Wabash County, Indiana Genealogy
Guide to Wabash 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]
Wabash County was named for the Wabash River. The county is located in the north-central part of the state.[3]
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Wabash County Courthouse
1 W Hill St
Wabash, IN 46992
Phone: 219-563-0661
County Website
Wabash County Health Department
Memorial Hall
89 W Hill St
Wabash, IN 46992
Health Officer: David Roe, MD
Phone: 260-563-0661
Fax: 260-563-6082
Email: klower@wabashcounty.in.gov
Health Department
County Clerk has marriage, probate and court records from 1835.
County Health Department has birth and death records.
County Recorder and Museum has burial records. [4]
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.
Wabash 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 |
| 1899 | 1835 | 1899 | 1835 | 1835 | 1835 | 1807 |
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
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April 1870 Courthouse burned and many records were damaged. Records saved: treasurer’s, auditor’s, recorder’s and clerk’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]
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:[8]
| Cities | ||
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Census-designated places | ||
| Townships | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
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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]
- Roster of Civilian Conservation Corps, Lagro, Wabash County, Indiana (1938) - at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
- Various Cemeteries in Wabash County at The Genealogy Center at Allen County Public Library. Scroll down to Wabash County.
- Indexes of Various Cemeteries at Indiana Genealogical Society
Census Records[edit | edit source]
For tips on accessing Wabash County census records online, see: Indiana Census.
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1840 | 2,756 | — |
| 1850 | 12,138 | 340.4% |
| 1860 | 17,547 | 44.6% |
| 1870 | 21,305 | 21.4% |
| 1880 | 25,241 | 18.5% |
| 1890 | 27,126 | 7.5% |
| 1900 | 28,235 | 4.1% |
| 1910 | 26,926 | −4.6% |
| 1920 | 27,231 | 1.1% |
| 1930 | 25,170 | −7.6% |
| 1940 | 26,601 | 5.7% |
| 1950 | 29,047 | 9.2% |
| 1960 | 32,605 | 12.2% |
| 1970 | 35,553 | 9.0% |
| 1980 | 36,640 | 3.1% |
| 1990 | 35,069 | −4.3% |
| 2000 | 34,960 | −0.3% |
| 2010 | 32,888 | −5.9% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
- Index to Defective, Dependent & Delinquent Census for Wabash County, Indiana (1880) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
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
Court Records[edit | edit source]
Directories[edit | edit source]
- Directory of Businesses in Wabash County, Indiana (1858) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
- Wabash City Directory for 1904; Skelly & Redfield, Compilers; Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Co., Printers 1904; Available at: (Internet Archive)
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]
Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]
Genealogies[edit | edit source]
Guardianship[edit | edit source]
Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]
Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents. See Indiana Land and Property for additional information about early Indiana land grants and patents.
After land was transferred from the government to private ownership, subsequent transactions were recorded at the Wabash County courthouse, where records are currently housed.
- Miami Indians who Received Land on Miami Reservation, Grant and Wabash Counties, Indiana (1873) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Wabash County. County histories may include biographies; church, school and government histories; and military information. For more information about local histories, see Indiana Local Histories.
- History of Wabash County, Indiana. 1971. By Thomas B. Helm, L.H. Newton, and E. Tucker. Evansville, Ind: Unigraphic. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; At various libraries (WorldCat). Reprint of original published: Chicago : J. Morris, 1884.
- History of Wabash County, Indiana. 2 volumes. 1914. Editor: Clarkson W. Weesner. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 1 & 2 - Hathitrust, Vol. 1 - Internet Archive, Vol. 2 - Google Books; At various libraries (WorldCat). Vol. 1 contains historical material; Vol. 2 contains biographical material.
Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana
- 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 Wabash 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 Wabash County.
- 2nd Regiment, Indiana Cavalry (41st Regiment), Company F
- 3rd Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
- 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company L or K
- 8th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies H, and K, and Reorganized Companies F, K and I
- 11th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company L
- 13th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
- 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company G
- 14th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
- 16th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Companies I and K
- 17th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
- 20th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company H
- 34th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
- 35th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
- 46th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
- 47th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, D and I
- 75th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A
- 89th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A
- 101st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies F, and K
- 118th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (6 months, 1863-4), Companies H and K
- 130th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies E, G and H
- 138th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Companies F and G
- 153rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, B, F and K
- 28th US Colored Troops, Addition Recruits for Colored Troops
Civil War Books:
- Thomas B. Helm, History of Wabash County, (Chicago: J. Morris, 1884). Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, FamilySearch Digital Library
- Weesner, Clarkson W. History of Wabash County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People and Its Principal Interests. (Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co, 2008.) Online at: Vol. 1 FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive; Vol 2 FamilySearch Digital Library
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 ($)
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 Wabash 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]
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 ($) — index, click here for more information.
Tax Records[edit | edit source]
Indiana tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses or to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned taxable property were listed, many residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. For more information see the wiki page Indiana Taxation.
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Indiana law in 1882 required registration of births and deaths in counties. The Indiana Department of Health has birth records filed after October 1907 and death records filed after January 1900 for deaths. Copies may be obtained from the county health department or the Indiana State Division of Vital Records.
Birth[edit | edit source]
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- 1780-1992 Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
- 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[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 Wabash 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
- Fort Wayne Indiana Family History Center
- Huntington Indiana Family History Center
- Marion Indiana Family History Center
- Allen County Public Library - an affiliate library.
- Huntington City - Township Public Library - an affiliate library.
- Marion Public Library/ Indiana History and Genealogy Service - an affiliate library.
Libraries[edit | edit source]
Listed below are libraries in Wabash County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Indiana Archives and Libraries.
Museums[edit | edit source]
Wabash County Historical Museum
36 East Market Street
Wabash, IN 46992
Phone: 260-563-9070
Email: info@wabashmuseum.org
Website
North Manchester Center for History
122 East Main Street
North Manchester, Indiana 46962
Phone: 260-982-0672
Email: nmhistoryinfo@gmail.com
Facebook
Website
Societies[edit | edit source]
Listed below are societies in Wabash County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Indiana Societies.
Wabash County Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 825
Wabash, IN 46992
Website
Wabash County Historical Society
P.O. Box 4
Wabash, IN 46992-0004
Phone: 260-563-4443
Facebook
North Manchester Historical Society
122 E Main Street
North Manchester, IN 46962
Phone: 260-982-0672
Email: nmhistory@cinergymetro.net
Website
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Wabash County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
- 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 Select a county
- Every Name Index.com Online indexes for county histories. Select a county
- USGenWeb, Wabash County
- INGenWeb, Wabash 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.
Research Guides[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Wabash County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabash_County,_Indiana accessed 04/04/2017.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Indiana.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Wabash County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabash_County,_Indiana accessed 04/04/2017.
- ↑ 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, "Wabash County, Indiana" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabash_County,_Indiana (accessed 10 May 2012).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Wabash County, Indiana," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabash_County%2C_Indiana, accessed 14 January 2020.
