Clay County, Indiana Genealogy
Guide to Clay County, Indiana ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
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County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
Clay County was named in honor of Henry Clay, a famous antebellum American statesman.[1] The county is located in the west-central area of the state.[2]
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Clay County Courthouse
609 E Nation Avenue
Brazil, IN 47834-2797
Phone: 812-448-9024
County Website
Clay County Health Department
18 N. Walnut St.
Brazil, IN, 47834
Health Officer: Dr. C. Mark Mendoza
Phone Number: 812-448-9021
Fax: 812-448-9018
Email: conradl@claycountyin.gov
Health Department
The County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1851.
The County Recorder has land records from 1825, some naturalization and burial records.[3]
Health Department has birth records and death records.
Copies may be obtained from the county health department or the Indiana State Division of Vital Records.
Clay 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 |
| 1881 | 1851 | 1882 | 1851 | 1825 | 1851 | 1807 |
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
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November 1851 -- Courthouse was destroyed by fire and all records were lost except the Recorder's records. For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:
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Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
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Populated Places[edit | edit source]
| Cities | ||
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Census-designated places | ||
| Townships | ||
History Timeline[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
Bible Records[edit | edit source]
Biographies[edit | edit source]
Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
Census Records[edit | edit source]
For tips on accessing Clay County census records online, see: Indiana Census.
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1830 | 1,616 | — |
| 1840 | 5,567 | 244.5% |
| 1850 | 7,944 | 42.7% |
| 1860 | 12,161 | 53.1% |
| 1870 | 19,084 | 56.9% |
| 1880 | 25,854 | 35.5% |
| 1890 | 30,536 | 18.1% |
| 1900 | 34,285 | 12.3% |
| 1910 | 32,535 | −5.1% |
| 1920 | 29,447 | −9.5% |
| 1930 | 26,479 | −10.1% |
| 1940 | 25,365 | −4.2% |
| 1950 | 23,918 | −5.7% |
| 1960 | 24,207 | 1.2% |
| 1970 | 23,933 | −1.1% |
| 1980 | 24,862 | 3.9% |
| 1990 | 24,705 | −0.6% |
| 2000 | 26,556 | 7.5% |
| 2010 | 26,890 | 1.3% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
- Clay County Census (1830-1900) at USGenWeb Archives Project
- Index to Mortality Schedule (1860) at [http://www.indgensoc.org/membersonly/county/index.php Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
- Index to Defective, Dependent & Delinquent Census (1880) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
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
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 Clay County courthouse, where records are currently housed.
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Clay County. County histories may include biographies; church, school and government histories; and military information. For more information about local histories, see Indiana Local Histories.
- Counties of Clay and Owen, Indiana. 1884. Edited by Charles Blanchard. Chicago : F. A. Battey & Co. Publishers. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books; At various libraries (WorldCat).
- A History of Clay County, Indiana. 2 Vols. 1909. By William Travis. New York, New York : Lewis Pub. Co. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vols. 1 & 2 - Hathitrust, Google Books; At various libraries (WorldCat). Index at: Internet Archive.
Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana
- Maps and Gazetteers - Linkpendium
- FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
Migration[edit | edit source]
Military Records[edit | edit source]
- Military Record Series Index at Indiana Digital Archives
- List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883, Clay County, Indiana at Internet Archive
- Clay County Veterans at State Soldiers Home, Lafayette, Indiana (1906) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
- Clay County Casualties in WWI, WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam at HonorStates.org
Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
- Revolutionary War Soldiers of Clay County - Wabash Valley Visions & Voices. One typed page which contains a list of men who served in the Revolutionary War and are buried in Clay County, Indiana.
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 Books:
- "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 FHL Collection, FamilySearch Digital Library- Vol. 1, FamilySearch Digital Library-Vol. 2; other library
World War I, 1914-1918
- 1919 Indiana, World War I, Enrollment Cards, 1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- Gold Star Honor Roll: A Record of Indiana Men and Women who Died in the Service of the United States and the Allied Nations in the World War at Genealogy Trails.com
- World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at Ancestry ($)
World War II, 1941-1945
Korean War, 1950-1923
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 ($)
- The Brazil Daily Times has obituaries and other archives back to 2003.
- Hoosier State Chronicles
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
- 2002-2020 - The Brazil Times obituaries
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 Clay 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]
- Selected Alumni of Brazil High School, Clay County, Indiana (1918) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
- Students of Brazil High School, Clay County, Indiana (1918) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
- Teachers of Brazil High School, Clay County, Indiana (1918) 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.
- Vital Records for Clay County, Indiana at Linkpendium.com
- Vital Records for Clay County, Indiana at INGenWeb.org
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, ($)
- 1811-2007 Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
Death[edit | edit source]
- Pre-1882 WEB: Indiana, Deaths, Pre-1882 at Ancestry.com - index, (Free collection)
- 1750-1993 Indiana Deaths and Burials, 1750-1993 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1882-1920 Indiana, Death Index, 1882-1920 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1899-2011 Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 at Ancestry ($)
Divorce[edit | edit source]
Research Facilities[edit | edit source]
Archives[edit | edit source]
Listed below are archives in Clay 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
- Linton Indiana Family History Center
- Terre Haute Indiana Family History Center
- Monroe County Public Library - an affiliate library.
- Putnam County Public Library - an affiliate library.
Libraries[edit | edit source]
Listed below are libraries in Clay County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Indiana Archives and Libraries.
Museums[edit | edit source]
Societies[edit | edit source]
Listed below are societies in Clay County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Indiana Societies.
Clay County Genealogical Society, Inc.
P.O. Box 56
309 W. Main Street
Centerpoint, IN 47840-0056
Phone: 812-535-5005
Email: research@ccgsilib.org
Website
Clay County Historical Society
100 East National Ave
Brazil, IN 47834
Phone: 812-446-4036
Email: claycountyhistoricalsocietyin@gmail.com
Website
Wabash Valley Genealogy Society
P.O. Box 7012
Terre Haute, IN 47802-7012
Email: wvgs@inwvgs.org
Website
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
- EveryNameIndex.com for Indiana Free online genealogy indexes for county histories. Select a county.
- INGenWeb, Clay County
- USGenWeb, Clay County
- Clay County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
- 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, “Clay County, Ohio Genealogy and History”, http://genealogytrails.com/ind/clay/ accessed 3/02/2017.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Clay County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_County,_Indiana accessed 3/02/2017.
- ↑ 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, "Clay County, Indiana" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_County,_Indiana (accessed 10 May 2012).
