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Morgan County, Indiana Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Martinsville[1]
Organized: February 15, 1822
Parent County(s): Delaware New Purchase and Wabash New Purchase[2]
Neighboring Counties
PutnamHendricksMarionJohnsonBrownMonroeOwen
See County Maps
Courthouse
Indiana, Morgan County Courthouse.png
Location Map
Indiana, Morgan County Locator Map.png

County Information[edit | edit source]

Description[edit | edit source]

Morgan County was named for Revolutionary War General Daniel Morgan, who defeated the British at the Battle of Cowpens.[3] It is located in the central area of the state.[4]

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Morgan County Courthouse
10 E. Washington St
PO Box 1556
Martinsville, IN 46151
Phone: 765-342-1025
County Website

Morgan County Health Department
180 S. Main Street, Suite 252
Martinsville, IN, 46151
Health Officer: Paul Broderick, DO
Phone: 765-342-6621
Fax: 765-342-1062
Email: morgancohd@morgancountyhealth.com
Health Department

County Clerk has marriage, probate and court records.
County Recorder has land records.
Board of Health has birth and death records. [5]
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.

Morgan 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.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records[6]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1882 1822 1899 1822 1822 1822 1807
*Statewide registration for births in 1907 and deaths in Oct 1899. General compliance by 1917.

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

March 1876 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

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:[9]

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]

Cemeteries of Morgan County, Indiana online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Indiana Cemeteries for more information.


Census Records[edit | edit source]

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

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1830 5,593
1840 10,741 92.0%
1850 14,576 35.7%
1860 16,110 10.5%
1870 17,528 8.8%
1880 18,900 7.8%
1890 18,643 −1.4%
1900 20,457 9.7%
1910 21,182 3.5%
1920 20,010 −5.5%
1930 19,424 −2.9%
1940 19,801 1.9%
1950 23,726 19.8%
1960 33,875 42.8%
1970 44,176 30.4%
1980 51,999 17.7%
1990 55,920 7.5%
2000 66,689 19.3%
2010 68,894 3.3%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

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]

African American

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 Morgan County courthouse, where records are currently housed.

Online Land Indexes and Records


Local Histories[edit | edit source]

Local histories are available for Morgan County. County histories may include biographies; church, school and government histories; and military information. For more information about local histories, see Indiana Local Histories.

Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

Putnam CountyHendricks CountyMarion CountyJohnson CountyBrown CountyMonroe CountyOwen CountyIN MORGAN.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration[edit | edit source]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

Civil War
Civil War service men from Morgan 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 Morgan County.

Civil War Books:


World War I

World War II

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

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.

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

Online Probate Indexes and Records


School Records[edit | edit source]

Social Security Records[edit | edit source]

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]

Death[edit | edit source]

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Research Facilities[edit | edit source]

Archives[edit | edit source]

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

FamilySearch Centers[edit | edit source]

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

  • FamilySearch 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 FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries[edit | edit source]

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

Morgan County Public Library
110 S Jefferson St
Martinsville, IN 46151
Phone: 765-342-3451
Email: kristaq@mail.morg.lib.in.us
Facebook
Website

Museums[edit | edit source]

Morgan County History Center and Museum
127 S Main St
Martinsville, IN
Phone: 765-315-6982
Email: morgancountyhistorymuseum@gmail.com
Facebook
Website

Societies[edit | edit source]

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

Morgan County History and Genealogy Association
PO Box 1012
Martinsville, IN 46151-0012
Phone: 765-342-3451
Email: jkistler@morgancountylibrary.info
Facebook
Website

Morgan County History Partnership
PO Box 694
Mooresville, IN 46158
Email: morgancountyhistorypartnership@gmail.com
Facebook
Website

Websites[edit | edit source]

Research Guides[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Wikipedia contributors, "Morgan County, Indiana" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_County,_Indiana (accessed 10 May 2012).
  2. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Indiana. FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  3. Genealogy Trails History Group, “Morgan County, Indiana Genealogy and History”, http://genealogytrails.com/ind/morgan/ (accessed 30 Mar 2017).
  4. Wikipedia contributors, "Morgan County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_County,_Indiana (accessed 30 Mar 2017).
  5. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Indiana. FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  6. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Indiana. FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  7. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Indiana. FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  8. Wikipedia contributors, "Morgan County, Indiana" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_County,_Indiana (accessed 10 May 2012).
  9. Wikipedia contributors, "Morgan County, Indiana," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_County,_Indiana (accessed 27 Dec 2019).