Brown County, Indiana Genealogy

Guide to Brown 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 4 February 1836 from Bartholomew, Jackson, Monroe
 * County Seat: Nashville

Description
The county was named for Gen. Jacob Brown, who defeated the British at the Battle of Sackett's Harbor in the War of 1812. It's county seat is Nashville and was founded February 4, 1836. It is located in the South-central area of the state. 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
Morgan •  Johnson  •  Bartholomew  •  Jackson  •  Monroe

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
Courthouse destroyed by fire, all records except some clerk's files were lost.

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
 * Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Census Records

 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census (1880) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Court Records

 * Index to Insanity Records (1848-1941) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses (1868) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Local Histories
Online County Histories
 * Brown County, Indiana:History - Linkpendium


 * Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Charles Blanchard, Editor. 1884. Chicago, Illinois : F.A. Battey. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Hathitrust; Internet Archive; Google Books; Ancestry ($);.

Maps

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

Civil War
Civil War service men from Brown County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment)that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Brown County.


 * 22nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
 * 82nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies D, and H
 * 120th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies I, and K
 * 145th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K

Civil War Books


 * Indiana Genealogical Society. Indiana Veterans Enrollment List. 1890 Brown County. [Indiana]: (Indiana Genealogical Society, 2006.) CD-ROM no. 4168 Computer US/CAN Desktop    other library


 * "Military History" in Blanchard, Charles. Counties of Morgan, Monroe, and Brown, Indiana. Historical and Biographical. (Chicago: F.A. Battey &amp; Co, 1884.) page 703-713, 977.2 H2b FHL US/CAN Book   other library    INTERNET ARCHIVE

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

 * 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Occupations

 * Roster of Civilian Conservation Corps, Nashville, Brown County, Indiana (1938) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Obituaries

 * Brown County, Indiana Obituary and Death Notice Collection Free from GenealogyBuff.com. Obits and death notices from Various Funeral Homes in the Hamblen, Nashville, and Helmsburg areas.

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

Courthouse
Brown County Courthouse Main St and Van Buren Street Nashville, IN 47448 Phone: 812.988.5510

Some records lost in 1873 fire County Health Department has birth and death records from 1882. County Clerk has marriage and probate and court records from 1836 divorce records from 1850, court ordered birth records from 1942. County Recorder has land records from 1874.

Societies
Brown County Genealogy Society PO Box 1202 Nashville, IN 47448-1202 Telephone Number: 812-320-6237 E-mail: [mailto:radunn1953@aol.com radunn1953@aol.com] Website

Brown County Historical Society 90 E. Gould Street PO Box 668 Nashville, IN 47448-0668 Telephone Number: 812-988-2899 E-mail: [mailto:julia@browncountyhistorycenter.org julia@browncountyhistorycenter.org] Website

Family History Centers

 * Bloomington Indiana Family History Center

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

Taxation

 * Tax List of Brown County, Indiana (1848, 1858, 1864, 1875, 1890) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Marriage Records

 * 1800s-2007 - Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 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

Websites

 * Brown County, IN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Brown County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Brown County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)