Wayne County, Indiana Genealogy

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

Description


The county was named for Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who was an officer during the Revolutionary War. Wayne is mainly remembered for his service in the 1790s in the Northwest Indian War, which included many actions in Indiana and Ohio. The county seat is Richmond and the county was organized on 1811. The County is located in the East Central part of the state.

County Courthouse
 Wayne County Courthouse 301 E Main Richmond, IN 47374 Phone: 765-973-9220 County Website

Wayne County Health Department 100 S 5th Street Richmond, IN, 47374 Health Officer: David Jetmore, MD Phone: 765-973-9245 Fax: 765-973-9361 Email: cstinson@co.wayne.in.us Health Department

County Clerk has marriage records from 1810, divorce and court records from 1873 and probate records from 1818. City-County Health Officer has birth, death 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.

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:

Biographies

 * Indiana Biography Index at Indiana State Library

Book Abstracts and Indexes
 * Fox, Henry Clay. Memoirs of Wayne County and the City of Richmond, Indiana: From the Earliest Historical Times Down to the Present, Including a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families in Wayne County. (La Crosse WI: Brookhaven Press, 2004.). Available at: Vol 1 FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, Hathi Trust; Vol 2 FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. (Indianapolis, Ind: Frederic Luther Co, 1980). Available at: Vol. 1 FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive; Vol. 2 FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive

Census Records

 * Early Settlers of Wayne County at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for Wayne County (1880) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Church Records
Lutheran
 * Records of St. John Lutheran Church, Richmond, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Directories

 * Directory of Selected Residents of Wayne County (1876) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Local Histories

 * History of Wayne County, Indiana, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time: with Numerous Biographical and Family Sketches. 2007. Young, Andrew W. (Andrew White), 1802-1877. Available at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * History of Wayne County, Indiana: Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Towns, Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History, Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens. History of Indiana and the Northwest Territory: Embracing Accounts of the Pre-Historic Races, Aborigines, Winnebago and Black Hawk Wars, and a Brief Review of Its Civil, Political and Military History. (La Crosse WI: Brookhaven Press, 2004.). Available at: Vol. 1 FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, Vol. 2 FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana
 * Historic Indiana Maps at IUPUI University Library

Military Records

 * Military Record Series Index at Indiana Digital Archives

Civil War Civil War service men from Wayne 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 Wayne County.


 * 2nd Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies C, and F
 * 3rd Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 5th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry (90th Regiment, Indiana Volunteers), Company B
 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies E, and H
 * 8th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, C, H, I, and Reorganized Companies C, and D
 * 9th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company C
 * 11th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company I
 * 13th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company K
 * 16th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
 * 19th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
 * 20th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 36th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies F, and I
 * 57th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, C, D, and I
 * 69th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies D, and D
 * 78th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (60 days, 1862), Company F
 * 84th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies C, and I
 * 105th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 106th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies C, D, F, G, and I
 * 108th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 124th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, H, and K
 * 133rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company A
 * 140th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
 * 147th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies C, and I
 * 152nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
 * 156th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
 * 28th US Colored Troops, Company E, and Addition Recruits for Colored Troops
 * African American Veterans in Wayne County, Indiana (1890) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Civil War Books:
 * History of Wayne County, Indiana, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time: with Numerous Biographical and Family Sketches. 2007, Young, Andrew W.; ("War History", page 126-137, no Regiment or Companies); Available at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Memoirs of Wayne County and the City of Richmond, Indiana: From the Earliest Historical Times Down to the Present, Including a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families in Wayne County. (La Crosse WI: Brookhaven Press, 2004.), Fox, Henry Clay. ("Military Matters," Vol 1, Chapter 14, page 215-230, no Regiment or Companies), Available at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, Hathi Trust
 * Directory and soldiers' register of Wayne County, Indiana. 1865. Power, J.C., Editor. Available at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive

Pension Records
 * List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883, United States Pension bureau. Available at: Internet Archive

World War I
 * 1917-1918 World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at Ancestry $
 * 1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

World War II
 * Indiana World War II Casualties, Army and Army Air Corps at Access Genealogy

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Newspapers

 * 1804-2010 Hoosier State Chronicles 1804-2011

Obituaries

 * Wayne County, Indiana Obituary Collection at GenealogyBuff

Probate Records

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

School Records

 * Teachers of Wayne County, Indiana (1940) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Alumni of Hagerstown High School (1881-1932) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Students and Teachers of Hagerstown High School (1917, 1921-23, 1926, 1933, 1944-45, 1949) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Students and Teachers of Morton High School, Richmond (1928) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

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.

Marriage

 * 1780-1992  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1800-2007 Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast ($)
 * 1802-1892 Indiana, Compiled Marriages, 1802-1892 at Ancestry $
 * 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
Richmond Indiana Family History Center 3333 Backmeyer Rd Richmond IN 47374 765-966-2366 E-mail:[mailto:IN_Richmond@familyhistorymail.org IN_Richmond@familyhistorymail.org] Website

Museums
Wayne County Historical Museum 1150 North A Street Richmond, IN 47374 765-962-5756 Email: [mailto:office@waynecountyhistoricalmuseum.org office@waynecountyhistoricalmuseum.org] Website

Societies
Wayne County Genealogical Society PO Box 2599 Richmond, IN 47375-2599 765-277-9606 E-mail: [mailto:wcgs2599@yahoo.com wcgs2599@yahoo.com] Website

Websites

 * Indiana Digital Archives Search by name in all records or specific collections
 * Indiana Historical Society Digital Collections Extensive - keyword searches suggested
 * Indiana Memory Click the map or select a statewide collection
 * List of indexes and databases at Indiana State Library
 * Indiana Genealogical Society Databases Select a county
 * Every Name Index.com Online indexes for county histories. Select a county
 * Wayne County Resources on IndianasGore
 * USGenWeb, Wayne County
 * INGenWeb, Wayne County
 * Wayne 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.