Owen County, Indiana Genealogy

Guide to Owen County, Indiana ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records. Indiana Online Genealogy Records

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed 21 December 1818 from Daviess and Sullivan Counties.
 * County Seat:  Spencer

Description
The county was named after Abraham Owen, a colonel who died at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1920. The County Seat is Spencer and was founded 1819. It is located in the Southwest 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
Clay •  Putnam  •  Morgan  •  Monroe  •  Greene

The first county seat was to be on land owned by John Dunn on the bend of White River, but this was quickly relocated to a new location across the river from the land of John Bartholemew. This new site, which became known as Spencer, was approved by the county commissioners at a meeting at John Dunn's house on 12 Feb 1820.

Owen County was named for Abraham Owen, a Kentucky officer who was killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Some sources refer to him as a colonel, but Blanchard's 1884 county history refers to him as Major Abraham Owen.

The county seat, Spencer, derives its name from a Captain Spencer, a Kentucky soldier who was also killed in the same battle.

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.

1820

 * 1820 census transcription (USGenWeb Archives)

1880

 * Defective, Dependent, &amp; Delinquent Census for Owen County ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Court Records

 * Owen County Court Records, 1863-1897 (IN Historical Society)
 * Criminals Convicted in Owen County (1897-1907) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Directories

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

Genealogies and Biographies

 * Biographies (Owen Co. INGenWeb)
 * Combs &amp;c Families of Owen Co., IN
 * Owen County Biographies (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Owen County Diaries (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Owen County, Indiana Biographies (Genealogy Trails)

Local Histories

 * Blanchard, Charles, ed. Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana: Historical and Biographical. Chicago: F.A. Battey Company, 1884. Digital copy in Google Books; may be downloaded in pdf or epub formats. Digital copy in Internet Archive; may be read online or downloaded in several formats.
 * County Timeline (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Owen County History (GenealogyTrails)
 * Peterson, Roger. "General History of Owen County, Indiana." (Owen County Historical and Genealogical Society (OCHGS))
 * Owen County Town and Township Histories (OCHGS)
 * Histories of Owen County (repositories): WorldCat

Land and Property

 * Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office (Owen County land patents can be searched and retrieved online)
 * Land Grants (Owen County INGenWeb)
 * Owen County Deeds (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Maps of Owen County (Indiana State Library) - A few have links for online viewing

Maps

 * Plat Books of Indiana Counties, Vol. 4, Owen County and townships, viewed on pages 160 thru 173
 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Indiana
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Owen County Maps (bibliography from IN State Library)

Miscellaneous

 * Diaries (USGenWeb)
 * Funeral Home records (USGenWeb)
 * Directories (USGenWeb)
 * Surnames (INGenWeb)

War of 1812

 * Owen County Military (USGenWeb)
 * Veterans in Owen County, Indiana (1913)($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Military Service of Residents of Owen County (1775-1848) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Civil War
Civil War servicemen from Owen 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 Owen County.


 * 1st Regiment, Indiana Heavy Artillery, Company B
 * 5th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry (90th Regiment, Indiana Volunteers), Company C
 * 6th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company F
 * 11th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company H
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company H
 * 14th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
 * 18th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
 * 19th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 31st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
 * 52nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company E
 * 57th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
 * 59th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies f, and B
 * 82nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 85th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 97th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies F, and H
 * 130th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 137th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company K
 * 144th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 149th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, and D
 * 28th US Colored Troops, Addition Recruits for Colored Troops

Resources:


 * Civil War Diary 1863 of Robert Thomas McKee $
 * Company B, Twenty-First Indiana First Heavy Artillery (under Owen County Military, USGenWeb Archives)
 * Vincent Anderson War Diary (with index) (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Zollinger, Vivian, ed., "'I Take My Pen in Hand:' Civil War Letters from Owen County Indiana," Indiana Magazine of History, Vol. 93, No. 2 (June 1997, pp. 111-196 [various Owen County soldiers, Owen County 135h, 14th, 19th, 21st, 59th, 97th, 149th Indiana Volunteer Infantries, 1861-1865]. Article (pdf)

