Martin County, Indiana Genealogy

United States Indiana Martin County

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

Martin County, Indiana
Map
Location of Indiana in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	January 17, 1820
County Seat	Shoals
Courthouse
Address	Martin County Courthouse Capitol Street PO Box 120 Shoals, IN 47581-0170 Phone: 812.247.3651 Website
Template:Adoption Indiana Genealogical Society

Historical Facts

Beginning dates for major county records
Birth	Marriage	Death	Land	Probate
1882*	1820*	1882*	1820	1821
*For earlier dates, try... Church | Obituaries | Cemeteries

Parent County

• Parent Counties: Martin County was created 17 January 1820 from Daviess and Dubois Counties.
  
• County Seat: Shoals
  

Neighboring Counties

Greene • Lawrence • Orange • Dubois • Daviess

Template:INMartin,Indiana Clickable Neighbors

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

For a list of record loss in Indiana Counties see: Indiana Counties with Burned Courthouses

Resources

Cemeteries

• Martin County, Indiana Cemeteries  USGenWeb Project
• Cemeteries of Martin County Linkpendium

Census Records

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

• Index to Defective, Dependent & Delinquent Census for Martin 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.

Catholic

• 1846-1885 - St. John's Parish, Loogootee, Baptism Index 1846-1885 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch C538021 .
• 1857-1895 - St. John's Parish, Loogootee, Marriage Index 1857-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch M538021 .

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 Martin 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).

History

Local Histories

• Living Leaders, an Encyclopedia of Biography: Special Edition for Daviess and Martin Counties, Indiana. ([New York?]: American Pub. Co, 1897.)other libraries   INTERNET ARCHIVE
  

• Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery, Parke and Fountain Counties, Indiana Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, Together with Biographies and Portraits of All the Presidents of the United States. (Chicago: Chapman Bros, 1893.)other libraries   INTERNET ARCHIVE

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 Martin 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).

Maps

• Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana
• Family Maps of Martin County, Indiana Genealogy (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
• Maps and Gazetteers - Linkpendium

Military Records

• Military Records and HistoriesLinkpendium
• African American Veterans in Martin County, Indiana (1890) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)
• Veterans in Martin County, Indiana (1913) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Civil War

Civil War service men from Martin 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 Martin County.

• 1st Regiment, Indiana Heavy Artillery, Company F
• 2nd Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
• 11th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
• 13th Battery, Indiana Light Artillery
• 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company F
• 14th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
• 18th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company E
• 24th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
• 52nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, and D
• 57th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
• 65th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
• 80th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, and K
• 120th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
• 136th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company H
• 137th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company G
• 143rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
• 146th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
• 28th US Colored Troops, Addition Recruits for Colored Troops

World War I

World War II

Occupations

• Civilian Support Officials In World War II (1941-1945) ($, 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 Martin County courthouse. For more information, see Indiana Probate Records.

Finding More Probate Records

Additional probate records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Martin 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

• Directory of Teachers for Martin County (1936) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Repositories

See also a List of Indiana Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

County Courthouse

Martin County Courthouse
Capitol Street
PO Box 120
Shoals, IN 47581-0170
Phone: 812.247.3651

County Health Department has birth and death records.
County Clerk has marriage and probate records from 1820,
divorce and court records from 1842.
County Recorder has land records.

Family History Centers

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

• Bedford Indiana Family History Center

For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the Family History Center directory.

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. For more information see the wiki page Indiana Taxation.

For more information see the wiki page Indiana Taxation.

Finding More Tax Records

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

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

Vital Records

• Vital Record of Martin County Linkpendium
  

• Baker, Natalie Montgomery. Martin County, Indiana, Birth Records. Indiana(?: s.n, 1900.)other librariesVol. 1-2INTERNET ARCHIVEvol. 2-3 INTERNET ARCHIVE
  

• Martin County Genealogical Society (Ind.). Martin County, Indiana Will Book "C.". Shoals, Ind.?:(Martin County Genealogical Society?, 2000.)other librariesINTERNET ARCHIVE

• Indiana State Digital Archives for Death, E-Publication, Institution, Military, Misc Historical, Naturalization Records can be searched by person name (accessed 26 May 2011)
  

Marriage Records

• Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 - Ancestry.con $
  

• Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992-FamilySearch
  

• Indiana Marriage, 1811-1959-FamilySearch
  

Death Records

• Indiana, Death Index, 1882-1920-FamilySearch

Finding Vital Records at Other Repositories

Additional vital records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Martin 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).

Web Sites

• Martin County, IN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• FamilySearch Catalog
• Martin County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.