Dearborn County, Indiana Genealogy

Guide to Dearborn 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 7 Mar 1803 from Clark County&lt;
 * County Seat:  Lawrenceburg

Description
The county was named in honor of General Henry Dearborn, at that time secretary of war. The county seat is Lawrenceburg and the county was organized in 1803. The County is located in the South-east part of the state.

Neighboring Counties
Ohio •  Ripley  •  Franklin  •  Hamilton  •  Boone

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
March 1826 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

Census Records

 * Index to Agircultural Census for Dearborn County, (1850-1880) (free, Indiana's GoreIndiana Genealogical Society)
 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for Dearborn County (1880) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Index to Manufacturing Schedules for Dearborn County (1850-1880) (free, Indiana's Gore)
 * Index to Mortality Schedule for Dearborn County (1850-1800) (free, Indiana's Gore)
 * Selected Residents of Dearborn County (1806) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Voters of Dearborn County (1809) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Church of Christ

 * 1819-1842 - Church of Christ, Manchester, Baptism Index 1819-1842 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Lutheran
Dillsboro


 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Dillsboro, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Kelso


 * 1873-1885 - St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Kelso, Marriage Index 1873-1885 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

St. Stephen's Lutheran Church, Manchester


 * 1860-1885 - St. Stephen's Lutheran Church, Manchester, Marriage Index 1860-1885 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Presbyterian

 * 1854-1875 - First Presbyterian Church, Aurora, Baptism Index 1854-1875 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Court Records

 * Dearborn County Circuit Court Order Book 1 Index (1826-1827)
 * Dearborn County Circuit Court Order Book 2 Index (1827-1829)
 * Dearborn County Commissioners' Records Abstracts (1826-1852)

Directories

 * Dearborn County Directories (1826-1916)
 * Directory of Businesses in Dearborn County, Indiana (1858, 1868) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Directory of Selected Residents of Dearborn County (1876) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Local Histories

 * Shaw, Archibald, Editor. History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families. (Indianapolis, Indiana; B. F. Bowen &amp; Company, Inc. 1915). INTERNET ARCHIVE
 * History of Dearborn and Ohio Counties, Indiana: From Their Earliest Settlement, Containing a History of the Counties; Their Cities, Townships, Towns, Villages, Schools, and Churches ... Biographies; Preliminary Chapters on the History of the North-West Territory, the State of Indiana, and the Indians. (Evansville, IN: Whipporwill Publications, 1986.) 977.21 H2h 1977 FHL US/CAN Book     other library   INTERNET ARCHIVE
 * Weakley, Harraman &amp; Co. History of Dearborn, Ohio and Switzerland Counties, Indiana: From Their Earliest Settlement, Containing a History of the Counties, Their Cities, Townships, Towns, Villages, Schools, and Churches ... Biographies ... History of the North-West Territory, the State of Indiana, and the Indians. (Chicago: Weakley, Harraman &amp; Co, 2008.) other library    INTERNET ARCHIVE
 * History of Dearborn County included as part of 1875 Atlas of Dearborn County, Indiana. Lake, Griffing &amp; Stevenson, 1875. Digital Images. Historic Map Works
 * Dearborn County, Indiana: History - Linkpendium
 * Every Name Index to History of Dearborn and Ohio Counties, Indiana. Every Name Index compiled by Cathy O'Connor, 2007; original text by F. E. Weakley, 1885; reproduction by Unigraphic, Inc., 1970.
 * A short history of Dearborn County is located on the Dearborn County website - Dearborn County History.

Land and Property

 * Dearborn County Deed Book Indexes (1826-1848)

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Indiana
 * 1872 Dearborn and Switzerland Counties, Indiana. E. T. Cox, 1872. Digital Image. Historic Map Works
 * 1875 Atlas of Dearborn County, Indiana. Lake, Griffing &amp; Stevenson, 1875. Digital Images. Historic Map Works. Note: this website includes on separate tabs images of directories, history and illustrations in this publication as well as maps.
 * 1930c Atlas of Dearborn County, Indiana. W. W. Hixon &amp; Co., 1930c. Digital Images. Historic Map Works

Revolutionary War

 * Revolutionary War Veterans in Dearborn County

War of 1812

 * War of 1812 Veterans in Dearborn County

Mexican War

 * Mexican War Soldiers from Dearborn County

Civil War
Civil War service men from Dearborn 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 Dearborn County.


