Jay County, Indiana Genealogy

United States Indiana  Jay County

Guide to Jay 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 Adams New Purchase (Delaware/Randolph) in 1835
 * County Seat: Portland

Neighboring Counties
Adams •  Wells  •  Blackford  •  Delaware  •  Randolph  •  Darke  •  Mercer

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.

Records Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Cemeteries

 * Readings of all of the cemeteries in Jay County can be found on the ACPL Genealogy Center's website.
 * Cemeteries of Jay County - Linkpendium
 * Cemeteries of Jay County - INGenWeb

Census Records

 * Early Settlers of Jay County ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for Jay County (1880) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Index to Mortality Schedule for Jay County (1860) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Pioneer Settlers of Jay County ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Jay County, Indiana: Census Records and Indexes - Linkpendium

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses in Jay County, Indiana (1868) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Local Histories

 * History of Jay County Linkpendium


 * Montgomery, M.W., History of Jay County, Indiana, (Chicago, Illinois : Church, Goodman &amp; Cushing, 1864)  977.267 H2m FHL US/CAN Book   INTERNET ARCHIVE   other libraries


 * Biographical and historical record of Jay and Blackford Counties, Indiana: containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Cleveland, with accompanying biographies of each ; a condensed history of the state of Indiana ; portraits and biographies of some of the prominent men of the state ; engravings of prominent citizens in Jay and Blackford Counties, with personal histories of many of the leading families, and a concise history of Jay and Blackford Counties and their cities and villages. (1978. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co.)    other libraries

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Indiana
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Maps and Gazetteers Linkpendium

Military Records

 * List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883 INTERNET ARCHIVE

Civil War 

Civil War service men from Jay 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 Jay County.


 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies E, and K
 * 8th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company C
 * 11th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company B
 * 20th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 34th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
 * 75th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 89th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
 * 91st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 100th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
 * 139th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Companies E, and I
 * 140th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 153rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
 * 154th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
 * 28th US Colored Troops, Company F, and Addition Recruits for Colored Troops
 * 40th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company F (page 281, in "Jay County And The War")


 * Civil Records -INGenWeb
 * Civil War Discharges New - INGenWeb

Civil War Books


 * "Jay County And The War" Chapter 17 in Montgomery, M.W., History of Jay County, Indiana, (Chicago, Illinois : Church, Goodman &amp; Cushing, 1864), (page 220-288, Regiment, Companies, Name's),  977.267 H2m FHL US/CAN Book   INTERNET ARCHIVE


 * "Civil War" Part 2, Chapter 7 in Biographical and historical record of Jay and Blackford Counties, Indiana: containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Cleveland, with accompanying biographies of each ; a condensed history of the state of Indiana ; portraits and biographies of some of the prominent men of the state ; engravings of prominent citizens in Jay and Blackford Counties, with personal histories of many of the leading families, and a concise history of Jay and Blackford Counties and their cities and villages. (1978. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co.), (page 227-234, Regiment, some Companies),   other libraries   Digigal copies

World War I


 * Gold Star Honor Roll Genealogy Trails
 * World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918   ancestry. com$
 * WW1 Draft Registration -INGenWeb
 * WW1 Nurses -INGenWeb
 * WW1 National Guard - INGenWeb

World War II


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

Newspapers

 * Jay Co. Newspaper 1871-1889 (index) -INGenWeb


 * Jay County newspaper clippings -

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

Courthouse
Jay County; Main and; Walnut; Portland, IN 47371; Ph. 219.726.4951 Details: (Co Hlth Dept has b &amp; d rec from 1882; Co Clk has m rec from 1843, div rec from 1882, pro rec from 1836 &amp; ct rec from 1837; Co Aud has land rec from 1836)

Societies

 * Jay County Historical Society

Family History Centers

 * Muncie Indiana Family History Center

For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the Family History Center directory.

Vital Records

 * Indiana State Digital Archives

Marriage Records

 * 1780-1992 - FamilySearch


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


 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images

Death Records

 * 1882-1920 at FamilySearch


 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Jay County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Jay County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

Web Sites

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