World War I

 * 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * Owen County Newspapers (Indiana State Library)
 * Newspaper abstracts (INGenWeb)
 * Newspaper extracts (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Spencer Evening World (current newspaper)

Obituaries

 * Obituaries (INGenWeb)
 * Obituaries (USGenWeb)

Probate Records
Online Records
 * 1798 – 1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * Index, Abstracts of Owen County Wills before 1900 (INGenWeb)

School Records

 * Students and Teachers of Spencer High School, Owen County, Indiana (1929, 1930) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Directory of Teachers for Owen County (1936) ($, 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.

County Courthouse
Owen County Courthouse Main Street PO Box 146 Spencer, IN 47460 Phone: 812.829.5015

County Health Department has birth and death records from 1882. County Clerk has marriage and court records from 1819, divorce records from 1832 and probate records from 1833. County Recorder has land records from 1819.

Family History Centers

 * Bloomington Indiana Family History Center

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

Societies and Libraries
Owen County Genealogical Society 110 East Market Street Spencer, IN 47460

Owen County Historical and Genealogical Society PO Box 569 Spencer, IN 47460 Telephone Number: 812-829-4466 Website

Ten O'clock Line Treaty Museum at Gosport PO Box 50 Gosport, IN 474333-7000 Telephone Number: 812-879-4050 E-mail: [mailto:gosportmuseumdirector@gmail.com gosportmuseumdirector@gmail.com] Website

Births Records

 * Owen County, Indiana Births 1880-1882 (Genealogy Trails)

Marriage Records
Blanchard's 1884 county history mentions that the first wedding in the county was a double wedding that predates the recording of marriages in the county record books. This was the marriage of two daughters of Philip Hart to James Bigger and Thomas Allen. The date of this marriage is unknown. The first recorded marriage is dated 4 Oct 1819.


 * Franklin, Charles M. Owen County, Indiana Marriages, 1819-1844. Indianapolis: Ye Olde Genealogie Shoppe, 1979. Digital copy at Internet Archive (can be read online or downloaded in several formats).


 * Owen County Marriages (INGenWeb)


 * Owen County Marriages (USGenWeb)


 * 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


 * 1819-1849 Owen County, Indiana Marriage Record 1819-1849. (No further information). Digital copy in Internet Archive (can be read online or downloaded in several formats).


 * Before 1850 Owen County, Indiana Marriages Before 1850, Surnames A-J (OCHGS)


 * Before 1850 Owen County, Indiana Marriages Before 1850, Surnames K-Z (page title is incorrectly shown as A-J) (OCHGS)

Death Records

 * 1750-1993 at FamilySearch — index, some images
 * 1882-1920 at FamilySearch Historical Records - Index only
 * 1899-2011 Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 at Ancestry - ($), index and images
 * Indiana State Digital Archives
 * Owen County Deaths (INGenWeb)
 * Funeral Parlor Records (USGenWeb)

Websites

 * , Owen County
 * Owen County (family history resources, from Indiana State Library)
 * Owen County (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Owen County InGenWeb Project
 * Owen County, Indiana (County History Preservation Society)
 * Owen County, Indiana (Genealogy Trails)
 * Owen County, Indiana (RootsWeb)
 * Owen County, Indiana (Wikipedia)
 * Owen County, Indiana Graves (Find A Grave)
 * Owen County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Owen County, Indiana Genealogy Forum (Genealogy.com)
 * Owen County, Indiana Genealogy Links (GenealogyLinks.net)
 * Owen County, Indiana Genealogy Guide
 * Profile for Owen County, Indiana (ePodunk)
 * Owen County, Indiana Genealogy, History and Facts
 * Owen County, Indiana Places and People
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook