Wayne County, Indiana Genealogy

United States

Indiana

Wayne County

Guide to Wayne 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: Richmond Organized: 1811 Parent County(s): Clark, Dearborn Neighboring Counties Randolph  • Henry  • Fayette  • Union  • Preble (OH)  • Darke (OH) 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

Wayne County was named for Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne, an officer during the Revolutionary War. Wayne is mainly remembered for his service in the 1790s in the Northwest Indian War, which included many actions in Indiana and Ohio. The county is located in the east-central part of the state.

County Courthouse

Wayne County Courthouse
301 E Main
Richmond, IN 47374
Phone: 765-973-9220
County Website

Wayne County Health Department
100 S 5th Street
Richmond, IN, 47374
Health Officer: David Jetmore, MD
Phone: 765-973-9245
Fax: 765-973-9361
Email: cstinson@co.wayne.in.us
Health Department

County Clerk has marriage records from 1810, divorce and court records from 1873 and probate records from 1818.
City-County Health Officer has birth, death and burial records.
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.

Wayne 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	1810	1882	1873	1816	1818	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 27 November 1810 from Clark and Dearborn Counties. County seat: Richmond 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:

Cities
Richmond
Towns
Boston Cambridge City Centerville Dublin	East Germantown Economy Fountain City Greens Fork	Hagerstown Milton Spring Grove Whitewater
Unincorporated communities
Abington Beesons Bethel Chester College Corner Dalton East Haven Franklin	Greenwood Hiser HooverMill Jacksonburg Locust Grove Middleboro Pennville Pinhook	South Richmond Spring Grove Heights Wayne Webster West Grove Williamsburg
Townships
Abington Boston Center Clay Dalton	Franklin Green Harrison Jackson Jefferson	New Garden Perry Washington Wayne Webster

Resources

Biographies

• Indiana Biography Index at Indiana State Library

Book Abstracts and Indexes

• Fox, Henry Clay. Memoirs of Wayne County and the City of Richmond, Indiana: From the Earliest Historical Times Down to the Present, Including a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families in Wayne County. (La Crosse WI: Brookhaven Press, 2004.). Available at: Vol 1 FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, Hathi Trust; Vol 2 FamilySearch Digital Library
• Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. (Indianapolis, Ind: Frederic Luther Co, 1980). Available at: Vol. 1 FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive; Vol. 2 FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive
  

Cemeteries

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

 

Census Records

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

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1820	12,119	—
1830	18,571	53.2%
1840	23,290	25.4%
1850	25,320	8.7%
1860	29,558	16.7%
1870	34,048	15.2%
1880	38,613	13.4%
1890	37,628	−2.6%
1900	38,970	3.6%
1910	43,757	12.3%
1920	48,136	10.0%
1930	54,809	13.9%
1940	59,229	8.1%
1950	68,566	15.8%
1960	74,039	8.0%
1970	79,109	6.8%
1980	76,058	−3.9%
1990	71,951	−5.4%
2000	71,097	−1.2%
2010	68,917	−3.1%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

• Early Settlers of Wayne County at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
• Index to Defective, Dependent & Delinquent Census for Wayne County (1880) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

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.

Lutheran

• Records of St. John Lutheran Church, Richmond, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Directories

• Directory of Selected Residents of Wayne County (1876) 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 Wayne County courthouse, where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Wayne 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 Wayne County, Indiana, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time. 1872. By Andrew W. Young. Cincinnati, Ohio : R. Clarke. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive, Google Books, Ancestry ($); At various libraries (WorldCat).
• History of Wayne County, Indiana. 1884. Chicago, Illinois : Inter-state Pub. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Vol. 1 - Internet Archive, Vol. 2 - Internet Archive, Vol. 1 - Google Books, Vol. 2 - Google Books, Ancestry ($); At various libraries (WorldCat).

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana
• Historic Indiana Maps at IUPUI University Library

Military Records

• Military Record Series Index at Indiana Digital Archives

Civil War
Civil War service men from Wayne 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 Wayne County.

• 2nd Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies C, and F
• 3rd Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
• 5th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry (90th Regiment, Indiana Volunteers), Company B
• 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies E, and H
• 8th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, C, H, I, and Reorganized Companies C, and D
• 9th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company C
• 11th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company I
• 13th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
• 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company K
• 16th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
• 19th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
• 20th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
• 36th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies F, and I
• 57th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, C, D, and I
• 69th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies D, and D
• 78th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (60 days, 1862), Company F
• 84th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies C, and I
• 105th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
• 106th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies C, D, F, G, and I
• 108th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
• 124th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, H, and K
• 133rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company A
• 140th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
• 147th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies C, and I
• 152nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
• 156th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B
• 28th US Colored Troops, Company E, and Addition Recruits for Colored Troops
  
• African American Veterans in Wayne County, Indiana (1890) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Civil War Books:

• History of Wayne County, Indiana, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time: with Numerous Biographical and Family Sketches. 2007, Young, Andrew W.; ("War History", page 126-137, no Regiment or Companies); Available at: FamilySearch Digital Library
• Memoirs of Wayne County and the City of Richmond, Indiana: From the Earliest Historical Times Down to the Present, Including a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families in Wayne County. (La Crosse WI: Brookhaven Press, 2004.), Fox, Henry Clay. ("Military Matters," Vol 1, Chapter 14, page 215-230, no Regiment or Companies), Available at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, Hathi Trust
• Directory and soldiers' register of Wayne County, Indiana. 1865. Power, J.C., Editor. Available at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive

Pension Records

• List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883, United States Pension bureau. Available at: Internet Archive

World War I

• 1917-1918 World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at Ancestry $
• 1919 Indiana, World War I, Enrollment Cards, 1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

World War II

• Indiana World War II Casualties, Army and Army Air Corps at Access Genealogy

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 ($)
• 1804-2010 Hoosier State Chronicles 1804-2011

Obituaries

• Wayne County, Indiana Obituary Collection at GenealogyBuff

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

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

School Records

• Teachers of Wayne County, Indiana (1940) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
• Alumni of Hagerstown High School (1881-1932) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
• Students and Teachers of Hagerstown High School (1917, 1921-23, 1926, 1933, 1944-45, 1949) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
• Students and Teachers of Morton High School, Richmond (1928) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

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
• 1800-2007 Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast ($)
• 1802-1892 Indiana, Compiled Marriages, 1802-1892 at Ancestry $
• 1811-2007 Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Death

• 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 Wayne 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

• Richmond Indiana Family History Center

Libraries

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

Museums

• Wayne County Historical Museum
  1150 North A Street
  Richmond, Indiana 47374
  Phone 765-962-5756
  Email:office@wchmuseum.org
  Website
  

Societies

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

• The Clay Township Historical & Preservation Society
  PO Box 5
  19 Pearl Street
  Greens Fork, IN 47345
  Email:jaynebeers@yahoo.com
  Website
  
• Wayne County Genealogical Society
  PO Box 2599
  Richmond, IN 47375-2599
  765-277-9606
  General Email:wcgs2599@yahoo.com
  Website
  

Research Only Email:wcgsresearch@yahoo.com

• Whitewater Valley Genealogical Association
  PO Box 941
  Connersville, IN 47331
  E-mail:wvgenealogy@gmail.com
  Website
  

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 Select a county
• Every Name Index.com Online indexes for county histories. Select a county
• Wayne County Resources on IndianasGore
• USGenWeb, Wayne County
• INGenWeb, Wayne County
• Wayne 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.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.