Lawrence County, Indiana Genealogy

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

Description
Lawrence County was named for Captain James Lawrence, who uttered the famous words "Don't give up the ship" after being mortally wounded during the War of 1812. It is located in the south-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
 Lawrence County Courthouse 916 15th Street Bedford, IN 47421 Phone: 812-275-7543 County Website

Lawrence County Health Department 2419 Mitchell Road Bedford, IN, 47421 Health Officer: Alan Smith, MD Phone Number: 812-275-3234 Fax: 812-275-1094 Email: pedwards@lawrencecounty.in.gov Health Department

County Clerk has marriage, probate, divorce and court records from 1818. County Health Department has birth and death records. County Recorder has land records from 1818 and military 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:

History Timeline
The original county seat of Lawrence County was Palestine, located on the White River. Lawrence County's first circuit court was held 4 Jun 1818 in the home of James Gregory at Leatherwood, east of the present-day location of Bedford.

The first courthouse was built in the spring of 1818 at Palestine. A new courthouse was constructed in Palestine in 1822.

The county seat was moved and renamed Bedford as the result of an 1825 legislative act. A temporary log courthouse was erected in Bedford in early 1825. The first court term in Bedford opened 6 Feb 1826. A new courthouse was completed in May of 1834. An 1869 move for a new courthouse resulted in construction of a new building in 1872.

Biographies

 * Indiana Biography Index at Indiana State Library
 * Indiana Genealogy Express. History of Lawrence County, Indiana Biographical Index
 * Anglefire Indiana Biographies - Lawrence County
 * InGenWeb Lawrence County Biographies
 * USGenWeb Archives Lawrence County Biographies

Cemeteries

 * Guthrie Creek Cemetery: Jarvis, Carolyn, et al. Guthrie Creek Cemetery, Pleasant Run Township, Lawrence County, Indiana. Bedford, IN: Lawrence Historical &amp; Genealogical Society, 2007. WorldCat

Census Records

 * Census Records, Lawrence County, Indiana (Genealogy Trails)
 * Lawrence County Census (U.S. GenWeb Archives)
 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census (1880) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Pentecostal
 * Lawless, Elaine J. God's Peculiar People: Women's Voices &amp; Folk Tradition in a Pentecostal Church. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 1988, 2005. (Discusses "Oneness" Pentecostals of Lawrence and Monroe Cos., IN.) Google Books (limited preview)

Presbyterian
 * 1846-1861 Presbyterian Church, Lawrenceport, Baptism Index 1846-1861 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch.

Court Records

 * 1818-1921 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1818-2005 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1853-1873 (*); Court of Common Pleas at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * Index to Insanity Applications (1870-1613) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Index to Old Age Pension Applications (1933-1934) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Directories

 * 1890 City Directory (for several Lawrence Co. towns) (Genealogy Trails)
 * Directory of Businesses (1868, 1930) at Indiana Genealogical Society

Funeral Homes

 * Chastain Funeral Home & Cremation Center in Mitchell.
 * Day & Carter Mortuary Inc. in Bedford.
 * Thorne-George Family Funeral Homes in Bedford.

Genealogies

 * Lawrence County Diaries, Letters, and Journals (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Lawrence County: The People (Genealogy Trails)

Land and Property Records

 * Lawrence County Deeds and Land Records (USGenWeb Archives)

Local Histories
Local Histories
 * History of Lawrence County, Indiana. 1965. Paoli, Indiana : Stout's Print Ship. Title also known as: History of Lawrence, Orange and Washington Counties, Chicago : Goodspeed Bros. & Co., 1884.  Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books;.


 * History of Lawrence and Monroe Counties, Indiana: Their People, Industries and Institutions. 1974. Tucson, Arizona : W.C. Cox & Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Google Books; . Microreproduction of original published: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen, 1914.
 * History of Washington County Indiana: A Re-Production of the Original "History of Lawrence, Orange and Washington Counties" 1884. Salem, IN: Washington County Historical Society, 1999. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Kruse, Maxine. Images of American, Lawrence County Indiana. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing, 2001. Google Books
 * History of Lawrence County, Indiana (Genealogy Trails)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Historic Indiana Maps at IUPUI University Library


 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Indiana
 * Lawrence County Maps (INGenWeb)
 * 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
 * Lawrence County Military (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Lawrence County Military (INGenWeb)

Civil War Civil War service men from Lawrence 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 Lawrence County:


