Indiana State Library
Its county research guides identify library holdings and free research routes. Use these alongside the local collections in each county guide.
Open the State Library county guidesBRICK WALL PROTOCOL / FREE GUIDESIndiana family history
Indiana family history
research guides
Explore 92 county guides to local records, community collections, and the institutions that preserve them. Choose a county to begin.
NEW: INDIANA THROUGH TIME
Same place. Different county.
Explore historical county lines from 1778 to 2000, compare modern outlines, and read the dated source behind each change.
Explore the boundary slider →All 92 Indiana counties have a guide. Collections and access details will continue to be refined.
Open county guideEXPLORE BY PLACE
Find your Indiana county.
Choose any county to open its guide.
Guide published
Modern boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 generalized counties . Historical jurisdictions may differ.
GO BEYOND THE COUNTY LIST
Start with statewide collections
Records about one county can survive elsewhere. Keep the record creator and the current custodian in your notes.
The Genealogy Center
Its Indiana directory reaches beyond Fort Wayne, with statewide and county collections. Check whether each result is an index, a transcription, or an original image.
Browse Indiana collectionsPublished county guides · A–Z
- Adams CountyNorthern and southern Adams County have different local collecting strengths. Pair newspaper discoveries with marriage and probate records.↗
- Allen CountyCoroner abstracts, funeral records, poor-asylum registers, Black community history and museum collections.↗
- Bartholomew CountyCombine local newspapers and yearbooks with family manuscripts and the county record trail.↗
- Benton CountyBenton research can begin with Otterbein community material, newspaper indexes and filmed probate records.↗
- Blackford CountyUse appointment-based local collections alongside naturalization and early deed publications.↗
- Boone CountyStart with Lebanon's local indexes, compare Zionsville-area family material, and use the State Library guide to plan around documented record loss.↗
- Brown CountyBrown County research benefits from tax records, school registers and local newspapers, particularly when an early court search fails.↗
- Carroll CountyPair museum genealogy material with the Gerard Archives and early land and will publications.↗
- Cass CountyUse local history collections, library databases and estate indexes while keeping museum access separate from research appointments.↗
- Clark CountyCharlestown and Jeffersonville preserve complementary collections, with early court references available through the State Library.↗
- Clay CountyClay County’s surname files and local industry collections can complement records affected by courthouse loss.↗
- Clinton CountyFrankfort offers newspapers, family files, and a court archive database. Follow the database reference to the right custodian rather than assuming every legal record moved to one place.↗
- Crawford CountyEnglish offers newspaper and family-history research, while early official court records have a separate access route.↗
- Daviess CountyCombine Washington museum collections with clerk research and published probate abstracts.↗
- DeKalb CountyButler and Garrett newspaper leads can complement county marriage and death indexes. Confirm which records survived the 1913 courthouse fire.↗
- Dearborn CountyUse Lawrenceburg’s local files and obituary tools alongside surviving probate and marriage references.↗
- Decatur CountyGreensburg research routes include a local death-notice index, museum genealogy assistance and published coroner records.↗
- Delaware CountyUse Carnegie Library for family records, then search Ball State's Stoeckel Archives for the churches, workplaces, and neighborhoods around the family.↗
- Dubois CountyJasper library and museum collections provide different routes into families whose early courthouse records may be missing.↗
- Elkhart CountyTwo library collections offer different newspapers, school annuals and city records. Use the town and address as well as the surname.↗
- Fayette CountyStart with targeted library help, then distinguish county records from museum context about canal and industrial life.↗
- Floyd CountyThe Indiana History Room combines record copies with digital directories and burial references.↗
- Fountain CountyVeedersburg and Covington collections include funeral records, school yearbooks and unusual published local record sets.↗
- Franklin CountyLocal-history holdings and border-area newspapers complement Franklin’s surviving early court and will records.↗
- Fulton CountyThe Tombaugh compilations bring school, poor-farm and community records into the same research path as Rochester newspapers.↗
- Gibson CountyPrinceton’s local-history holdings combine court evidence with industrial newsletters and community images.↗
