Clay County, Indiana Genealogy

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

Description
Clay County was named in honor of Henry Clay, a famous antebellum American statesman. The county is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
 Clay County Courthouse 609 E Nation Avenue Brazil, IN 47834-2797 Phone: 812-448-9024 County Website

Clay County Health Department 18 N. Walnut St. Brazil, IN, 47834 Health Officer: Dr. C. Mark Mendoza Phone Number: 812-448-9021 Fax: 812-448-9018 Email: [mailto:conradl@claycountyin.gov conradl@claycountyin.gov] Health Department

The County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1851. The County Recorder has land records from 1825, some naturalization and burial 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.

Biographies

 * Indiana Biography Index at Indiana State Library

Census Records

 * Clay County Census (1830-1900) at USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Index to Mortality Schedule (1860) at [http://www.indgensoc.org/membersonly/county/index.php Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Index to Defective, Dependent & Delinquent Census (1880) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses (1858) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Local Histories

 * Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana. 1884. Edited by Charles Blanchard. Chicago : F. A. Battey & Co. Publishers. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books;.
 * A History of Clay County, Indiana. 2 Vols. 1909. By William Travis. New York, New York : Lewis Pub. Co.  Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vols. 1 & 2 - Hathitrust, Google Books; . Index at: Internet Archive.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Historic Indiana Maps at IUPUI University Library


 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Indiana
 * Maps and Gazetteers - Linkpendium

Military Records

 * Military Record Series Index at Indiana Digital Archives
 * List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883, Clay County, Indiana at Internet Archive
 * Clay County Veterans at State Soldiers Home, Lafayette, Indiana (1906) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Clay County Casualties in WWI, WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam at HonorStates.org

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
 * Revolutionary War Soldiers of Clay County - Wabash Valley Visions &amp; Voices. One typed page which contains a list of men who served in the Revolutionary War and are buried in Clay County, Indiana.

Civil War, 1861-1865 Civil War service men from Clay 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 Clay County.


 * 1st Regiment, Indiana Heavy Artillery, Companies A, I, and K
 * 2nd Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company G
 * 6th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies D, and F
 * 10th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 11th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company H
 * 17th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 20th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 43rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A
 * 48th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
 * 59th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
 * 78th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (60 days, 1862), Company G
 * 85th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies I, and K
 * 88th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 97th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, and D
 * 115th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (6 months, 1863-4), Company D
 * 124th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
 * 133rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Companies B, I, and K
 * 144th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 149th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, B, F, and H
 * 152nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
 * Clay County Civil War Soldiers (INGenWeb)
 * Clay County Civil War Files (USGenWeb)

Civil War Books:
 * "Military" Chapter 28 in Travis, William. A History of Clay County Indiana: Closing of the First Century's History of the County and Showing the Growth of Its People Institutions Industries and Wealth Vols 1 and 2. (New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1981.) page 350-380 Vol.1 (regiment, company, name, also "Burial Places Of Soldiers" page 376) 977.244 H2t FHL US/CAN Book, FamilySearch Digital Library- Vol. 1, FamilySearch Digital Library-Vol. 2; other library

World War I, 1914-1918
 * 1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * Gold Star Honor Roll: A Record of Indiana Men and Women who Died in the Service of the United States and the Allied Nations in the World War at Genealogy Trails.com
 * World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at Ancestry ($)

World War II, 1941-1945
 * Clay County, Indiana World War II Casualties at Archives.gov

Korean War, 1950-1923
 * Clay County Korean War Casualties at New Horizons Genealogy

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Newspapers

 * The Brazil Daily Times has obituaries and other archives back to 2003.
 * Hoosier State Chronicles

Obituaries

 * 2002-2020 - The Brazil Times obituaries

Probate Records

 * 1798-1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry $

School Records

 * Selected Alumni of Brazil High School, Clay County, Indiana (1918) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Students of Brazil High School, Clay County, Indiana (1918) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Teachers of Brazil High School, Clay County, Indiana (1918) 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.

Vital Records

 * Vital Records for Clay County, Indiana at Linkpendium.com
 * Vital Records for Clay County, Indiana at INGenWeb.org

Birth

 * Clay County, Indiana Births 1880-1882 at Genealogy Trails

Marriage

 * 1800s-2007 Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast $
 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Death

 * 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 ($)

Family History Centers
Terre Haute Indiana Family History Center 1845 N 6 1/2 St Terre Haute IN 47802 Phone: 812-234-0269 Email: [mailto:IN_TerreHaute@familyhistorymail.org IN_TerreHaute@familyhistorymail.org] Website

Societies

 * Clay County Genealogical Society, Inc. PO Box 56 309 W. Main Street Centerpoint, IN 47840-0056 Phone 812-535-5005 Email:[mailto:research@ccgsilib.org research@ccgsilib.org] Website
 * Clay County Historical Society 100 East National Ave Brazil, IN 47834 Phone: 812-446-4036 Email:[mailto:claycountyhistoricalsocietyin@gmail.com claycountyhistoricalsocietyin@gmail.com] Website
 * Wabash Valley Genealogy Society PO Box 7012 Terre Haute, Indiana 47802-7012 Email:[mailto:wvgs@inwvgs.org wvgs@inwvgs.org] Website

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.
 * INGenWeb, Clay County
 * USGenWeb, Clay County
 * Clay County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * – 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.