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Daviess County History and Information |
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County History |
Court Records |
Vital Records |
CENSUS Records |
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Daviess County was created on February 15, 1817 and was formed from Knox County. Daviess County was a part of Knox County until February 15, 1817, at which time it was organized as a separate unit. Formerly it constituted much of what is now Martin, all of Greene, east of the west fork of White River, and all of Owen County, east of the west fork of the White River. The formation of Martin County in 1820, and Greene in 1821, cut Daviess County to its present size. The County was named for Maj. Joseph Hamilton Daviess, U.S. District Attorney for Kentucky, killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. The County Seat is Washington. The County Seat of Daviess County was located in the town of Liverpool on March 15, 1817. This name was changed to Washington on August 18, 1817. Washington was laid out by Emanuel Vantrees and Peter Wilkins and in 1849 contained 20 stores and groceries, 50 shops for various mechanics, three churches, three clergymen, four lawyers and eight physicians, good county buildings (which included the land office for the canal lands) and 1,400 inhabitants. See also County History for more historical details. Counties adjacent to Daviess County are Greene County (north), Martin County (east), Dubois County (southeast), Pike County (southwest), Knox County (west). Daviess County is divided into 10 Civil Townships as follows: Barr, Bogard, Elmore, Harrison, Madison, Reeve, Steele, Van Buren, Veale and Washington. Cities, Towns and Communities include Alfordsville, Black Oak, Cannelburg, Cornettsville, Corning, Cumback, Elnora, Glendale, Graham, Hudsonville, Jordan, Montgomery, Odon, Pennyville, Plainville, Sandy Hook, South Washington, Waco, and Washington.
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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 Daviess County Courthouse History Daviess County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1817 , Probate Records from 1817 and Court Records from 1817 and is located at PO Box 739,
Washington, IN 47501;
(812) 254-8664; (812) 254-8698 Fax Daviess County Recorder has Land Records from 1817 and is located at PO Box 793,
Washington, IN 47501;
(812) 254-8675; (812) 254-8697 Fax,
recorder@daviess.org - email.
Daviess County Health Department has Birth / Death Records from 1882 and is located at 303 East Hefron St, Washington, IN 47501; (812) 254-8666 Below is a list of online resources for Daviess County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Daviess County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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Below is a list of online resources for Daviess County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Daviess County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
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Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Daviess County, Indiana are 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your Family Tree in Daviess 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 Daviess County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Daviess 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 Daviess County Maps. Email us with websites containing Daviess 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 Daviess County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Daviess 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 Daviess County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Daviess 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 Daviess County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Daviess County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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There are many churches and cemeteries in Daviess County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Daviess 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 Daviess County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Daviess 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 Daviess County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Daviess 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 Daviess County, organized in 1817, was named after the distinguished lawyer, Joseph Hamilton Daviess, who fell in the Battle of Tippecanoe. It is bounded on the north by Greene, on the east by Martin, on the south by the East Fork and on the west by the West Fork of White River, and it contains 420 square miles. It is divided into ten townships, viz: Washington, Steel, Veale, Harrison, Reeve, Barr, Van Buren, Madison, Elmore and Bogard. The population in 1830 was 4,512, in 1840, 6,720, and at this time [1849] about 10,000. Daviess County contains a variety of soil, from a sandy to a pure clay, adapted to the growth of the articles usually cultivated in the west. The White River bottoms have a rich, black loam, in some places slightly sandy, which will produce heavy crops of corn, hemp, tobacco and small grain, without exhaustion or requiring a change of crops. These bottoms were originally heavily timbered, and along the West Fork, are from one to two miles wide; on the East Fork, are about half that width. The north-east part of the county is rolling and heavily timbered; the northwest part level and interspersed with prairies and skirts of timber, the center is generally level, and what is usually called barrens, the south and east undulating and with heavy timber. Interspersed with oak, hickory, gum, etc., are occasional districts containing from 1,000 to 5,000 acres of walnut, hackberry, ash and sugar tree timber, and others again of beech growth generally, the soil varying as is usual among such timber in the west. The principal products of the county are corn, wheat, rye, oats, hay and potatoes, which are usually shipped to New Orleans in flat boats. The stock raised consists of hogs, cattle and horses; the former are slaughtered and sold in Washington to be shipped south; the cattle are sold to drovers for the Louisville and Cincinnati markets, and are generally purchased by persons from other states, so that it is difficult to estimate the value of these articles. The falls on the West Fork of White River are not offered for sale, and when improved, which can be done at a small expense, they may propel a large amount of machinery on both sides of the river. There are in the county fifteen Methodist Churches and four Ministers, four Catholic Churches and four officiating Clergymen, six Christian Churches and three Ministers, five Baptist Churches and one Minister, two Presbyterian, one Lutheran and three Cumberland Presbyterian Churches. Common English schools are kept up form three to six months in the year, but no higher branches are taught. The taxable land in the county amounts to 172,000 acres; 50,000 acres of the vacant land were selected for the Canal Grant, and about 45,000 acres still belong to the United States. The most of this is very poor. 1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature The earliest inhabitants of Daviess County were from the southern states, although later there was an influx of settlers from the East in 1801 or 1806. Congress gave the first deed for land within the present limits of the county to John Baptiste Cardinal, and the first deed of record was made in 1792. This tract consisted of 400 acres. In 1783 the Congress of the United States made numerous donations of land to the early French settlers about Vincennes, and in 1807 the Congress made what has since been called "French Locations," which lie mostly in what is now Knox County. The making of early history in Daviess County was marked with Indian depredations, and after the killing of William McGowen by the Indians in the spring of 1812, the settlers, in order to protect themselves, erected ten block houses or forts. Five of these were built in 1812 and were known as "Hawkins' Fort," Comer's Fort" and "Purcell's Fort," the others being built at a later period. As now constituted, the county has 433 square miles and is divided into ten townships. Its County Seat is Washington, with a population of 9,070, the only incorporated city. Incorporated towns are: Cannelburg, 132; Elnora, 856; Montgomery, 445; Odon, 981; Plainville, 603, and Alfordsville, 90. Daviess County's population in 1890 was 26,227; 1900, 29,914; 1910, 27,747; 1920, 26,856; 1930, 25,832. Washington is located nineteen miles east of Vincennes and is served by two main railroads. Its industrial activities include the railroad shops and several factories manufacturing clothes hangers, shirts, screen doors, flour, toys, cheese, and window weights. The city as well as the county has been enjoying rapid developments in all lines. Washington's utilities, which have been operated very successfully, are municipally owned. The city has seventy acres of parks and a municipal swimming pool. The character of the land of Daviess County is extensive of range. The unusual rugged White River bottomland is rich black loam, while in other parts, clay is the distinguishing type of surface. Coal is found extensively in the region, and mining plays an important part in commercial activities. There is also a natural gas field. Outstanding among the county's personages of historical significance was James G. Reed, who was twice candidate for Governor of Indiana. Later he was appointed director of the Land Office at Jeffersonville and in 1850 became a member of the Constitutional Convention. According to figures of the 1935 federal census Daviess County had twenty-four manufacturing establishments employing 842 wage earners on a total pay roll of $511,290. The value of the manufactured products was $3,141,659. Reports of the same year listed 2,661 farms averaging 93.6 acres each, valued at $10,605,170. According to reports entered, the county had 61,353 head of livestock. The total county tax valuation for 1936 was $18,214,520. ? |
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