Spencer County was created on February 1, 1818 and was formed fromPerry and Warrick Counties. The County was named for Capt. Spier Spencer, killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.
The County Seat is Rockport and derives its name from the hanging rock, known to boatmen at the "Lady Washington Rock." In 1849 it contained good county buildings, a County Seminary in which there were usually 30 students, a Methodist Church and 200 houses (only seven of which were brick) and 600 inhabitants. See also County History for more historical details.
Spencer County is divided into 9 Civil Townships as follows: Carter, Clay, Grass, Hammond, Harrison, Huff, Jackson, Luce and Ohio.
Cities, Towns and Communities include Africa, Buffaloville, Centerville, Chrisney, Clay City, Dale, Enterprise, Eureka, Evanston, Fulda, Gentryville, Grandview, Hatfield, Kennedy, Lamar, Lake Mill, Liberal, Lincoln City, Mariah Hill, Maxville, Midway, New Boston, Newtonville, Patronville, Pueblo, Reo, Richland City, Ritchie, Rock Hill, Rockport, St. Meinrad, Sand Ridge, Santa Claus, Schley and Silverdale.
Indiana Newspaper Holdings for Spencer 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 Sept. 1833, Saved: marriage and deed records
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 Spencer County Courthouse History
Spencer County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1818 , Probate Records from 1818 and Court Records from 1818 and is located at 200 Main St., P.O. Box 12, Rockport, IN 47635; 812-649-6027 (phone), 812-649-6030 (fax) 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.
Spencer County Recorder has Land Records from 1818 and is located at Courthouse, 200 Main Street,
Rockport, IN 47635;
(812)649-6013. 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.
Spencer County Health Department has Birth / Death Records from 1882 and is located at Courthouse, First Floor,
Rockport, IN 47635;
(812) 649-4441 Ext 10
Below is a list of online resources for Spencer County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Spencer 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 Spencer County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Spencer 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 Spencer County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Spencer 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 Spencer County Maps. Email us with websites containing Spencer 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 Spencer County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Spencer 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 Spencer County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Spencer 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 Spencer County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Spencer 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 Spencer County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Spencer 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 Spencer County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Spencer 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
Spencer County, organized in 1818, was named in honor of Captain Spier Spencer, of Harrison County, who fell it the Battle of Tippecanoe. It is bounded north by Dubois, east by Perry, south by the Ohio River, and west by Warrick, and it contains 410 square miles. The civil townships are Luce, Ohio, Grass, Jackson, Hammond, Huff, Harrison and Carter. The population in 1830 was 3,187, in 1840, 6,305, and at this time [1849] about 9,000.
The south part of the county is level, the middle undulating, and the northeastern hilly. The soil for the most part is a rich black loam with an under soil of yellow clay mixed with sand, though in places steep hills or extensive flats do not encourage agricultural improvements. The prevailing timber is oak, hickory, ash, poplar, black gum, walnut, sugar, beech, and sassafras, with an undergrowth of dogwood, spice and pawpaw. Large crops of corn are raised on the extensive river bottoms, and in the interior, corn, wheat, rye, oats, grass and tobacco. There are in the county eight gristmills, eight sawmills, thirty stores, ten groceries, five warehouses, one printing office, three lawyers, nine physicians, fifteen preachers, and quite a small proportion of mechanics. The surplus produce, consisting of corn, wheat, hay, oats, tobacco, hogs, cattle and horses, is estimated to be worth $150,000 annually. There is a great abundance of stone coal found in the county. The taxable land amounts to 156,159 acres.
1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature
Spencer County was the boyhood home of Abraham Lincoln and a tract of 100 acres has been set aside in Lincoln City, marking the place. Here is the Lincoln State Park and the Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial. Two monuments mark her grave at the crown of the hill. There are several other Lincoln markers and memorials in Spencer County.
