Blackford County, Indiana Genealogy
Guide to Blackford County, Indiana ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
Blackford County was named in honor of Judge Blackford, one of the pioneer judges of Indiana.[1] It is located in the east-central area of the state.[2]
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Blackford County Indiana
110 W Washington Street
Hartford City, IN 47348
Phone: 765-348-1620
County Website
Blackford County Health Department
506 East VanCleve Street
Hartford City, IN, 47348
Health Officer: Lori Skidmore, MD
Phone Number: 765-348-4317
Fax: 765-348-3041
Health Department
County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1839.
City and County Health Officers have birth and death records.
County Recorder has land records.
County Coroner has burial records. [3]
Blackford County, Indiana Record Dates[edit | edit source]
Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1882 | 1839 | 1882 | 1839 | 1836 | 1839 | 1807 |
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
|
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county. |
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
|
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
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:[7]
| Cities | ||
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Townships | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
|
|
|
History Timeline[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
Bible Records[edit | edit source]
Biographies[edit | edit source]
- Indiana Biography Index at Indiana State Library
- Blackford and Grant Counties, Indiana : a Chronicle ... with Family Lineage and Personal Memoirs. 2 Vols. Benjamin G. Shinn, Editor. 1914. Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library - Vol. 1, Internet Archive - Vol. 1; FamilySearch Digital Library - Vol. 2; Internet Archive - Vol. 2; At various libraries (WorldCat).
Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
Census Records[edit | edit source]
For tips on accessing Blackford County census records online, see: Indiana Census.
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1840 | 1,226 | — |
| 1850 | 2,860 | 133.3% |
| 1860 | 4,122 | 44.1% |
| 1870 | 6,272 | 52.2% |
| 1880 | 8,020 | 27.9% |
| 1890 | 10,461 | 30.4% |
| 1900 | 17,213 | 64.5% |
| 1910 | 15,820 | −8.1% |
| 1920 | 14,084 | −11.0% |
| 1930 | 13,617 | −3.3% |
| 1940 | 13,783 | 1.2% |
| 1950 | 14,026 | 1.8% |
| 1960 | 14,792 | 5.5% |
| 1970 | 15,888 | 7.4% |
| 1980 | 15,570 | −2.0% |
| 1990 | 14,067 | −9.7% |
| 2000 | 14,048 | −0.1% |
| 2010 | 12,766 | −9.1% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
- Index to Mortality Schedule for Blackford County, Indiana (1860) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
- Index to Defective, Dependent & Delinquent Census for Blackford County, Indiana (1880) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
Church Records[edit | edit source]
Most church records are held by individual churches. For contact information, check a phone directory, such as SearchBug or Dex Knows. Some denominations are gathering their records into a central repository.
For more information about these major repositories, see Indiana Church Records.
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Presbyterian Church
- 1844-1873 - Hartford Presbyterian Church Baptism Index 1844-1873 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. Batch C530971 [8]
Court Records[edit | edit source]
Directories[edit | edit source]
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]
Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]
Genealogies[edit | edit source]
Guardianship[edit | edit source]
Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]
Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents. See Indiana Land and Property for additional information about early Indiana land grants and patents.
After land was transferred from the government to private ownership, subsequent transactions were recorded at the Blackford County courthouse, where records are currently housed.
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Blackford County. County histories may include biographies; church, school and government histories; and military information. For more information about local histories, see Indiana Local Histories.
- Biographical and Historical Record of Jay and Blackford Counties, Indiana. 1887. Chicago, Illinois : Lewis Pub. Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library (Blackford County section only), Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books; At various libraries (WorldCat).
Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana
- Google Custom Map
- 1876 Map (David Rumsey Map Collection)
- FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
Migration[edit | edit source]
Military Records[edit | edit source]
Civil War
Civil War service men from Blackford 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 Blackford County.
- 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company K
- 34th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
- 84th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
- 130th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
- 138th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company I
- 139th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company I
- 153rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies G, and H
Civil War Books:
- "The Civil War" Part 3, Chapter 7 in Biographical and historical record of Jay and Blackford counties, Indiana : a condensed history of the state of Indiana, portraits and biographies of some of the prominent men of the state, with personal histories of many of the leading families. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1978. (Pages 738-743, some Regiments and Companies). Online at: FamilySearch Digital; FHL Collection; Internet Archive; At various libraries (WorldCat).
- Cecil E. Beeson. Records of Indiana Rangers in the Civil War, Montpelier, Indiana men. Fort Wayne, IN 1975. Online at: FamilySearch Digital; GenealogyCenter.
