Local History and Genealogy Website

Societies
Putnam County Historical Society PO Box 116 103 East Poplar St. Greencastle, IN 46135

Putnam County Museum 1105 N. Jackson St. Greencastle, IN 46135 Telephone Number: 765-653-8419 Website

Wabash Valley Genealogy Society PO Box 9347 Terre Haute, IN 47808-9347 Website

Putnam County Genealogical Club RR 1, Box 28 Bainbridge, IN 46105

Vital Records

 * INGenWeb - Birth Records; Death Reports; Marriages
 * Indiana State Digital Archives

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


 * see Vital Records - Linkpendium

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

 * Putnam County, Indiana Genealogy, History and Facts
 * INGenWeb, Putnam County
 * USGenWeb, Putnam County
 * , Putnam County
 * Indiana State Library, Putnam County records.
 * Putnam County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook