Jefferson County, Indiana Genealogy

Guide to Jefferson 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 from Clark, Knox and Dearborn counties on 23 November 1810. 
 * County Seat:  Madison

Description
The county was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, principal draftsman of the Northwest Ordinance and the third president of the United States from 1801 through 1809. It's county seat is Madison and was founded 1811. It is located in the Southeast area of the state.

Neighboring Counties
Switzerland •  Ripley  •  Jennings  •  Scott  •  Clark  •  Carroll  •  Trimble

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
Jefferson County, Indiana Courthouse Damaged by Fire (20 May 2009)


 * Madison Fire Destroys Records

Flames destroyed parts of the 154-year-old Jefferson County Courthouse today. Decades of history may have been lost. Local preservation experts have retrieved deeds and some other vital documents. Many of them will have to be frozen before they can be restored. However, there are some that were irreparably damaged in the fire.

Cemeteries

 * Cemeteries for Jefferson - Linkpendium

Census Records

 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for Jefferson County ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Early Settlers of Jefferson County ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Jefferson County, Indiana: Census Records and Indexes - Linkpendium

United Church of Christ

 * 1837-1935 - St. John's United Church of Christ, Madison, Baptism Index 1837-1935 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1837-1935 - St. John's United Church of Christ, Madison, Marriage Index 1837-1935 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Court Records

 * Circuit Court Order Book 1 Index (1812-1818) (free)

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses in Jefferson County (1858) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Local Histories

 * Biographical and Historical Souvenir for the Counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott and Washington, Indiana. (Evansville, Ind: Unigraphic, 1972.) FHL US/CAN Film 934899 Item 4 other libraries INTERNET ARCHIVE


 * History of Jefferson County - Linkpendium

Maps

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

Military Records

 * African American Veterans in Jefferson County, Indiana (1890) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Civil War 

Civil War service men from Jefferson 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 Jefferson County.


 * 1st Regiment, Indiana Heavy Artillery, Company L
 * 3rd Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company E
 * 6th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, K, E, and Reorganized Company A, E, F, and K
 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company M
 * 8th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company H
 * 10th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company H
 * 12th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D, and Reorganized Companies B, C, D, and E
 * 20th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Companies D, and F
 * 51st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
 * 82nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, B, C, G, and K
 * 91st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 93rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies C, and E
 * 128th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A
 * 132nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company D
 * 137th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Companies B, F, and I
 * 139th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company K
 * 149th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
 * 28th US Colored Troops, Company E, and Addition Recruits for Colored Troop

Civil War books and articles


 * Robertson, Middleton, "Recollections of Morgan's Raid", (Indiana Magazine of History 28, no. 2 (June 1932): 116-137.) 1863, Jefferson County (Deputy) Abstract and Bibliographic Informationarticle PDF


 * Garber, Michael C., Jr., "Reminiscences of the Burning of Columbia, South Carolina" ,( Indiana Magazine of History 11, no. 4 (December 1915): 285-300.) 1865, Jefferson County (Madison)

Abstract and Bibliographic Information article PDF

World War I
 * 1919 - at FamilySearch — index

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

School Records

 * Directory of Teachers for Jefferson County (1936) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Courthouse
Jefferson County Courthouse 300 E Main St #203 Madison, IN 47250 Phone 812-265-8921 County Health Dept has b, d and bur rec; County Clerk has m, div, pro and court rec; County Recorder has land rec

Family History Centers

 * North Vernon Indiana Family History Center

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

Vital Records

 * Indiana State Digital Achivesfor Death, E-Publication, Institution, Military, Misc Historical, Naturalization Records can be searched by person name (accessed 26 May 2011)

Marriage Records

 * 1800s-2007 - Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $


 * 1780-1992  at FamilySearch


 * 1802-1892 Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 at Ancestry.com $


 * 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

 * Jefferson County, IN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook