DeKalb County, Indiana Genealogy

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



Description
DeKalb County was named for General Johann de Kalb, a Continental Army officer from Bavaria, who was fatally wounded at the Battle of Camden, South Carolina. The county is located in the northeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
 DeKalb County Courthouse 100 S Main Street PO Box 810 Auburn, IN 46706 Phone: 219-925-2112 County Website

DeKalb County Health Department 220 E. Seventh St, Ste. 110 Auburn, IN, 46706 Health Officer: Mark Souder, MD Phone Number: 260-925-2220 Fax: 260-925-2090 Email: bsukala@co.dekalb.in.us Health Department

County Health Department has birth and death records. County Clerk has marriage and court records from 1837, probate records from 1855 and school records 1903-1932. County recorder has land 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:

Bible Records

 * Bible Entries at INGenWeb
 * DeKalb County Indiana, Family Bibles/ Stories at Genealogy Trails

Biographies

 * Indiana Biography Index at Indiana State Library

Census Records

 * Index to Mortality Schedule (1860) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for DeKalb County (1880) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1839-1921 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses in DeKalb County, Indiana (1868) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Funeral Homes

 * Carnahan-Baidinger & Walter Funeral Home in Spencerville.
 * Feller & Clark Funeral Homes in Auburn.
 * H.E. Johnson & Sons Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Butler.
 * Oberlin-Turnbull Funeral Home & Crematory in Hamilton.
 * Pinnington Funeral & Cremation Services in Auburn.
 * Thomas Funeral Home in Garrett.

Local Histories

 * History of DeKalb County, Indiana. 1885. Chicago : Inter-State Publishing Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive;.
 * History of Dekalb County, Indiana. 1914. Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive;.
 * History of Northeast Indiana, Lagrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties. 2 volumes. 1920. By Ira Ford. Chicago, Illinois : Lewis Pub. Co. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Ancestry ($);.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Historic Indiana Maps at IUPUI University Library
 * Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Military Record Series Index at Indiana Digital Archives

Civil War Civil War service men from DeKalb 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 DeKalb County.


 * 9th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
 * 12th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies B, C, and I
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Companies B, D
 * 30th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H, and Reorganized Companies C, and D
 * 44th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 88th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A, and H
 * 100th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, and K
 * 118th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (6 months, 1863-4), Company F
 * 129th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A
 * 142nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, and D

Civil War Books:
 * Sliger, Reba. Veterans' Cards for Veterans of DeKalb County Who Served in the Civil, Spanish-American, Mexican Wars: Copied from Records at the DeKalb County Courthouse,( Auburn, Indiana. Auburn, IN: The Chapter, 1990.) Available online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; 977.277 M2s; Internet Archive


 * History of DeKalb 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. (Knightstown, Ind: The Bookmark, 1978.), page 90-117, 977.277 H2b  other library Internet Archive


 * 1885 History of De Kalb 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 with New Index.( Knightstown, Ind: The Bookmark, 1978.) page 333-400, 977.277 H2hi other library Internet Archive


 * Hobson, Margaret. The Iron Men of Indiana's 44th Regiment, Book 1: Biographies and Statistics. This book contains a complete list of DeKalb County men in the 44th Indiana.

World War I


 * 1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * The Garrett Clipper Newspaper: Obituary database from 1975 through January, 2012 provided courtesy of the Garrett Public Library.
 * Hoosier State Chronicles

Probate Records

 * 1798-1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1850-1936 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1852-1922 (*); Probate and Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
 * 1855-1915 (*); Probate and Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
 * 1861-1921 (*); Probate and Circuit Court, and Court of Common Pleas at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images
 * 1889-1923 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

School Records

 * Directory of Teachers (1936) 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; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1800s-2007 Indiana, United States Marriages at Findmypast $
 * 1802-1892 Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 at Ancestry $
 * 1811-1959 Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959 at MyHeritage - index and images, ($)
 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Death

 * Pre-1882 WEB: Indiana, Deaths, Pre-1882 at Ancestry - index, (Free collection)
 * 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

 * Fort Wayne Indiana Family History Center
 * Huntington Indiana Family History Center
 * Allen County Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Noble County Public Library - an affiliate library.

Societies
DeKalb County Indiana Genealogy Society P.O. Box 6085 c/o Eckhart Public Library 603 S. Jackson Street Auburn, IN 46706 Email: [mailto:rozwells@sbcglobal.net rozwells@sbcglobal.net] Website Facebook DeKalb County Indiana Historical Society 201 East Main Street Butler, IN 46721-1409 Phone: 260-868-0979 Garrett Historical Society P.O. Box 225 300 N Randolph St Garrett, IN 46738-0225 Phone: 260-357-0162 Website Willennar Genealogy Center 700 S. Jackson St. Auburn, IN 46706-2267 Phone: 260-925-2414 Ext 420 Email: [mailto:genealogy@epl.lib.in.us genealogy@epl.lib.in.us] Website Facebook

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.
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * DeKalb 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.