Madison County was created on July 1, 1823 and was formed from Delaware New Purchase. The Delaware New Purchase: Set up in 1820, portions were set apart as the entire counties of Allen, Bartholomew, Hamilton, Henry, Johnson, Marion, Rush, and Shelby. Parts of the counties of Delaware, Hendricks, Madison, and Morgan also were located in the Delaware Purchase. In 1827, the name of the tract was changed to the Adams New Purchase. The County was named for U.S. President James Madison.
The County Seat is Anderson. Anderson wasn't always the County Seat. Pendleton was the first County Seat. Selected 1823, it was too far from the center of the county to be satisfactory ... there is also some question as to whether or not it was ever "declared" the County Seat or if it was just the location where judicial business was enacted. According to the act of January 13, 1826, the County Seat was relocated to a town called Bedford; however, I am unable to locate a town of Bedford having ever been established in Madison County and some sources do not list it in describing the a transition of the County Seat from Pendleton to Andersontown. Andersontown was the third County Seat. The rapid growth of Andersontown, a town much nearer the center of the county, caused the citizens of the county to apply to the Legislature for an act to relocate the County Seat and the change was then made as the result of the act of January 4, 1827 and the actual site appears to have been chosen in 1828. By the legislative act of December 6, 1848, Andersontown became simply Anderson.
Anderson was was an old Indian town named after Anderson, a Delaware chief, who formerly resided there. In 1813 it was burnt by a detachment of troops from Kentucky, then on an exploring tour. In 1849 Anderson had a Courthouse, Jail, fireproof public offices, a County Seminary and a population of about 300. The Courthouse, with most of the records, was destroyed by fire on December 10, 1880. The replacement was ready for occupancy February 21, 1885. See also County History for more historical details.
Madison County is divided into 14 Civil Townships as follows: Adams, Anderson, Boone, Duck Creek, Fall Creek, Green, Jackson, Lafayette, Monroe, Pipe Creek, Richland, Stoney Creek, Union and Van Buren.
Cities, Towns and Communities include Alfant, Alliance, Alexandria, Anderson, Bloomer, Chesterfield, Dundee, Edgewood, Elwood, Emporia, Fishersburg, Florida, Frankton, Gilman, Gimco City, Grandview, Gridley, Hamilton, Hardscrabble, Huntsville, Idlewold, Ingalls, Lapel, Leisure, Linwood, Markleville, Moonville, New Columbus, Orestes, Ovid, Pendleton, Perkinsville, Prosperity, Rigdon and Summitville.
Indiana Newspaper Holdings for Madison County: The county newspaper holdings are under regular revision, as new microfilm holdings are added. These files are not up to date; there are continuous updates and corrections.
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information. Courthouse destroyed by Fire in Dec. 1880, Lost: marriage, circuit court and common pleas court records
Saved: wills from 1879, deeds from 1825, and general index to deeds from 1829
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 Madison County Courthouse History
Madison County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1853 , Probate Records from 1879 and Court Records from ? and is located at 16 E. Ninth Street, #213, Anderson, IN 46016; Pho: (765) 641-9443, Fax: (765) 640-4203 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.
Madison County Recorder has Land Records from 1822 and is located at 16 East 9th, 2nd House Box 19,
Anderson IN 46016;
(317) 641-9443 . 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.
Madison County Health Department has Birth / Death Records from 1882 and is located at 206 East 9th Street,
Anderson, IN 46016-1538;
(765) 641-9524
Below is a list of online resources for Madison County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Madison County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Indianapolis Newspaper Index, 1848-1991: Select articles from 1848-1888 Indianapolis daily newspapers; heavily focused on deaths and marriages. Select articles from 1898-1991 about people, places, events, and topics in Indianapolis and the state of Indiana. Extremely limited for deaths; no coverage of marriages. Card file also available in the Microforms Area, second floor.
Reference & Government Services CD Collection: Database to allow searching of the hundreds of CDs from the federal government and other sources, part of the collections of the Reference & Government Services Division.
Indiana Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Indiana Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Birth Certificates:
The Division of Vital Records and Statistics maintains birth records that occur in Indiana since Oct 1907 to the present.
Prior to October 1907, records of birth are filed only with the local health department in the county where the birth actually occurred.
Cost: Initial search and one certified copy or certification of the record or No Record Statement is $10.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy.
Make your check or money order payable to "Indiana State Department of Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep check amount for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
In Person:
The ISDH Vital Records office is located at 6 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. The office is open for walk-in requests from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., E.S.T., Monday through Friday (excluding official State Holidays). The cost for the first certificate is $10.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Average wait time is less than an hour.
Processing Time: 5 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Death Certificates: The Division of Vital Records and Statistics maintains death records that occur in Indiana since 1900 to the present. Prior to 1900, records of death are filed only with the local health department in the county where the death actually occurred.
For deaths occurring from 1900 to 1917, the city and/or county of death is required in order to locate the record.
Cost: Initial search and one certified copy or certification of the record or No Record Statement is $8.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy.
Make your check or money order payable to "Indiana State Department of Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep check amount for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
In Person:
The ISDH Vital Records office is located at 6 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. The office is open for walk-in requests from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., E.S.T., Monday through Friday (excluding official State Holidays). The cost for the first certificate is $8.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Average wait Time is less than an hour.
Processing Time: 5 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Marriage Certificates: Certified copies of marriage certificates are not available from the State Health Department. They are available from the Clerks of the Circuit Court in the county where the marriage was granted. Fees vary.
Divorce Certificates: Certified copies of divorce certificates are not available from the State Health Department. They are available from the County Clerk in the county where the divorce was granted. Fees vary.
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Below is a list of online resources for Madison County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Madison County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Indiana newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Click Here to Search Indiana Voter Lists & Census Records! - 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.
Below is a list of online resources for Madison County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Madison County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Indiana Census, 1790-1890: This collection contains the following indexes: 1790 (Northwest Territory) Federal Census Index; 1807 State Census Index; 1810 Wayne County Census Index; 1812 Census Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1870 Federal Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedule.
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 Madison County Maps. Email us with websites containing Madison County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Indiana Military Records! - 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 Madison County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Madison County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Indiana (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Indiana World War II Servicemen: Database to locate information about Indiana men and women who served in World War II who were mentioned in one of the Indianapolis daily newspapers during the war.
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 Madison County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Madison County Tax 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 Madison County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Madison County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Indiana State Library,
Attn: (Division or Staff Name),
140 North Senate Avenue,
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2296
Loan Desk and General Inquiries: 317-232-3675,
ind@statelib.lib.in.us
Genealogy Division: 317-232-3689,
genealogy@statelib.lib.in.us
Indiana Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Indiana Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. 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.
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 Madison County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Madison County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Indiana obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Indiana newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Indiana.
Click Here to Search Indiana Family Tree Records! - 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 Madison County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Madison County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Indiana Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
1849 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Gazetteer," published by E. Chamberlain
Madison County, named in honor of the fourth President of the United States, James Madison, was organized in 1823. It is bounded north by Grant, east by Delaware and Henry, south by Hancock, and west by Hamilton and Tipton, being thirty-one miles from north to south, and fifteen from east to west. It is divided into twelve civil townships, viz: Green, Fall Creek, Adams, Union, Anderson, Jackson, Pipe Creek, Lafayette, Richland, Monroe, Boone and Van Buren. The population in 1830 was 2,442, in 1840, 8,874, and at this time [1849] about 11,500. With the exception of about 1,500 acres of wet prairie, between Pendleton and Anderson, and a small tract of hilly country along the principal streams, the balance of the county is either gently undulating or nearly level, and was originally covered with heavy timber, generally of good quality. About one-fourth of the county is bottom, the other three-fourths upland. The soil is various, though mostly a clay loam, with a mixture of sand, and very productive, and well adapted to wheat, corn, oats and grass. It is estimated that 15,000 hogs, 500 fat cattle, and 100 mules are sent annually from the county. There are in it fifteen gristmills, twenty-one sawmills, three woolen manufactories, one printing office, then Methodists and two Baptist churches, nine lawyers, twenty physicians, eight preachers, and about 300 mechanics employed in the various trades needed in a new country. The taxable land in 254,419 acres, and not over 3,000 acres still belong to the United States.
The fine water power of Madison County, not surpassed probably by that of any county in the State, its fertile soil, excellent limestone and marble which are found here easy of access, will all be called into requisition on the opening of the Indianapolis and Bellefontaine Railroad, and this part of the country will advance rapidly in improvement.
1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature
Madison County is one of the central counties located north of Indianapolis. Its land is mostly level, or slightly rolling, and is quite fertile. Almost all of Madison County is underlaid with beds of sand and gravel, and a few limestone deposits are found. There is much clay in the county, suitable for brick or tile. It is traversed by White River and several lesser waterways.
The county has an area of 450 square miles, divided into fourteen townships. The incorporated cities are Anderson, 39,804; Elwood, 10,685, and Alexandria, 4,408; towns: Pendleton, 1,538; Lapel, 1,140; Summitville, 1,017; Frankton, 829; Chesterfield, 460; Ingalls, 430; Orestes, 357; Markleville, 251; Aladdin, 28, and Woodland Heights, 19. The county population in 1890 was 36,487; 1900, 70,470; 1910, 65,224; 1920, 69,151; 1930, 82,888.
Anderson is located thirty-five miles northeast of Indianapolis and is served by three railroads. Industrially, the city is best known as home of one of the largest markers of automobile generators, starter, lighting, and ignition units in the world. Among the other products are automobile horns, playground equipment, corrugated boxes, nails, wire, fabricated steel, oil emblems, lodge regalia, house dresses, aprons, bottle blowing machines, pumps, automobile tires, wire fence, floor tile, machine knives, shovels, automobile wheels, files, automobile governors, bed and automobile springs, and asphalt making equipment.
According to 1935 federal census figures [perhaps these are estimates based on the 1930 census?], the city had sixty-one manufacturing establishments employing 10,192 wage earners. Payrolls for these workers totaled $12,446,054, and the value of the products was $61,514,288.
Among the distinguishing features of Anderson is its school system. The cultural consciousness of the city is manifested by the collections of prints of old masters in the schools, and by such organizations as the Anderson Art Association. The Carnegie Library has a fine collection of art books.
Of historic interest is the marker in the vicinity of the cabin of Chief Anderson. It was for this Chief of the Delaware Tribe that the city was named. Another interesting marker is in the form of a tree marking the site of Camp Stilwell, used in Civil War days.
There are several notable residences. Many of these are in the Edgewood district, which is characterized by rock bridges, lily pools, and picturesque rock gardens. At the entrance of the May Residence is a pair of stone lions more than a century old and purchased in China.
Elwood is west of Anderson and is served by two railroads. It is known for the manufacture of tin plate, glass, kitchen cabinets, clay products, and cigars. According to figures of the 1935 federal census, Elwood had seventeen manufacturing establishments employing 2,276 wage earners, on payrolls of $2,245,994. The value of the products was $9,756,107.
Alexandria, located north of Anderson, is served by two railroads. The city's major industries include paper mills, canneries, mineral wool plants, machine shops, and factories for cigars, glass, gloves, and boilers.
Pendleton, south and west of Anderson, is the site of the Indiana State Reformatory.
According to 1935 federal census figures, the county had 119 manufacturing establishments. There were 14,324 wage earners employed on payrolls totaling $16,041,504. The value of the manufactured products was $76,560,331.
The county had 3,427 farms averaging 77.5 acres each. The total value of these was $20,529,862. A total of 107,619 head of livestock was reported. The total county tax valuation for 1936 was $73,453,365.
