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Decatur County History and Information
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Decatur County Facts

Decatur County was created on December 31, 1821 and was formed from Delaware New Purchase and Unorganized Land. The Delaware New Purchase: Set up in 1820, portions were set apart as the entire counties of Allen, Bartholomew, Hamilton, Henry, Johnson, Marion, Rush, and Shelby. Parts of the counties of Delaware, Hendricks, Madison, and Morgan also were located in the Delaware Purchase. In 1827, the name of the tract was changed to the Adams New Purchase. The County was named for Commodore Stephen Decatur, naval officer in the War of 1812.

The County Seat is Greensburg. Tradition says that the wife of Colonel Thomas Hendricks named this town in honor of her old hometown in Pennsylvania. The Courthouse in Greensburg is famous for the tree growing from the tower. See also County History for more historical details.

Counties adjacent to Decatur County are Rush County (north), Franklin County (east), Ripley County (southeast), Jennings County (south), Bartholomew County (west), Shelby County (northwest).

Decatur County is divided into 9 Civil Townships as follows: Adams, Clay, Clinton, Fugit, Jackson, Marion, Salt Creek, Sand Creek and Washington.

Cities, Towns and Communities include Adams, Alert, Burney, Clarksburg, Craig, Downeyville, Enochsburg, Ewington, Forest Hill, Gaynorsville, Germantown, Greensburg, Harper, Harris City, Horace, Kingston, Knarr Corner, Layton Mills, Letts, Mapleton Corner, McCoy, Mechanicsburg, Middle Branch, Milford, Millhousen, Neff Corner, New Pennington, New Point, Pinhook, Rossburg, St. Maurice, St. Omer, St. Paul, Sandusky, Sardinia, Slabtown, Smithland, Smiths Crossing, Smyrna, Springhill, Tarkeo Corner, Waynesburg, Westport and Williamstown.

 

There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

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Records at the Decatur County Courthouse

See Also Indiana Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

NOTE: The date listed for each category of record is the earliest record known to exist in that county. It does not indicate that there are numerous records for that year and certainly does not indicate that all such events that year were actually registered. See also the Decatur County Courthouse History

   Decatur County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1822 , Probate Records from 1822 and Court Records from 1822 and is located at 150 Courthouse Sq. Ste. #1, Greensburg, IN 47240; (812)-663-8223
   The Clerk of the Circuit Court is a ministerial officer who is the custodian of the Clerk's record and seal, issues process, accepts filings of commencement of actions in litigation, enters judgments and orders of the court, receives money in his official capacity, makes certified copies of record, issues many miscellaneous licenses, and keeps a record of all wills and matters of trust in probate proceedings.

   Decatur County Recorder has Land Records from 1822 and is located at 150 Courthouse Square, Greensburg, IN 47240; 812-663-4681.
   The county recorder's function is to maintain permanent public records involving a wide variety of instruments. These documents detail transactions involving real estate, mining, personal property, mortgages, liens, leases, subdivision plats, military discharges, personal bonds, etc. Generally, all of these instruments are recorded either for giving legal public notice of their existence or for safekeeping and future reference. The recorder maintains and preserves all legal documents affecting title to real property.

Search Online Click Here to Search Indiana Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

   Decatur County Health Department has Birth / Death Records from 1882 and is located at 801 North Lincoln St., Greensburg, IN 47240-2091; (812) 663-8301.

Below is a list of online resources for Decatur County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Decatur County Court Records by clicking the link below:

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • Indianapolis Newspaper Index, 1848-1991: Select articles from 1848-1888 Indianapolis daily newspapers; heavily focused on deaths and marriages. Select articles from 1898-1991 about people, places, events, and topics in Indianapolis and the state of Indiana. Extremely limited for deaths; no coverage of marriages.  Card file also available in the Microforms Area, second floor.
  • Reference & Government Services CD Collection: Database to allow searching of the hundreds of CDs from the federal government and other sources, part of the collections of the Reference & Government Services Division.
  • Decatur County, Indiana Court Books at Amazon.com
  • Indiana Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.

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Decatur County Vital Records

See Also Vital Records in Indiana

Search Online Click Here to Search Indiana Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.

Some documents are just too important to wait 6 weeks for. With VitalChek Express Certificate Service you won’t have to. Birth, Marriage, Divorce & Death Certificates Signed. Sealed. Delivered. Often in as few as three business days!

  • Birth Certificates: The Division of Vital Records and Statistics maintains birth records that occur in Indiana since Oct 1907 to the present. Prior to October 1907, records of birth are filed only with the local health department in the county where the birth actually occurred.
    • Cost: Initial search and one certified copy or certification of the record or No Record Statement is $10.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Make your check or money order payable to "Indiana State Department of Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep check amount for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
    • In Person: The ISDH Vital Records office is located at 6 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. The office is open for walk-in requests from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., E.S.T., Monday through Friday (excluding official State Holidays). The cost for the first certificate is $10.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Average wait time is less than an hour.
    • Processing Time: 5 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
  • Death Certificates: The Division of Vital Records and Statistics maintains death records that occur in Indiana since 1900 to the present. Prior to 1900, records of death are filed only with the local health department in the county where the death actually occurred. For deaths occurring from 1900 to 1917, the city and/or county of death is required in order to locate the record.
    • Cost: Initial search and one certified copy or certification of the record or No Record Statement is $8.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Make your check or money order payable to "Indiana State Department of Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep check amount for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
    • In Person: The ISDH Vital Records office is located at 6 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. The office is open for walk-in requests from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., E.S.T., Monday through Friday (excluding official State Holidays). The cost for the first certificate is $8.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Average wait Time is less than an hour.
    • Processing Time: 5 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
      • Click Here to Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE
  • Marriage Certificates: Certified copies of marriage certificates are not available from the State Health Department. They are available from the Clerks of the Circuit Court in the county where the marriage was granted. Fees vary.
  • Divorce Certificates: Certified copies of divorce certificates are not available from the State Health Department. They are available from the County Clerk in the county where the divorce was granted. Fees vary.

Below is a list of online resources for Decatur County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Decatur County Vital Records by clicking the link below:

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Decatur County Census Records

See Also Research In Census Records

Search Online Click Here to Search Indiana Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.

  Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Decatur County, Indiana are 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your Family Tree in Decatur County, Indiana are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms.

  See Also Statewide Records that exist for Indiana

Below is a list of online resources for Decatur County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Decatur County Census Records by clicking the link below:

  • Indiana Census, 1790-1890: This collection contains the following indexes: 1790 (Northwest Territory) Federal Census Index; 1807 State Census Index; 1810 Wayne County Census Index; 1812 Census Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1870 Federal Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedule.
  • Decatur County, Indiana Census Books at Amazon.com

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Decatur County Maps & Atlases

   Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Ohio and other states.

  You can view rotating animated maps for Indiana showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
   You can view rotating animated maps for Indiana showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at County Maps

Below is a list of online resources for Decatur County Maps. Email us with websites containing Decatur County Maps by clicking the link below:

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Decatur County Military Records

See Also Military Records in Indiana

Search Online Click Here to Search Indiana Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.

   The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.

Below is a list of online resources for Decatur County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Decatur County Military Records by clicking the link below:

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Decatur County Tax Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

   Records of county taxes were kept as early at 1842, although most were discarded. Remaining ones would be at the county courthouse. National Archives-Great Lakes Region has records of the Internal Revenue Service for Indiana for 1867 to 1873. These are tax assessment records, arranged by district and then chronologically.

Below is a list of online resources for Decatur County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Decatur County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

  • Decatur County, Indiana Tax Books at Amazon.com

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Decatur County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Indiana Genealogical Addresses

   The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Decatur County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Decatur County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

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Decatur County Church & Cemeteries

See Also Church & Cemetery Records in Indiana

Search Online Click Here to Search Indiana Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

   There are many churches and cemeteries in Decatur County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Decatur County Tombstone Transcription Project.

Baptist records are found at Franklin College (in Franklin); Methodist at DePauw University (in Greencastle); Mennonite at Goshen College (in Goshen); Presbyterian at Hanover College (in Hanover); Disciples of Christ at their historical society in Nashville, Tennessee; and French Catholic at Vincennes University in the Byron R. Lewis Collection. There are also Catholic church histories and records at the Catholic Archives, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana. Quaker records are at Earlham College (at Richmond).

   The commissioner's office of each Indiana county may have burial records for soldiers, sailors, and marines. If available, the records should include name, age, date of enlistment, discharge date, and death date. Records begin about 1862.

The Indiana State Library holds records of inscriptions from some Indiana cemeteries. The "Indiana Cemetery Locator File," compiled by the Genealogy Division, is an alphabetical listing of cemeteries, indicating the location in the state and the designation in the Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library where inscriptions may be found.

Below is a list of online resources for Decatur County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Decatur County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

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Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Search Online Click Here to Search Indiana Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

   When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Decatur County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Decatur County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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County History

1849 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Gazetteer," published by E. Chamberlain

Decatur County, organized in 1821, was named after the gallant Commodore Stephen Decatur. It is bounded north by Rush, east by Franklin and Ripley, South by Jennings, and west by Bartholomew and Shelby, and it contains 400 square miles. It is divided into nine townships, Washington, Fugit, Clinton, Adams, Clay, Jackson, Sand Creek, Marion and Salt Creek. The population in 1830 was 5,854, in 1840 was 15,553, and at this time [1849] about 19,000.

