Wells County was created on February 17, 1837, which became effective May 1 of that same year and was formed from Adams New Purchase. The Adams New Purchase: Begun in 1827, Adams was the new name for the Delaware New Purchase. The Adams Purchase existed until 1844, when it became the counties of Adams, Clinton, Grant, Huntington, Jay, and Wells, and portions of the counties of Boone, Carroll, Tipton, and Wabash. The County was named for Capt. William A. Wells, who was once a Native American scout for Gen. "Mad Anthony" Wayne, and who was killed at the Fort Dearborn Massacre in 1812.
The County Seat is Bluffton. First settled in 1838, by 1849 it contained a good Courthouse, Jail and public offices with churches for the United Brethren, Presbyterians, Methodists and Christians with a population of 500. See also County History for more historical details.
Counties adjacent to Wells County are Allen County (north), Adams County (east), Jay County (southeast), Blackford County (south), Grant County (west), Huntington County (northwest).
Wells County is divided into 9 Civil Townships as follows: Chester, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Lancaster, Liberty, Nottingham, Rock Creek and Union.
Cities, Towns and Communities include Bluffton, Craigville, Dillman, Domestic, Greenville, Greenwood, Jeff, Keystone, Kingsland, Liberty Center, McNatts, Mt. Zion, Nottingham, Ossian, Petroleum, Phenix, Poneto, Reiffsburg, Rockford, Tocsin, Travisville, Uniondale, Vera Cruz, Wellsburg, and Zanesville.

Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history 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 Wells County Courthouse History
Wells County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1837 , Probate Records from 1838 and Court Records from 1838 and is located at 102 W Market Street, Suite 201, Bluffton, IN 46714; TELEPHONE:(260) 824-6479, FAX:(260) 824-6559
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.
Wells County Recorder has Land Records from 1838 and is located at 102 W Market Street, Suite 203, Bluffton, IN 46714; TELEPHONE:(260) 824-6507, FAX:(260) 824-1238.
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.
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.
Wells County Health Department has Birth / Death Records from 1882 and is located at 223 West Washington Street, Bluffton, IN 46714; (260) 824-6489
Below is a list of online resources for Wells County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Wells County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information.
Indiana State Department of Health Vital Records office is located at 6 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. The office is open for walk-in requests from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., E.S.T., Monday through Friday (excluding official State Holidays). They have the following records:
Below is a list of online resources for Wells County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Wells County Vital Records by clicking the link below:

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

Maps are an invaluable part of family history research, especially if you live far from where your ancestor lived. Because political boundaries often changed, historic maps are critical in helping you discover the precise location of your ancestor's hometown, what land they owned, who their neighbors were, and more.
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 Wells County Maps. Email us with websites containing Wells County Maps by clicking the link below:

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 Wells County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Wells County Military Records by clicking the link below:
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 Wells County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Wells County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

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 Wells County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Wells 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 Wells County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Wells County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

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 Wells County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Wells County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

1849 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Gazetteer," published by E. Chamberlain
Wells County was named in honor of Captain William H. Wells, of Fort Wayne, who was killed by the Indians on the 15th of August 1812, near Chicago, in an attempt to escort the garrison of Fort Dearborn to Fort Wayne. It was organized in 1837 and is bounded north by Allen, east by Adams, south by Jay and Blackford and west by Grant and Huntington. It contains 372 square miles. The civil townships are Jefferson, Lancaster, Harrison and Nottingham in the east, Chester in the south and Union, Rock Creek, Liberty and Jackson in the west. The population in 1840 was 1,822; it is at this time [1849] about 4,500.
The land is either nearly level or gently undulating, the soil uniformly good, the timber oak, walnut, ash, hickory, beech and sugar. With the exception of a few wet prairies and swamps that require to be drained, the whole county may be farmed to advantage in all the usual products of the climate. The settlements are mostly so recent that as yet no great amount of surplus is exported, but Fort Wayne is the principal market.
There are in the county three gristmills, five sawmills, one woolen factory, one printing office, six stores, four groceries, tow lawyers, six physicians, ten preachers of the Gospel, the usual proportion of mechanics and one church each for the Methodist, Presbyterians, United Brethren and Christians.
The taxable land amounts to 199,637 acres, and there are about 4,000 acres of Indian Reserves and Unites States land in the county.
1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature
Wells County is an agricultural county and its fertile soil is excellently adapted to the raising of a variety of crops. Ample drainage is provided by the two main waterways, the Wabash and Salamonie Rivers. The southern part of Wells County was located in the gas and oil fields, which formerly were quite important.
The county is located in the northeastern section of Indiana, covering an area of 365 square miles, and is divided into nine townships. The incorporated city is Bluffton, population 5,074; towns: Ossain, 788; Markle, 621; Poneto, 237; Uniondale, 226, and Vera Cruz, 94. Wells County population in 1890 was 21,514; 1900, 23,449; 1910, 22,418; 1920, 20,509; 1930, 18,411.
Bluffton is located on the Wabash River about twenty-five miles south of Fort Wayne and is served by two railroads. Its important industrial interests are foundries, stone quarrying, planing and tile mills, and factories for manufacture of pianos and hardwood flooring.
Bluffton is the home of Charles C. Deam, one of the nation's outstanding research foresters and botanists. In 1904, L. A. and C. B. Williamson planted the tree, which is known as the Deam Oak. The tree is located three miles northwest of the city.
Deam's untiring research resulted in the establishment of a state Forestry and Conservation Department. For years he was the State Forester and is one of the state's foremost authorities on matters of conservation. Deam was the author of the Tax Reduction Act, considered one of the best forestry laws ever written. At present he is writing "Flowers of Indiana," to follow his other three books dealing with trees, grass, and shrubs. All were published by the state. Deam is officially connected with the state as Research Forester.
Wells County had fourteen manufacturing establishments, according to the figures of the 1935 federal census. A total of 156 wage earners were employed on pay rolls totaling $138,315. The value of the products was $822,817.
The county had 2,487 farms averaging 91.1 acres each. Their value was $11,770,433. A total of 85,161 head of livestock was reported. The total county tax valuation for 1936 was $22,619,240.
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