DeKalb County, Indiana Genealogy

Guide to DeKalb 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 in 1835 from unorganized territory (Allen/LaGrange)
 * County Seat:  Auburn

Neighboring Counties
Steuben •  La Grange  •  Noble  •  Steuben  •  Allen  •  Williams  •  Defiance The county is named after Revolutionary War hero Johann de Kalb (1721-1780), a German baron.

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
1913 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged. For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
 * Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Cemeteries

 * Index of Christian Union Cemetery (free, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Index of Corunna Cemetery (free, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Census Records

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

Directories

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

Local Histories
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.), 977.277 H2b   other library   Internet Archive

DeKalb County Historical Society (Ind.). 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.), 977.277 H2hi   other library   Internet Archive

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana

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.) 977.277 M2s   other library  Internet Archive

"Military History" Chaper 5 in 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

"The War for the Union," Chaper 5 in DeKalb County Historical Society (Ind.). 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.

Newspapers
The Garrett Clipper: Obituary database from 1975 through January, 2012 provided courtesy of the Garrett Public Library.

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

School Records

 * Directory of Teachers (1936) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Courthouse
De Kalb County Courthouse 100 S Main Street PO Box 810 Auburn, IN 46706 Phone: 219.925.2112

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.

Societies
DeKalb County Indiana PO Box 6085 Auburn, IN 46706 E-mail: [mailto:rozwells@sbcglobal.net rozwells@sbcglobal.net] Website

Dekalb County Historical Society PO Box 686 Auburn, IN 46706

DeKalb County Historical Society 201 E. Main St. Butler, IN 46721-1409 Telephone Number: 260-868-0979

DeKalb Genealogical Society c/o Eckhart Public Library 603 S. Jackson Dtreet Auburn, IN 46706 Website

Garrett Historical Society PO Box 225 Garrett, IN 46738-0225 Telephone Number: 260-357-5575

Willennar Genealogy Center 700 S. Jackson St. Auburn, IN 46706-2267 Telephone Number: 260-925-2414 Ext 420 Fax: 260-925-3635 E-mail: [mailto:genealogy@epl.lib.in.us genealogy@epl.lib.in.us] Website

Family History Centers

 * Columbus Indiana Family History Center

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

School Records

 * Directory of Teachers (1936) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Marriage Records

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

Death Records

 * Indiana State Digital Archives
 * Indiana, Death Index, 1882-1920 FamilySearch

Web Sites

 * DeKalb County, IN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * 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)
 * DeKalb County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)