Newton County, Indiana Genealogy

United States

Indiana

Newton County

Guide to Newton County, Indiana ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Indiana Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Kentland Organized: December 8, 1859 Parent County(s): Unorganized territory and Jasper Neighboring Counties Lake  • Jasper  • Benton  • Iroquois (IL)  • Kankakee (IL) See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption Adopt-a-wiki page This page adopted by: Indiana Genealogical Society who welcome you to contribute. Adopt a page today

County Information

Description

Newton County was named for Sgt. John Newton. It is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse

Newton County Courthouse
201 North 3rd Street
Kentland, IN 47951
Phone: 219-474-6081 or 888-663-9866
County Website

Newton County Health Department
4117 South 240 West, Suite 500
Morocco, IN, 47963
Health Officer: Gonzolo Florido, MD
Phone: 888-663-9866
Fax: 219-285-0464
Email: kdurham@newtoncounty.in.gov
Health Department

County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1860.
County Health Department has birth and death records from 1882.
County Recorder has land records from 1860.
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.

Newton County, Indiana Record Dates

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.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1882	1860	1882	1860	1860	1860	1807
*Statewide registration for births in 1907 and deaths in Oct 1899. General compliance by 1917.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Parent Counties: Formed from unorganized territory (St. Joseph/Warren/White) in 1835, then abolished in 1839 and reformed from Jasper in 1859. County Seat: Kentland Interactive Map of Indiana County Formation History (1790-1897) - animated maps illustrating Indiana county boundary changes Indiana Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Populated Places

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:

Towns
Brook Goodland	Kentland Morocco	Mount Ayr
Unincorporated communities
Ade Beaver City Conrad Effner	Enos Foresman Newton Pembroke	Percy Junction Perkins Sumava Resorts Thayer
Census-designated places
Lake Village	Roselawn
Townships
Beaver Colfax Grant Iroquois	Jackson Jefferson Lake Lincoln	McClellan Washington

Resources

Biographies

• Biographical History of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski Counties. 1899. Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 1 - Google Books, Vol. 2 - Google Books.
• A Standard History of Jasper and Newton Counties, Indiana. 2 volumes. 1916. Chicago, Illinois : Lewis Pub. Co. Online at: Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Google Books; At various libraries (WorldCat). Vol. 2 contains biographies.
• Indiana Biography Index at Indiana State Library

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Newton County, Indiana online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find A Grave INGenWeb Billion Graves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com FamilySearch Places
See Indiana Cemeteries for more information.

 

Census Records

For tips on accessing Newton County census records online, see: Indiana Census.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	2,360	—
1870	5,829	147.0%
1880	8,167	40.1%
1890	8,803	7.8%
1900	10,448	18.7%
1910	10,504	0.5%
1920	10,144	−3.4%
1930	9,841	−3.0%
1940	10,775	9.5%
1950	11,006	2.1%
1960	11,502	4.5%
1970	11,606	0.9%
1980	14,844	27.9%
1990	13,551	−8.7%
2000	14,566	7.5%
2010	14,244	−2.2%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

• Index to Mortality Schedule (1860, 1870) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
• Index to Defective, Dependent & Delinquent Census (1880) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
• Early Settlers of Newton County, Indiana (1831-1859) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Church Records

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

• FamilySearch Places
  

Directories

• Directory of Businesses in Newton County, Indiana (1884) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Land and Property Records

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 Newton County courthouse, where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Newton 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 Warren, Benton, Jasper and Newton, Indiana: Historical and Biographical. 1883. Chicago: F.A. Battey & Co. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($); At various libraries (WorldCat). Index: Every Name Index, compiled by Cathy L. O'Connor, 2008.
• A Standard History of Jasper and Newton Counties, Indiana. 2 volumes. 1916. Chicago, Illinois : Lewis Pub. Co. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Google Books; At various libraries (WorldCat). Vol. 1 contains county histories.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Historic Indiana Maps at IUPUI University Library
• Old Antique Atlases Maps of Indiana
• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

• Military Record Series Index at Indiana Digital Archives

Civil War
Civil War service men from Newton 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 Newton County.

• 9th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company G
• 12th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company K
• 51st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
• 99th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
• 128th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A
  

Civil War Books

• "Newton County in the War" in F.A. Battey Co. Counties of Warren, Benton, Jasper and Newton, Indiana: Historical and Biographical. (Chicago: F.A. Battey & Co, 2008.) also (Digital images of original published: Mt. Vernon, IN: Windmill Publications, 1994. viii, 810 p.: ill., ports.28 cm. The original is a reprint. It was originally published: Chicago: F.A. Battey, 1883.) Digital versions at FamilySearch Digital Library; Internet Archive
  

World War I

• 1919 Indiana, World War I, Enrollment Cards, 1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

• Naturalization Record Series (for this county) at Indiana Digital Archives. Search by names.

Newspapers

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 ($)
• Hoosier State Chronicles

Probate Records

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 Newton County courthouse. For more information, see Indiana Probate Records.

• 1798-1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry

School Records

• Directory of Teachers (1936) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Social Security Records

• 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

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

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.

Marriage

• 1780-1992 Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
• 1800-2007 Indiana, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($)
• 1802-1892 Indiana, Compiled Marriages, 1802-1892 at Ancestry
• 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

• 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

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Newton County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Indiana Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

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

• Valparaiso Indiana Family History Center
• West Lafayette Indiana Family History Center
• Jasper County Public Library - an affiliate library.
• Lake County Public Library - an affiliate library.
• Valparaiso Public Library/Porter County Public Library System - an affiliate library.

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Newton County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Indiana Archives and Libraries.

Newton County Public Library
205 S West St
Morocco, IN 47963
Phone: 219-285-2664
Email: morocco@newton.lib.in.us
Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Newton County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Indiana Societies.

Newton County Historical Society
P.O. Box 303
310 Seymour Street
Kentland, IN 47951
Phone: 219-474-6944
Email: newtonhs@ffni.com
Website

Beaver Lake Museum and Two Rivers Reference Library
P.O. Box 315
Morocco, IN 47963-0315
Phone: 219-285-2367

Websites

• Indiana Digital Archives Search by name in all records or specific collections
• Indiana Historical Society Digital Collections Extensive - keyword searches suggested
• 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. Scroll the list.
• INGenWeb, Newton County
• USGenWeb Archives, Newton County
• EveryNameIndex.com for Indiana Free online genealogy indexes for county histories. Select a county.
• 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.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.

The collection is free on this subscription website.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a family history center.