Washington County, Indiana Genealogy

United States Indiana  Washington County

Guide to Washington 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 21 December 1813 from Clark, Harrison and Jefferson Counties.
 * County Seat:  Salem

Neighboring Counties
Lawrence • Jackson • Scott • Clark • Floyd • Harrison • Crawford • Orange

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
For a list of record loss in Indiana Counties see: Indiana Counties with Burned Courthouses

Cemeteries
Crown Hill Cemetery in Salem, Indiana is the largest cemetery in the county. Dating back to 1824, the cemetery has several thousand grave sites. The cemetery has an online database of burials on its web page at Crown Hill Cemetery.

BillionGraves


 * Blue River Church Cemetery, Salem
 * Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Borden
 * Old Hebron Cemetery, Salem
 * Peugh Cemetery, Salem
 * Poor Farm Cemetery, Salem
 * Winslow Cemetery, Salem

Census Records

 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for Washington County, Indiana (1880) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Lutheran

 * Records of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses in Washington County, Indiana (1868) (members only database, 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 Washington County Indiana: A Re-Production of the Original "History of Lawrence, Orange and Washington Counties" 1884. (Salem, Ind: Washington County Historical Society, 1999.) 977.226 H2Lc FHL other libraries   INTERNET ARCHIVE

Maps

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

Military Records
War of 1812

Civil War

Civil War service men from Washington 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 Washington County.


 * 5th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry (90th Regiment, Indiana Volunteers), Company E
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
 * 16th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company B
 * 18th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
 * 22nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
 * 24th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 38th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
 * 50th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
 * 66th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, B, F, H, and K
 * 81st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A
 * 112th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
 * 117th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (6 months, 1863-4), Company G
 * 137th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company K
 * 144th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, B, C, and F
 * 145th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F

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, Ind: Washington County Historical Society, 1999.)(page 793-815, Regiment, Companies)977.226 H2Lc FHL other libraries    INTERNET ARCHIVE

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

School Records

 * Students and Teachers of Salem High School (1926) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Directory of Teachers for Washington County ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

County Courthouse
Washington County Courthouse 99 Public Square Salem, IN 47167 Phone: 812.883.5748 County Health Department birth and death from 1882. County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate, probate and court records from 1814 and newspapers from 1891. County recorder has land records. County Historical Society has many family records.

Family History Centers

 * New Albany Indiana Family History Center

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

Libraries, Museums and Societies
The Stevens Memorial Museum and Genealogy Library, 307 East Market Street, Salem, Indiana, 812-883-6495, is also home to the Washington County Historical Society (WCHS).

WCHS publishes a newsletter that contains events, news articles, and books and other items for sale by the library. The library and museum are open 9AM to 5PM daily, except for Sunday, Monday, and holidays.

The name has recently changed to The John Hay Center which encompasses the entire organization including the Stevens Memorial Museum, the Pioneer Village, John Hay Birthplace, and the Depot Railroad Museum. The web site is www.johnhaycenter.org.

Stevens Museum has cemetery records books, histories, marriage and divorce records, and miscellaneous materials such as 1800-1902 Abstract of Wills, 1882-1999 Death Records and others.

Vital Records

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

Marriage Records

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


 * 1780-1992 - FamilySearch


 * 1811-1959 - FamilySearch


 * Indiana, Death Index, 1882-1920-FamilySearch

Death Records

 * 1926-1934 - Washington County Death Index 1926-1934 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Washington County, Indiana Web Sites

 * Washington County, IN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb Project. Has maps, name indexes, history or other information for Washington county at this link.
 * John Hay Center and Washington County Historical Society,
 * City of Salem, Indiana
 * Washington County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Washington County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

Places
Information about the city of Salem, see the Wikipedia article Salem, Indiana