- Blackford Military Record and Histories (Linkpendium)
World War I
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
- Naturalization Record Series (for this county) at Indiana Digital Archives. Search by names.
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Indiana newspapers may contain genealogical value including obituaries, births, marriages, deaths, anniversaries, family gatherings, family travel, achievements, business notices, engagement information, and probate court proceedings.
For more Indiana newspaper information see the wiki page Indiana Newspapers.
- 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
- News-Times
- Hoosier State Chronicles
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
Other Records[edit | edit source]
Periodicals[edit | edit source]
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
In most counties in Indiana, probate records have been kept by the county clerk of the circuit court. They include wills, fee books, claim registers, legacy records, inheritance records, probate ticklers, and dockets. The records are available at the Blackford County courthouse. For more information, see Indiana Probate Records.
- 1798-1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry $
School Records[edit | edit source]
- Licensed Teachers of Blackford County, Indiana (1888-1889) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
- Students and Teachers of Hartford City High School (1930) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
Social Security Records[edit | edit source]
- 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index 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 ($) — index, click here for more information.
Tax Records[edit | edit source]
Indiana tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses or to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned taxable property were listed, many residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. For more information see the wiki page Indiana Taxation.
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Indiana law in 1882 required registration of births and deaths in counties. The Indiana Department of Health has birth records filed after October 1907 and death records filed after January 1900 for deaths. Copies may be obtained from the county health department or the Indiana State Division of Vital Records.
Birth[edit | edit source]
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- 1780-1992 Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
- 1800s-2007 Indiana, United States Marriages at Findmypast $
- 1811-1959 Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959 at MyHeritage - index and images, ($)
- 1811-2007 Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007 at FamilySearch -How to Use this Collection
- 1839-1857 Index to Marriages for Blackford County (1839-1857) at Indiana Genealogical Society
Death[edit | edit source]
- Pre-1882 WEB: Indiana, Deaths, Pre-1882 at Ancestry.com - index, (Free collection)
- 1750-1993 Indiana Deaths and Burials, 1750-1993 at FamilySearch -How to Use this Collection
- 1882-1920 Indiana, Death Index, 1882-1920 at FamilySearch -How to Use this Collection
- 1899-2011 Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 at Ancestry $
Divorce[edit | edit source]
Research Facilities[edit | edit source]
Archives[edit | edit source]
Listed below are archives in Blackford County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Indiana Archives and Libraries.
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries
- Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
- FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
- Huntington Indiana Family History Center
- Marion Indiana Family History Center
- Muncie Indiana Family History Center
- Allen County Public Library - an affiliate library.
- Anderson Indiana Public Library - an affiliate library.
- Kokomo-Howard County Public Library - an affiliate library.
- Marion Public Library - an affiliate library.
Libraries[edit | edit source]
Listed below are libraries in Blackford County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Indiana Archives and Libraries.
- Hartford City Public Library
314 N High St
Hartford City, IN 47348
Phone: 765-358-1720
Email: info@hartfordcity.lib.in.us
Website
Museums[edit | edit source]
Societies[edit | edit source]
Listed below are societies in Blackford County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Indiana Societies.
Blackford County Historical Society
P.O. Box 264
321 North High Street
Hartford City, IN 47348
Phone: 765-499-2659
Email: sinuardcastelo3@gmail.com
Website
Montpelier Historical Society
P.O. Box 204
319 S Main St
Montpelier, IN 47359
Facebook
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Indiana Digital Archives Search by name in all records or specific collections
- Indiana Historical Society Digital Collections Search by county or keyword
- 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. Select a county
- ebsites area: Please replace the “Every Name Index” link to:
- EveryNameIndex.com for Indiana Free online genealogy indexes for county histories. Select a county.
- Blackford County IN Gen Web
- Blackford County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
- Blackford County Records at Indiana State Library
- GenealogyTrails
- FamilySearch Catalog – 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.
Research Guides[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Genealogy Trails History Group, “Blackford County, Ohio Genealogy and History”, http://genealogytrails.com/ind/blackford/ accessed 3/01/2017.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Blackford County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackford_County,_Indiana accessed 3/01/2017.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Indiana.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Indiana.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Indiana.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Blackford County, Indiana" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackford_County,_Indiana (accessed 10 May 2012).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, Blackford County, Indiana," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackford_County,_Indiana, accessed 22 November 2019.
- ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/9/91/Igiindiana.pdf.
