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State of Indiana

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How to Search for Indiana Genealogy Data

Indiana is among the Midwestern states that have seen a huge amount of “traffic” as the United States grew and expanded. Because of this, there is a large demand for information relating to the genealogy of those who passed through or settled in this primarily agricultural region. Today, there is an impressive array of resources for Indiana genealogy researchers available.

Effective Methods to Use for Indiana Genealogy

Many researchers quickly discover that, in their search for Indiana genealogy data, they can use many of the state’s online resources to begin acquiring facts and copies of the materials they need. Just because there are so many resources online, however, it does not imply that all of the information has been put online.

We already mentioned that Indiana is well ahead of many other states in terms of digitizing a large number of archives, but there are still many groups that have not yet been able to afford to tackle such a project. This means that anyone doing research for an Indiana genealogy project will also have to familiarize themselves with offline locations that will be of use to their efforts. It is extremely useful for genealogists to familiarize themselves with the tools to use for Indiana genealogy, and how to understand which are online resources, and which are not.

A Totally Modern Approach for Indiana Genealogy

Public records easily qualify as some of the most frequently used resources for Indiana genealogy, and they are found in the following categories:

  1. Vital Records – these will always cover the basic birth, marriage, divorce, and death records from county, state, and national archives. These might also contain newspaper items, military records, immigration and naturalization details, cemetery or obituary information, census records, and passenger lists and records as well. These are going to be available as online or offline resources for Indiana genealogy.
  2. State Records – from probate information to surname lists, state census information, private manuscripts, newspapers, military or veterans information, marriage details, maps, land records, genealogical folders, estate information, deeds, death records, cemetery information, birth certificates and more; such records are available as online and offline resources for Indiana genealogy.
  3. Local Records – state research tends to begin in a county clerk’s office or website, and then moves on to the small local libraries, historical societies, local genealogical societies, and school or college libraries for Indiana genealogy data. These are materials that are usually offline and viewable by appointment or special arrangement.

 

Strong and Effective Tools for Indiana Genealogy

As a modern researcher, you will need to learn which tools work for Indiana genealogy, and which provide you with the most information for your particular project. Below we have indicated some of the strongest for Indiana genealogy, and which will be found in person or online at:

  • Vital Records, Indiana State Department of Health, P.O. Box 7125, Indianapolis, IN 46206-7125; Website: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/indiana.htm . This is where anyone can order birth, death, marriage and divorce records via a written request or even online.

Additional state and local records can be found at the:

  • Indiana State Archives, 6440 East 30th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46219; Website: http://www.in.gov/icpr/2358.htm . Indiana is going to great lengths to get their archives online. They have a very progressive group of organizations and individuals (including more than six partner states) working to get historical and genealogical data available to the public via the Internet.

Also, consider using the Indiana State Library’s Genealogy Page at: http://www.in.gov/library/genealogy.htm.

Finally, these three popular websites provide a tremendous amount of state-specific details to those in search of details for Indiana genealogy projects.

  • The USGenWeb Project - http://www.ingenweb.org/;
  • State census records at Genealogy Research Guides - http://www.researchguides.net/census/state.htm; and
  • Genealogy Today - http://www.genealogytoday.com/genealogy/states/indiana.html
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List of Indiana Counties

Select a Indiana county from the table below to to view more information on genealogical information & records pertaining to each Indiana county.

 

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Indiana State Historical & Genealogical Societies, Archives, Museums and Libraries

Submit a website link, report broken links for Indiana Archives Websites.

It is wise to acquaint yourself with any Indiana repository which you might visit by writing to the appropriate archive or library in advance. Every Indiana repository has published materials that introduce its collections and research policy. Indiana State archives and Indiana historical agencies also have Internet sites that provide the same information. Some even have Indiana downloadable databases for some or parts of their collections.

Indiana Archives

Indiana Museums

Indiana Libraries

  • Indiana State Library, Attn: (Division or Staff Name), 140 North Senate Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46204-2296
    Loan Desk and General Inquiries: 317-232-3675, Genealogy Division: 317-232-3689. In the 1950s and 1960s the Indiana State Library microfilmed many vital and court records. They receive positive microfilm copies of Indiana county records via a joint effort with the Commission on Public Records, Indiana Historical Bureau, Indiana Historical Society, and the Genealogical Society of Utah.

Indiana Historical & Genealogical Societies

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