Sullivan County, Indiana Genealogy

United States

Indiana

Sullivan County

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

Sullivan County, Indiana
Map
Location of Indiana in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	December 30, 1816
County Seat	Sullivan
Courthouse
Address	Sullivan County Courthouse 100 Courthouse Square #304 Sullivan, IN 47882 Phone: 812.268.4657 County Website
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Historical Facts

Beginning dates for major county records
Birth	Marriage	Death	Land	Probate
1882*	1850*	1880*	1850	1844
*For earlier dates, try... Church | Obituaries | Cemeteries

• Parent Counties: Formed 30 December 1816 from Knox County.
• County Seat: Sullivan
  

Description

The county was named for Baron Steuben, a Prussian officer of distinction, who joined the American army during the revolutionary war, and rendered the cause of independence valuable aid. The county seat is Sullivan and the county was organized on January 15, 1817. The County is located in the West Central part of the state.

Neighboring Counties

Knox  • Greene  • Clay  • Vigo  • Crawford  • Clark

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

February 1850 -- Courthouse burned and all records except wills from 1841 were destroyed.
For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

• Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.
• Arlene Eakle, When the Records are Gone in the Tennessee Genealogy Blog.
• Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle.

Sullivan County, Indiana Resources

Cemeteries

Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Tombstone Transcriptions in Print	List of Cemeteries in the county
Findagrave.com	Family History Library	Findagrave.com
INGenWeb	WorldCat	Billion Graves
INGenWeb Archives
Tombstone Project
Billion Graves
See Indiana Cemeteries for more information.

Census Records

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

• Index to Defective, Dependent & Delinquent Census for Sullivan County, Indiana (1880) (members only database, 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.

Finding More Church Records

Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Sullivan County, Indiana Genealogy Church Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Directories

• Directory of Businesses in Sullivan County, Indiana (1868) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)
  
• Farmers of Sullivan County, Indiana (1896) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)
  

Land and Property

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.

After land was transferred from the government to private ownership, subsequent transactions were recorded at the courthouse, where records are currently housed.

See Indiana Land and Property for additional information about early Indiana land grants and patents.

Finding More Land Records

Additional land records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Sullivan County, Indiana Genealogy Probate Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Local Histories

• Caperton, Neda.Index of Names in the Sullivan County Section of History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, Indiana, 1884.( [Indianapolis]: Indiana Historical Society Library, 1972.) Other Libraries

• History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana; reprint, Newell, Iowa : Bireline, 1983. 977.242 H2hi FHL US/CAN FHL Collection

• Sullivan County, Indiana, Index of Names, compiled by Judy Pirtle, Sullivan County Historical Society, 1981. Indexes names of persons and firms from a number of books (see page 2). FamilySearch Books Online

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana

Military Records

War of 1812

Mexican War

• 2nd Regiment, Company H

Civil War

Civil War service men from Sullivan 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 Sullivan County.

• 1st Regiment, Indiana Heavy Artillery, Companies D, K, and L
• 2nd Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company I
• 6th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company I
• 11th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company G
• 11th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company F
• 13th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
• 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company F
• 16th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company K
• 17th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
• 31st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
• 43rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
• 51st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
• 59th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
• 80th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
• 85th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
• 97th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, E, and I
• 115th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (6 months, 1863-4), Company F
• 120th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
• 137th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company G
• 142nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
• 149th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E, G, and K
• 156th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E

Civil War Books

• Booth, Louise. Waiting for the Moment. (Villa Park, Calif: D.R. Booth Associates, 1983.) 977.241 H2b copy 2 FHL US/CAN Book FHL Collection, Other Libraries
  

• "County Military History" Chapter 8 (Part III) in History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana; reprint, Newell, Iowa : Bireline, 1983. 977.242 H2hi FHL US/CAN. FamilySearch Books Online; 977.242 H2hi FHL US/CAN, FHL Collection

World War I

World War II

Newspapers

• Index to Obituaries for Sullivan County (1870-1905) (free, Indiana Genealogical Society)

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 county courthouse.

Online Records

• 1798 – 1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
• Index to Will Books for Sullivan County (1850-1940) ($), Indiana Genealogical Society

Finding More Probate Records

Additional probate records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Sullivan County, Indiana Genealogy Probate Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
• South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Wills Index 1830-1971 for St. Joseph County

Public Records

School Records

• Alumni of New Lebanon High School (1911-1924) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
• Students of New Lebanon High School (1925) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Repositories

County Courthouse

Sullivan County Courthouse
100 Courthouse Square #304
Sullivan, IN 47882
Phone: 812.268.4657

County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1850.

Family History Centers

Family history centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.

• Linton Indiana Family History Center

For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the family history center directory.

Libraries

Sullivan County Public Library
Genealogy/Local History Dept.
100 S. Crowder St.
Sullivan, IN 47882
Website
Donna K. Adams - Genealogist

Societies

Sullivan County Genealogical Society
PO Box 3266
Sullivan, IN 47882

Sullivan County Historical Society
10 S. Court St.
Sullivan, IN 47882-1510
Telephone Number: 812-268-6253

Wabash Valley Genealogy Society
PO Box 9347
Terre Haute, IN 47808-9347
Website

Taxation

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.

Finding More Tax Records

Additional tax records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Sullivan County, Indiana Genealogy Tax Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).

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. See also How to order Indiana Vital Records or order electronically online.

Marriage licenses were required by counties beginning in 1800. Original marriage records are held at the office of the Sullivan County, Indiana Genealogy County Clerk with divorce records located with the Sullivan County, Indiana Genealogy Clerk of Courts.

• Indiana State Digital Archives
  

• Deaths in Sullivan City Coal Mine Disaster (1925) (free, Indiana Genealogical Society)
  

Marriage Records

• 1800s-2007 - Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — ($), index only

• 1780-1992 - Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992 FamilySearch — index only
  

• 1802-1892 - Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 at Ancestry.com — ($), index only
  

• 1811-2007 - Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images

Death Records

• 1882-1920 Indiana, Death Index, 1882-1920 at FamilySearch Historical Records - Index only
• 1899-2011 Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 at Ancestry - ($), index and images
  
• Indiana State Digital Archives
  
• Index to Coroner's Inquest Records (1916-1917) (free, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Finding Vital Records at Other Repositories

Additional vital records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Sullivan County, Indiana Genealogy Vital Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Websites

• Sullivan County, Indiana Genealogy, History and Facts
• Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• FamilySearch Catalog, Sullivan County
• USGenWeb, Sullivan County
• INGenWeb, Sullivan County
• Sullivan County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)