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Blackford County History and Information |
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County History |
Court Records |
Vital Records |
CENSUS Records |
TAX Records |
Military Records |
Church & Cemetery | Maps & Atlases | Genealogy Addresses | Genealogy Related Sites | |
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Blackford County was created on February 18, 1839 and was formed from Jay County. The County was named forJudge Isaac Blackford, the first Speaker of the Indiana General Assembly. The County Seat is Hartford City . See also County History for more historical details. Counties adjacent to Blackford County are Wells County (north), Jay County (east), Delaware County (south), Grant County (west). Blackford County is divided into 4 Civil Townships as follows: Harrison, Jackson, Licking and Washington. Cities, Towns and Communities include Converse, Hartford City, Matamoras, Millgrove, Montpelier, Renner, Ridertown, Roll, Shamrock Lake and Trenton.
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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 Blackford County Courthouse History Blackford County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1839 , Probate Records from 1839 and Court Records from 1839 and is located at 110 W Washington St, Hartford City, IN 47348; (765) 348-1130 Blackford County Recorder has Land Records from 1839 and is located at 110 W Washington St, Hartford City, IN 47348; (765) 348-2307.
Blackford County Health Department has Birth / Death Records from 1882 and is located at 506 East VanCleve, Hartford City, IN 47348; (765) 348-3041 Below is a list of online resources for Blackford County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Blackford County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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Below is a list of online resources for Blackford County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Blackford County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
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Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Blackford County, Indiana are 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your Family Tree in Blackford 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 Blackford County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Blackford County Census Records by clicking the link below:
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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 Below is a list of online resources for Blackford County Maps. Email us with websites containing Blackford County Maps by clicking the link below: |
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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 Blackford County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Blackford County Military Records by clicking the link below:
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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 Blackford County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Blackford County Tax Records by clicking the link below: |
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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 Blackford County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Blackford County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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There are many churches and cemeteries in Blackford County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Blackford 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 Blackford County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Blackford County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
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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 Blackford County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Blackford County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
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1849 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Gazetteer," published by E. Chamberlain Blackford County, named in honor of Judge Blackford, was organized in 1837. It is bounded north by Wells, east by Jay, south by Delaware, and west by Grant counties, and contains 169 square miles. It is divided into four civil townships; Harrison in the northeast, Jackson in the southeast, Washington in the northwest and Licking in the southwest. The population of the county is about 2,000. There are five stores in the county, one grocery, one warehouse, three lawyers, four smiths, three wheelwrights, seven shoemakers, three tailors and one hatter, two gristmills and five sawmills. The face of the county is mostly level, but in some places gently undulating. The soil is best adapted to the cultivation of wheat, rye, corn, oats, potatoes, etc., and the exports consist of wheat and pork, taken to the Wabash and Erie Canal, and cattle, horses and hogs driven to other markets. The principal streams in the county are the Salamonie and Lick Creek, the former a first rate mill stream. Except a few wet prairies, the county was all originally heavily timbered with oak, beech, ash, poplar, sugar tree, walnut, hickory, cherry, etc., and the soil, without any exception, is rich. The public buildings in the county are a well-finished brick Courthouse, and Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian churches, and Licking and Harrison townships have each five schools. John Blount made the first settlement in the county in 1835. In the winter of 1836, Abel Baldwin of Vermont, explored the forests and entered land for a company of emigrants from that State, and in the autumn following they removed to the Salamonie, and soon after laid off the town of Montpelier, which was named after the capital of their native State. Hartford was laid off in 1839, and for several years the rival towns were competitors for the county seat; but Hartford succeeded ultimately. In March 1842, a hurricane passed through the south part of the county, destroying much timber, and leaving marks of desolation for many miles. There are 96,945 acres of taxable land in the county. In the eastern part is the Godfroy Reserve, where this war chief of the Miamis long resided, and where some of the dwellings of the red men are yet standing. Godfroy was a noble looking, kind-hearted man, much beloved both by Indians and whites. 1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature Blackford County is one of Indiana's eastern central counties located northeast of Indianapolis. Originally it was part of Jay County, but was formally organized as one of the smaller counties on February 18, 1839. John Blount was the first settler, in 1835, and in 1836 Abel Baldwin, of Vermont, after making an exploration of the forests, made an entry of land for the emigrants from his state. That year the New Englanders moved into the territory and established the town of Montpelier on the Salamonie, naming it after the capital of their native state. Blackford County covers 168 square miles and is divided into four townships. There are two incorporated cities: Hartford City, population 6,613, and Montpelier, 1,859. In 1890, the county population was 10,461; 1900, 17,231; 1910, 15,820; 1920, 14,084; 1930, 13,617. Hartford City is located eighteen miles northwest of Muncie and is served by two railroads. The city's industries include the Hartford Ice Company and plants manufacturing window glass, chipped glass, overhead doors, and paper pulp. The city has a number of historical and artistic points of interest. The Public Library has a fine art collection, including a painting by Homer Gordon Davisson. There is a monument on the lawn of the Courthouse, which was presented by the Service Star Legion in 1921 as a World War Memorial. One of the notable buildings is the William Reed Memorial School. Within the building is a portrait of William Reed by Marie Goth. Many of the old residences of Hartford City contain antiques, fine examples of furniture and native craftsmanship. Among the noteworthy estates are the Dale residence with its fine gateway and gardens, and the Robert Henley residence, with its floral gardens. Other features of the city are Hoover Park, presented to the city in memory of J. L. Hoover, and the Blackford County Hospital, erected to the memory of Mrs. Ella Smith. The federal census figures for 1935 reported twenty-three manufacturing establishments in Blackford County. There were 1,418 wage earners on pay rolls totaling $1,320,144. The total value of the industrial output was $7,052,884. The value of the county's farms was $5,500,991. These 1,089 farms averaged 92.4 acres each. A total of 32,215 head of livestock was reported. The 1936 tax valuation for the county was $16,335,462 ? |
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