Decatur County, Indiana Genealogy

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



Description
Decatur County was named for Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr., a naval officer in the First and Second Barbary Wars, and in the War of 1812. Decatur was mortally wounded in a duel in 1820. The county is located in the southeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
 Decatur County Courthouse 150 Courthouse Square Suite 5 Greensburg, In 47240 Phone: 812-663-8223 County Website

Decatur County Health Department 801 North Lincoln Street Greensburg, IN, 47240 Health Officer: Arthur Alunday, MD Phone Number: 812-663-8301 Fax: 812-663-4174 Email: vitalrecords@decaturcounty.in.gov Health Department

County Clerk has marriage record from 1822, divorce, probate and court records. Board of Health has birth and death records. Health Department has birth records and death records. Copies may be obtained from the county health department or the Indiana State Division of Vital Records.

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:

Bible Records

 * 1818-1856 Sarah Shadrich Montgomery Bible, Part 1 (1818-1856) at at USGenWeb Archives
 * 1860-1938 Sarah Shadrich Montgomery Bible, Part 2 (1860-1938) at at USGenWeb Archives
 * (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * Turner Family Bible Records at Indiana State Library Digital Collections

Biographies

 * Indiana Biography Index at Indiana State Library
 * A Genealogical and Biographical Record of Decatur County, Indiana. 1900. Chicago [Illinois]: Lewis Publishing Company. Online at: Hathitrust, Internet Archive;.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations
Occupations
 * Doctors of Decatur County (1821-1915) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Census Records
Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for Decatur County, Indiana (1880) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1822-1913 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1853-1865 (*); Court of Common Pleas at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * Marriage Records of Decatur County, Indiana (1822-1829), The Genealogist (R. Bakehorn) - v. 1, no. 12 (Apr/June 1972). 1972. By Ray Bakehorn. Decatur County, Indiana : Decatur County, Indiana. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses in Decatur County, Indiana (1858, 1868) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African American
 * African Methodist Episcopal Church (Greensburg, Indiana), Negro Cemetery (Clarksburg, Indiana), Decatur County (Indiana). Historian, Black history, Decatur County, Indiana,'(Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1987 ) FS Library US/CAN Film 1531735 Item 18
 * Baldwin, Jane (Main Author), Baker, Ray Stannard, b. 1870 (Added Author), A history of the Negro in Decatur County, Indiana, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1987) FS Library US/CAN Film 1531732 Item 6
 * Underground Railroad Sites: Decatur County Historic Preservation & Archaeology. IN Gov DNR

Funeral Homes

 * Bass and Gasper Funeral Home in Westport.
 * Gilliland Howe Funeral Home in Greensburg.
 * Porter-Oliger-Pearson Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Greensburg.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Local Histories

 * Atlas of Decatur Co., Indiana. 1976. Knightstown, Indiana : Bookmark. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; . Reprint of original published: Chicago : J. H. Beers, 1882.
 * History of Decatur County, Indiana. 2 Vols. 1915. By Lewis A. Harding. Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen. Online at: 2 volumes in 1 -  FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust; Vol. 1 - Internet Archive, Vol. 2 - Internet Archive; . Index: Every Name Index, compiled by Cathy L. O'Connor, 2007.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Historic Indiana Maps at IUPUI University Library


 * Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana
 * Historic Indiana Atlases for Decatur County at University Library (IUPUI)
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Military Record Series Index at Indiana Digital Archives
 * List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883 Decatur County, Indiana. - Internet Archive

Civil War Civil War service men from Decatur 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 Decatur County.


 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company I
 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, F, and Reorganized Companies D, E, G
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized H
 * 20th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 20th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Companies E, and G
 * 30th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company A
 * 37th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies E, and H
 * 52nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A, and D
 * 59th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
 * 74th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 83rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
 * 89th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies H, I, and K
 * 93rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
 * 123rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, B, C, D, H, and I
 * 134th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Companies B, C, D, and E
 * 146th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, E, G, and H
 * 156th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C

Civil War Books:
 * "Civil War," in "Military Record," Chapter 17 of Harding, Lewis A. 1915. History of Decatur County, Indiana its people, industries and institutions, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families. (Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen.) (page 420-464, Regiment, Companies,Name's) Online at: FamilySearch Digital Book; 977.216 H2h v. 1, 977.216 H2h v. 2 FS Library US/CAN Book ; other library Vol. 1 Intertnet Archive;  Vol.2 Internet Archive

World War I


 * History of Decatur County's part in the World War, 1914-1918 - Internet Archive.
 * World War I Draft Registration Cards Ancestry ($), 1917-1918 Decatur County
 * 1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

World War II, 1941-1945
 * Decatur County, Indiana World War II Casualties, Army and Army Air Corps -AccessGenealogy

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * Naturalization Record Series (for this county) at Indiana Digital Archives. Search by names.

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * Hoosier State Chronicles

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1798-1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1826-1918 (*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
 * 1828-1905 (*); Circuit Court and Court of Common Pleas at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

School Records
School Records
 * Directory of Teachers for Decatur County (1936) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

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

Marriage

 * 1780-1992  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1800s-2007 Indiana, United States Marriages at Findmypast $
 * 1802-1892 Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1811-1959 Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959 at MyHeritage - index & images ($)
 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Death

 * Pre-1882 WEB: Indiana, Deaths, Pre-1882 at Ancestry - index, (Free collection)
 * 1750-1993 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1882-1920 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1899-2011 Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 at Ancestry ($)

FamilySearch Centers

 * Batesville Indiana FamilySearch Center
 * Decatur Indiana FamilySearch Center
 * Greensburg-Decatur County Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Shelby County Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Willard Library 21 First Avenue Evansville, IN 47710 Phone: 812-425-4309 Email: [mailto:willard@willard.lib.in.us willard@willard.lib.in.us] Website

Societies
Historical Society of Decatur County 222 North Franklin Street PO Box 1463 Greensburg, IN 47240 Phone: 812-663-2764 Email: [mailto:dechissoc@etczone.com dechissoc@etczone.com] Website Facebook Tri-Genealogical Society c/o Willard Library 21 First Avenue Evansville, IN 47710 Email: [mailto:tsgs.membership@yahoo.com tsgs.membership@yahoo.com] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Indiana Digital Archives Search by name in all records or specific collections
 * Indiana Historical Society Digital Collections Search by county or keyword
 * Indiana Memory Click the map or select a statewide collection
 * List of indexes and databases at Indiana State Library
 * Indiana Genealogical Society Databases Free and Members-only. Select a county
 * EveryNameIndex.com for Indiana Free online genealogy indexes for county histories. Select a county.
 * Decatur County. USGenWeb project page for Decatur. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county..
 * Decatur County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Decatur County Indiana Genealogy Trails
 * – 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.