- Grant CountyCountywide indexes and smaller-town newspaper collections complement each other. Keep cemetery transcriptions and funeral abstracts distinct from the original records.↗
- Greene CountyBloomfield’s digital project and local newspaper resources complement Greene County court indexes.↗
- Hamilton CountyThe former Indiana Room is now part of the Crossroads Discovery Center. Pair its archives with a digital collection of township schools and early twentieth-century residents.↗
- Hancock CountyGreenfield's local collection offers early landowner and court sources as well as newspaper runs. Verify coverage before treating an unsuccessful search as evidence of absence.↗
- Harrison CountyCorydon’s Griffin Center offers unusual digital collections alongside county marriage and estate references.↗
- Hendricks CountyPlainfield's indexes reach beyond the usual certificates. Follow each result to its source, especially when a record concerns a child or an institutional placement.↗
- Henry CountyNew Castle's public library and historical society offer different routes into local lives, from a long-running newspaper card index to Bibles and donated family files.↗
- Howard CountyKokomo's genealogy collection provides the search tools; the health department explains the limits of the original vital registers.↗
- Huntington CountyUse the Huntington News alongside Markle materials and county records rather than treating one newspaper as the whole community.↗
- Jackson CountySeymour’s research collection and digital history routes reach beyond standard census and vital-record searches.↗
- Jasper CountyJasper County’s library offers local indexes, school collections and a distinctive Milroy manuscript project.↗
- Jay CountyJay County research can connect family files with land entries, midwifery calls and coffin-account publications.↗
- Jefferson CountyVisual collections and year-by-year addresses can guide a more focused search in county records.↗
- Jennings CountyJennings County’s library preserves unusually useful local-government and church research routes alongside surname-indexed court copies.↗
- Johnson CountyFranklin has both a museum research library with original county material and a public-library historical room. Use each collection for the evidence it actually holds.↗
- Knox CountyVincennes holds unusually early records. Start with custody, date, and jurisdiction, then use the record itself.↗
- Kosciusko CountyWarsaw’s historical society preserves broad county archival material, while the public library supplies newspapers and printed finding aids.↗
- LaGrange CountyMarriage and will films sit close to home; an Indianapolis manuscript collection may reveal named church donors and community ties.↗
- LaPorte CountyYearbooks and maps can provide context while circuit-court and naturalization publications point toward original records.↗
- Lake CountyUse local libraries to connect names with addresses, citizenship and community life. Keep the city and record jurisdiction in view.↗
- Lawrence CountyStart in Bedford with the museum research library, then connect its local evidence to a specific county record.↗
- Madison CountyUse Anderson's marriage and local-history records alongside Elwood-area photographs and newspaper resources. Keep the original document reference with each indexed result.↗
- Marion CountyCity directories, cultural collections, and county record guides offer different kinds of evidence. Start with the year and address before treating a same-name entry as your ancestor.↗
- Marshall CountyMarshall County sources combine museum research services, Bremen newspapers and state-library court finding aids.↗
- Martin CountyUse Shoals and Loogootee resources for local context, then test names and dates against records created closer to the event.↗
- Miami CountyPeru’s circus connections offer unusual evidence, but a photograph or program must be tied to a named person carefully.↗
- Monroe CountyThe public library and History Center offer different strengths, from newspapers and family files to land and probate material.↗
- Montgomery CountyCrawfordsville's library has detailed copy-request routes. Wabash College adds institutional records for people connected with the college and its community.↗
- Morgan CountyUse the two local library collections together. Their indexes and local papers can suggest a more precise courthouse search.↗
- Newton CountyA family collection can travel far from the county it documents. Use names and provenance to decide whether an out-of-state archive is relevant.↗
- Noble CountyLocal compilations and county indexes offer routes into Noble County research, but pre-1859 records need careful survival checks.↗
- Ohio CountySeparate Ohio County, Indiana, from the state of Ohio. For earlier events, check the jurisdiction in force before the county’s 1844 creation.↗
