Clay County, Indiana Genealogy

Guide to Clay 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 12 February 1825 from Adams New Purchase (Tippicanoe)
 * County Seat:  Brazil

Description
The county was named in honor of Henry Clay, a famous antebellum American statesman. The county seat is Brazil. Clay County was organized in 1825. The County is located in the West-central part of the state. 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:

Neighboring Counties
Parke •  Putnam  •  Owen  •  Greene  •  Sullivan  •  Vigo The county is named after U.S. Speaker of the House Henry Clay (1777-1852).

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
November 1851 -- Courthouse was destroyed by fire and all records were lost except the Recorder's records.

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

Census Records

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

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses (1858) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Local Histories

 * INGenWeb
 * USGenWeb
 * Linkpendium

Online County Histories


 * County of Clay, Indiana, Histori[c]al and Biographical. Edited by Charles Blanchard. 1986. Evansville, Indiana : Whipporwill Publications. (Facsimilie reprint. Originally published: Chicago : F. A. Battey & Co. Publishers, 1884.) Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; . Also part of:
 * Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana. Edited by Charles Blanchard. 1884. Chicago : F. A. Battey & Co. Publishers. Online at: Hathitrust; Internet Archive; Google Books;.
 * A History of Clay County, Indiana. 2 Vols. By William Travis. 1909. New York, New York : Lewis Pub. Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library- Vol. 1; FamilySearch Digital Library- Vol. 2; Hathitrust; Google Books; Ancestry ($); . Index at: Internet Archive.

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 Clay County, Indiana - Internet Archive
 * Clay County Veterans at State Soldiers Home, Lafayette, Indiana (1906) - Indiana Genealogical Society (members only database)
 * Clay County Casualties in WWI, WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam - HonorStates.org

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

 * Revolutionary War Soldiers of Clay County - Wabash Valley Visions &amp; Voices

Civil War, 1861-1865
Civil War service men from Clay County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment)that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Clay County.


 * 1st Regiment, Indiana Heavy Artillery, Companies A, I, and K
 * 2nd Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company G
 * 6th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies D, and F
 * 10th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 11th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company H
 * 17th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 20th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
 * 43rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A
 * 48th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
 * 59th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
 * 78th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (60 days, 1862), Company G
 * 85th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies I, and K
 * 88th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 97th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, and D
 * 115th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (6 months, 1863-4), Company D
 * 124th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
 * 133rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Companies B, I, and K
 * 144th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 149th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, B, F, and H
 * 152nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E


 * Clay County Civil War Soldiers (INGenWeb)
 * Clay County Civil War Files (USGenWeb)

Civil War Book


 * "Military" Chapter 28 in Travis, William. A History of Clay County Indiana: Closing of the First Century's History of the County and Showing the Growth of Its People Institutions Industries and Wealth Vols 1 and 2. (New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1981.) page 350-380 Vol.1 (regiment, company, name, also "Burial Places Of Soldiers" page 376) 977.244 H2t FHL US/CAN Book, FamilySearch Digital Library- Vol. 1, FamilySearch Digital Library-Vol. 2; other library

World War I (The Great War), 1914-1918

 * 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Gold Star Honor Roll Indiana Men and Women who Died in the Service of the United States and the Allied Nations in the World War (Source: Genealogy Trails History Group)
 * World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 Clay County at Ancestry (free)

World War II, 1941-1945

 * Clay County, Indiana World War II Casualties

Korean War, 1950-1923

 * Clay County Korean War Casualties (New Horizons Genealogy)

Newspapers
The Brazil Daily Times has obituaries and other archives back to 2003.

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

School Records

 * Selected Alumni of Brazil High School, Clay County, Indiana (1918) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Students of Brazil High School, Clay County, Indiana (1918) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)
 * Teachers of Brazil High School, Clay County, Indiana (1918) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Courthouse
Clay County Courthouse 609 E Nation Avenue Brazil, IN 47834-2797 Phone: 812.448.9024 County Health Department has birth and death records. County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1851. County Recorder has land records from 1825, some naturalization and burial records. The earliest civil records that were housed in the first county courthouse were lost when the courthouse burned down in 1851.

Societies

 * Clay County Genealogical Society, Inc. PO Box 56 309 W. Main Street Centerpoint, IN 47840-0056 Phone: 812-535-5005 Email: [mailto:research@ccgsilib.org research@ccgsilib.org] Website
 * Clay County Historical Society 100 East National Brazil, IN 47834 Phone: 812 446-4036

Family History Centers

 * Terre Haute Indiana Family History Center

Vital Records
See Vital Records at Linkpendium

Birth Records

 * Clay County, Indiana Birth 1880-1882 - Genealogy Trails

Marriage Records

 * 1800s-2007 - Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Marriages: INGenWeb

Death Records

 * 1882-1920 at FamilySearch Historical Records - Index only
 * 1899-2011 Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 at Ancestry - ($), index and images
 * Deaths: INGenWeb
 * Indiana State Digital Archives

Websites

 * 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.
 * Clay County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Clay County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)