There are no barrens or prairie lands in the county; the face of the country is mostly level, with gentle undulations, though on some of the streams it is hilly; the bottoms are rich, though small; the soil of the upland is generally a rich, black loam, and the timber consists principally of ash, poplar, walnut, sugar tree, oak and beech. Long the east and south line of the county there is some flat, wet land, good for grass, but not adapted to grain. The manufacturing establishments and mercantile trade of the county are merely sufficient for home consumption. The staple productions for export are hogs, cattle, horses, mules and wheat, and they are estimated to amount to $150,000 annually. There are in the county thirty-eight stores and groceries, twenty gristmills, twenty sawmills, one woolen factory, of which all but six are propelled by water, twelve lawyers, twenty-three physicians and twenty ministers of the gospel. The County Seminary, at Greensburg is in a prosperous condition with about seventy-five pupils, and the common school system is in moderately successful operation throughout the county. The following is the number of churches of the various denominations: four Old School, two New School and one Associate Reformed Presbyterian, ten Baptist, ten Methodist, four Christian and one Catholic. The county of Decatur and its inhabitants, without making any special parade as to literature, morals, or enterprise, may be said to be self-sharpeners, steadily progressing in a variety of ways, and not inferior in respectability to any part of the State.

The taxable land in the county amounts to 224,847 acres, and only between 500 and 1,000 acres still belong to the United States.

1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature

Located southeast of Indianapolis, Decatur County has within its boundaries some of the finest limestone quarries in the state. Much of the county's 378 square mile area is rich farmland. The county is divided into nine townships.

The incorporated towns are Milford, 152; Millhousen, 162; New Point, 342; St. Paul, 678, and Westport, 637. The county had a population of 19,277 in 1890; in 1900, 19,518; 1910, 18,793; 1920, 17,813; 1930, 17,308.

The city of Greensburg, with a population of 5,702, is fourty-seven miles southeast of Indianapolis. A railroad and bus line provides the chief transportation facilities. Among the city's products are flour, carriages, lumber, iron castings, auto accessories, caskets, hardware, brooms, wire, and shirts. The city has recently purchased the Greensburg Water Company.

Greensburg is known as the "Tower Tree City" through the famous tree that thrives on the courthouse tower, one hundred and fifty feet above the ground. The tree is a variety of the large-toothed aspen and is twelve feet high. On the grounds of the courthouse are a number of markers and monuments, including a monument to the soldiers of the Civil War and a memorial elm to the local corps of the G. A. R. Both of these were placed by the local chapter of the W. R. C. The local chapter of the D. A. R. erected a boulder with tablet honoring Colonel Thomas Hendricks, the city's founder [Stephen Goddard also noted that Thomas Hendricks was the first county surveyor and the brother to William Hendricks who was the second elected Governor of the State of Indiana]. Another boulder with a bronze tablet contains a replica of the Maltese cross, dedicated to the memory of the Spanish War veterans. In the corridor of the building is a bronze tablet dedicated to the man for whom the county was named.

Decatur County has some fine churches, and every township has a centralized school with a commissioned high school.

Greensburg has a new federal building and post office, a community gymnasium which will seat 4,000; a National Guard Armory costing $50,000; a Y. M. C. A. which is one of the finest in Indiana, built through the munificence of the late Nelson Mowrey, who gave the institution $175,000; and the Decatur Memorial Hospital erected by the county at a cost of over $100,000. The Indiana State I. O. O. F. Home is located to the east of the city. The city is the home of a Historical Society Museum, which exhibits once a week. The Carnegie Library contains much art material among its 14,817 volumes.

Some of the men notable in the county history have been James Gavin, a member of Congress; Oscar B. Hord, once Attorney-General of the State; Colonel B. C. Shaw, Treasurer of State after the Civil War; Judge Andrew Davison, twice a member of the State Supreme Court; Robert W. Miers, three times a Congressman, and later a circuit judge; Cortez Ewing, in the General Land Office in Washington under Thomas A. Hendricks, and George P. Shoemaker, a Congressmen and Presidential Elector for Woodrow Wilson.

The 1935 census figures listed seventeen manufacturing establishments employing 284 wage earners receiving wages of $225,387. The value of the products was $1,660,103.

Census figures showed that the county had 2,038 farms totaling in value $11,291,427. These farms averaged 112.8 acres each. A total of 82,014 head of livestock was reported.

The tax valuation for Decatur County in 1936 was $20,811,315.

Courthouse History

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