- Orange CountyStart with the meeting or community, not just the surname. Religious and land records may connect families across county boundaries.↗
- Owen CountyCombine Spencer’s library resources with carefully sourced society publications to reach beyond census-only research.↗
- Parke CountyUse meeting records and library collections alongside surviving county records. Do not treat a courthouse fire as proof that every earlier clue disappeared.↗
- Perry CountyUse Tell City’s library portal by publication title and date. A surname search alone can miss handwriting and poorly recognized print.↗
- Pike CountyAn account book can reveal everyday transactions that never reached a census or obituary.↗
- Porter CountyCombine Valparaiso’s genealogy center with Duneland collections to investigate households, deaths and local institutions.↗
- Posey CountyChoose the community and publication carefully. A countywide surname search may miss a neighborhood newspaper or a court file.↗
- Pulaski CountyUse the Winamac library as a starting point, then follow a family into land transfers or county minutes.↗
- Putnam CountyConnect a name in the library archives with the underlying document and an independently requested vital record.↗
- Randolph CountyWinchester’s library and historical society offer complementary surname, cemetery, and obituary routes.↗
- Ripley CountyCombine the county’s manuscript research with original-record film and a newspaper check.↗
- Rush CountyRush County research can extend from courthouse-derived volumes to African American community history and locally collected memories.↗
- Scott CountyUse specific record titles to prepare remotely, then arrange local research rather than relying on posted routine hours.↗
- Shelby CountyShelbyville's library preserves a large donated family-file collection, including material that cannot all be shown online. Separate those compilations from original legal records.↗
- Spencer CountyPair a Rockport-area location with newspapers and probate sources instead of relying on a surname alone.↗
- St. Joseph CountySouth Bend and Mishawaka collections preserve company newsletters, property abstracts and images that can enrich a family timeline.↗
- Starke CountyUse the history center for context and the library and state catalog for a documented search trail.↗
- Steuben CountyAngola’s library combines surname folders and local newspapers with county land and marriage finding aids.↗
- Sullivan CountyStart with a specific death or estate question, then follow the library’s index to the fuller record.↗
- Switzerland CountyCompare a compiled index with its record, and keep incomplete naturalization coverage visible.↗
- Tippecanoe CountyLafayette's historical association offers unusually specific indexes to legal and family records. Pair them with the public library and State Library's county holdings.↗
- Tipton CountyUse the library’s indexes and images to frame a question, then request a fuller record.↗
- Union CountySearch a small newspaper run alongside court records and regional biographies, with each source’s limits in view.↗
- Vanderburgh CountyNewspapers, city directories, church indexes and photographs can connect an urban family to a particular neighborhood.↗
- Vermillion CountyFollow families across neighboring counties while keeping each record’s jurisdiction clear.↗
- Vigo CountyTerre Haute’s library databases and university images offer distinct ways to reconstruct a Wabash Valley family.↗
- Wabash CountyA doctor’s birth records, funeral abstracts and museum photographs provide alternatives to a single vital-record search.↗
- Warren CountySearch photographs and community records, then use named marriage publications to pursue the underlying evidence.↗
- Warrick CountyConnect a person’s school or community context with the record that establishes the event.↗
- Washington CountyCombine a local genealogy inquiry with specific county and town publications.↗
- Wayne CountyThe library and Earlham archives offer complementary routes, with practical limits on remote archival help.↗
- Wells CountyLibrary spreadsheets and Bluffton newspapers can identify a useful article or record, but coverage gaps and transcription errors matter.↗
- White CountyWhite County offers both society-held research material and library newspaper film; plan access to each separately.↗
- Whitley CountyDigital oral histories and local photographs can suggest research questions alongside land, naturalization and probate indexes.↗
Begin with a place and a question.
Write down the smallest known place, approximate years, and a church, employer, school, or township connection. Modern county boundaries may not match the jurisdiction that created an older record.
Every county on the map links to a guide. Collection descriptions and access notes will continue to be refined. Also explore Ohio for families who crossed the state line.
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