Daviess County, Indiana Genealogy

Guide to Daviess 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 24 December 1816 from Knox county
 * County Seat:  Washington

Description
The county was named for Maj. Joseph Hamilton Daviess, U.S. District Attorney for Kentucky, killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. The county seat is Daviess and the county was organized in 1818. The County is located in the South-west part 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
Greene •  Martin  •  Dubois  •  Pike  •  Knox

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
1879-- The courthouse was destroyed by fire and many records were lost. Marriage records and the index to probate and deed records were not destroyed.

Cemeteries

 * Cemeteries - Linkpendium

Census Records

 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for Daviess County, Indiana (1880) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Catholic

 * 1839-1885 - St. Peter's Catholic Parish, Montgomery, Baptism Index 1839-1885 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1847-1877 - St. Peter's Catholic Parish, Montgomery, Marriage Index 1847-1877 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Directories

 * Early Settlers of Daviess County ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Local Histories

 * History of Daviess County - Linkpendiun

Online County Histories


 * History of Knox and Daviess Counties, Indiana. 1886. Chicago, Illinois : Goodspeed Pub. Co. Online at: Hathitrust; Internet Archive; Google Books;.
 * History of Daviess County, Indiana : Its People, Industries and Institutions. By Alva Otis Fulkerson. 1915. Indianapolis, Ind. : B. F. Bowen. Online at: Internet Archive;.
 * Living Leaders, an Encyclopedia of Biography: Special Edition for Daviess and Martin Counties, Indiana. 1897. [n.p.] : American Pub. Online at: Internet Archive;.

Maps

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

Civil War

 * Civil War Veterans of Daviess County - INGen Web
 * Daviess County, Indiana Military (Source: Genealogy Trails History Group)
 * List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883 Daviess County, Indiana (Source: Internet Archive)
 * African-American Veterans in Daviess County, Indiana (1890) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Civil War service men from Daviess 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 Daviess County.


 * 6th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C, and Reorganized Company E
 * 10th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Comapny F
 * 11th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Comapny K
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized F
 * 24th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies D, and K
 * 27th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, and E
 * 42nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
 * 52nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, and E
 * 58th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
 * 65th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 70th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 91st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
 * 117th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (6 months, 1863-4), Company K
 * 143rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 28th US Colored Troops, Addition Recruits for Colored Troops


 * Daviess County, Indiana: Regiments in the Civil War - INGenWeb

Civil War Book


 * "Military History" Chaper 6 in History of Knox and Davis Counties, Indiana, from the earliest time to the present : with biographical sketches, reminiscences, notes, etc., together with an extended history of the colonial days of Vincennes, and its progress down to the formation of the state government (Chicago, Goodspeed Pub. Co) Page 644-674.  977.23 H2g   INTERNET ARCHIVE  other libraries

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

 * 1) World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 Daviess County (Source: Explore ancestry.comfor free) ($)
 * 2) at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II, 1941-1945

 * 1) Daviess County, Indiana World War II Casualties, Army and Army Air Corps (Source: AccessGenealogy

Occupations

 * Roster of Civilian Conservation Corps, Washington, Daviess County, Indiana (1938) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

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

School Records

 * Directory of Teachers (1936) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Courthouse
Daviess County Courthouse PO Box 739; Washington, IN 47501 Phone: 812.254.8664

County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1817.

Societies
Daviess County Historical Society 212 E Main St PO Box 2341 Washington, IN 47501 Telephone Number: 812-257-0301 Fax: 812-257-0301 E-mail: [mailto:dchistory@sbcglobal.net dchistory@sbcglobal.net]

Daviess Genealogical Society 703 Front Street Washington, IN 47501 Website

Family History Centers

 * Vincennes Indiana Family History Center

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

Vital Records

 * see Vital Records - Linkpendium

Marriage Records

 * 1800s-2007 - Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1802-1892 Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 - Ancestry.com $
 * 1780-1992 - FamilySearch
 * 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
 * Indiana State Digital Archives

Websites

 * Daviess 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.
 * Daviess County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Daviess County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)