 * 4th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company G
 * 10th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company L
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company H
 * 16th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company D
 * 17th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 18th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
 * 24th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A
 * 27th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
 * 43rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 49th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
 * 50th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies D, G, and I
 * 52nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E, and Reorganized Company B
 * 67th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, and H
 * 82nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
 * 93rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 97th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
 * 112th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, D, F, and G
 * 117th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (6 months, 1863-4), Company D
 * 120th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies H, I, and K
 * 136th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company H
 * 140th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A
 * 144th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies C, and H
 * 145th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, C, and G

Civil War Books:
 * "Military History," Chapter 7 in History of Washington County Indiana: A Re-Production of the Original "History of Lawrence, Orange and Washington Counties" 1884. Salem, IN: Washington County Historical Society, 1999. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Internet Archive

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 ($)
 * Lawrence County, Indiana News (newspaper extracts) (Genealogy Trails)
 * Lawrence County Newspapers (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Old Lawrence County Newspaper Articlesed (INGenWeb)
 * Times-Mail (current newspaper, Bedford)
 * Hoosier State Chronicles

Obituaries

 * Lawrence County Obituaries (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Lawrence County Obituary Database Surname Index (INGenWeb)
 * Monroe County Public Library Obituary Index Search (includes many Lawrence County obituaries)
 * Lawrence County, Indiana Obits (Genealogy Trails)

Other Records
Public Records
 * Lawrence County, Indiana Miscellaneous Information (Genealogy Trails)
 * Roster of Civilian Conservation Corps, Mitchell, Lawrence County, Indiana (1938) at Indiana Genealogical Society

Probate Records

 * 1798-1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry $
 * Lawrence County Wills (USGenWeb Archives)

School Records

 * Students/Seniors/Teachers of Lawrence County Schools (1926, 1931-1933, 1943, 1950) 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.

Tax Records

 * Lee, Barbara. 1907 Lawrence County, Indiana Poll Tax Rolls. Bedford, IN: Lawrence County Historical &amp; Genealogical Society, (2007). WorldCat
 * A list of Lawrence County Poll Tax Payers for 1822 - Internet Archive

Birth

 * Lawrence County Births (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Lawrence County, Indiana Birth Records of University Graduates (Genealogy Trails)

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
 * Lawrence County Marriages (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Marriages of Lawrence County, Indiana (Genealogy Trails)

Death

 * Pre-1882 WEB: Indiana, Deaths, Pre-1882 at Ancestry.com - 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 $; and images
 * Deaths, Lawrence County, Indiana (Genealogy Trails)

Family History Centers

 * Bedford Indiana Family History Center
 * Bloomington Indiana Family History Center
 * Jackson County Indiana Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Monroe County History Center - an affiliate library.
 * Monroe County Public Library - Downtown Bloomington - an affiliate library.
 * Monroe County Public Library - Elletsville - an affiliate library.

Libraries
Bedford Public Library 1323 K Street Bedford, IN 47421 Phone: 812-275-4471 Website Mitchell Community Public Library 804 Main Street Mitchell, IN 47446 Phone: 812-849-2412 Email: [mailto:info@mitchell.lib.in.us info@mitchell.lib.in.us] Website

Museums
Lawrence County Museum of History & Edward L. Hutton Research Library 929 15th Street Bedford, IN 47421 Phone: 812-278-8575 Email: [mailto:lchgs@lcmuseum.org lchgs@lcmuseum.org] Website

Societies
Lawrence County Historical and Genealogical Society Lawrence County Museum of History & Edward L. Hutton Research Library 929 15th Street Bedford, IN 47421 Phone: 812-278-8575 Email: [mailto:lchgs@lcmuseum.org lchgs@lcmuseum.org] 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 Free and Members-only. Scroll the list.
 * Jackson/Lawrence County, Indiana Genealogy (blog)
 * Lawrence County (Indiana State Library, Genealogy Division)
 * Lawrence County (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Lawrence County, Indiana (Genealogy Trails)
 * Lawrence County, Indiana (INGenWeb)
 * Lawrence County, Indiana (Wikipedia)
 * Lawrence County, Indiana Genealogy Forum (GenForum)
 * Lawrence County, Indiana History &amp; Genealogy (Indiana Genealogy Express)
 * EveryNameIndex.com for Indiana Free online genealogy indexes for county histories. Select a county.
 * Lawrence 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.