 * 2nd Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 4th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company B
 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies C, and D
 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies D, E, G, and Reorganized Companies A, and K
 * 9th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company K
 * 10th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company K
 * 16th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G, I and Reorganized E, and K
 * 18th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A
 * 24th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 26th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 30th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company C
 * 37th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company A
 * 50th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, C, and Reorganized Company B
 * 68th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies E, H, and K
 * 83rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, H, and I
 * 134th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company I
 * 139th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Companies C, and K
 * 146th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies G, H, and I
 * 148th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, and G


 * Civil War Soldiers from Dearborn County

Civil War Book

'' "Civil War" Chapter 13 in History of Dearborn and Ohio Counties, Indiana: From Their Earliest Settlement, Containing a History of the Counties; Their Cities, Townships, Towns, Villages, Schools, and Churches ... Biographies; Preliminary Chapters on the History of the North-West Territory, the State of Indiana, and the Indians.'' (Evansville, IN: Whipporwill Publications, 1986.) page 203-225, 977.21 H2h 1977 FHL US/CAN Book      other library   INTERNET ARCHIVE

Spanish-American War

 * Spanish-American War Soldiers from Dearborn County

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * Naturalizations (1826-1829)

Newspapers

 * List of Dearborn County newspapers
 * Dearborn County Newspaper Index

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

Probate records are court records created after an individual’s death that relate to a court’s decisions regarding the distribution of the estate to the heirs or creditors and the care of any dependents. These documents are important to family history researchers because they usually exist for time periods before civil birth and death records were kept. While probate records are one of the most accurate sources of genealogical evidence, they have limitations.

The Circuit Court has responsibility for the probate records of Dearborn County.

The following Dearborn County probate records have been indexed and transcribed:


 * The University of Mary Washington has indexed and transcribed probate inventories for Dearborn, Franklin, and Ripley counties.

School Records

 * Dearborn County School Records
 * Faculty and Students of Moores Hill College, Dearborn County, Indiana (1894) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Voter Registration

 * Elected Officials in Dearborn County, Indiana (1803-1915) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Courthouse
Dearborn County Courthouse 215-B High Street Lawrenceburg, In 47025 Phone: 812-537-8867

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage records from 1826 Divorce, Probate and court records. County Health Officer has birth and death records. County Recorder has land records.

Libraries
The Lawrenceburg Public Library has a genealogy section. The Web site https://www.lpld.lib.in.us/ has an online catalog.

Societies
Dearborn County Historical Society 508 W. High Street Lawrenceburg, IN 47025-1916 Telephone Number: 812-537-4075 E-mail: [mailto:deahistory@embarqmail.com deahistory@embarqmail.com] Website

Carnegie Hall Museum 14687 Main St. Moores Hill, IN 47032-9162 Telephone Number: 812-744-4015 E-mail: [mailto:Staff@TheCarnegieHall.org Staff@TheCarnegieHall.org] Website

Hillforest PO Box 127 Aurora, IN 47001-0127 Telephone Number: 812-926-0087 Fax: 812-926-1075 E-mail: [mailto:hillforest@embarqmail.com hillforest@embarqmail.com] Website

Family History Centers

 * Northern Kentucky Family History Center

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

Birth Records

 * 1882-1889 Dearborn County Births

Marriage Records

 * Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 - Ancestry.com$
 * 1800s-2007 - Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1780-1992 - FamilySearch
 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images

Death Records

 * 1882-1900 at Indiana's Gore - free index
 * 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

 * Dearborn County, IN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * EveryNameIndex.com  Free online genealogy indexes for those big old county histories.
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Dearborn County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Dearborn County resources on Indiana's Gore
 * Dearborn County resources on Indiana's Gore