Spencer County is also noted as the site of St. Meinrad's Abbey .The name, which this institution of piety and learning bears, is taken from the holy man and hermit St. Meinrad, born in the year 797, a member of the noble house of Hohenzollern (the same that today in the person of Emperor William II rules in Germany). For years, he lived as a hermit in a life of prayer and penance at a spot, which today is the world-renowned place of pilgrimage in Switzerland - Maria Einsiedeln (Our Lady of the Hermits). There he died as a martyr in the year 861, being slain by two robbers, who falsely thought that the holy man had concealed in his hut rich gifts received from the pilgrims. Although aware of the impending danger, he nevertheless extended to them the hospitality of his humble cell, thus falling a victim to this own charity.
It was by this famous Abbey of Einsiedeln in Switzerland that the Abbey of St. Meinrad in Spencer County, Indiana, was founded. In 1852, the Rev. Joseph Kundeck, of Jasper, Indiana, upon the urgent request of Bishop de Saint Palais, of Vincennes, Indiana, secured from Einsiedeln several Benedictine recruits for the American missions - the Rev. Bede O'Connor and the Rev. Ulrich Christin, who arrived in New York January 31, 1853. Shortly after, more recruits were sent from the motherhouse, and on March 21, 1854, full possession was taken of the new Benedictine colony established at St. Meinrad. The Rev. Kundeck dedicated the little log cabin, held solemn celebration of high mass in the open air, and preached to the throng that had gathered from all directions. Soon frame buildings and a church were erected; missions, together with a school (college and seminary), were begun; and by reinforcement of members, the new settlement was able, in 1866, to count in its family twenty religieux, all ready to sacrifice their time, their strength and even their lives for the good cause. Many were the hardships and struggles during these years; but in spite of all adversity, the Benedictine colony progressed so satisfactorily that it was deemed feasible to have it elevated by Rome to the title of an independent Abbey, with all rights and privileges; this was effected on September 30, 1870. The Rev. Martin Marty, up to this time Prior, became its first Abbot; but in 1880 he was appointed Bishop of all the Dakotas, where he accomplished an immense amount of good work for the Indian cause, settling many a difference between the Indians and the government. He died as Bishop of St. Cloud in 1896.
With this elevation to the title and rank of an Abbey, a period of great activity set in for the institution under the leadership of Abbot Marty. In 1872, the cornerstone of the new Abbey building was laid, and in 1874, the community abandoned their old frame buildings and occupied their new stately edifice constructed of sandstone from its own quarry. The successor of Abbot Marty was Abbot Fintan (1880-1898), under whose administration the large and spacious college building of stone was erected; he also founded a new Benedictine colony at St. Benedict's in the State of Arkansas, and one at St. Joseph's in the State of Louisiana.
Affairs had thus made marked progress in St. Meinrad. Its mission, as well as college and seminary, were in a flourishing condition; the institution enjoyed a great increase of members not only in the community, but also in all departments of the student body; when of a sudden, on September 2, 1887, at the noon hour, a terrific disaster fell upon the Abbey, bringing gloom and desolation with it. On that day the Abbey buildings, church, library, college, seminary and all workshops were destroyed by fire. What had taken many years of labor and self-sacrifice to build up, an unexpected conflagration of an hour or two turned into a waste of smoldering ruins. The community immediately set to work for the reconstruction of the new Abbey buildings, and on the second anniversary day of the fire, September 2, 1889, the new Abbey was ready for occupancy.
In 1898, after the death of Abbot Fintan, the third incumbent of the abbatial chair was elected, the choice falling upon the rector of the seminary - Reverend Athanasius Schmitt, O.S.B. His chief aim was to erect a church large enough to accommodate choir members, priests, clerics, brothers, students of the college, philosophers, theologians and a large number of lay people. This church is a huge structure of solid stone masonry built in the pure Romanesque style of architecture, 200 feet long by 72 feet wide, with two beautiful towers containing a chime of six bells. These towers are covered with copper shingles, whilst the roofing of the church proper is of slate. The magnificent art glass windows were imported from Munich, Germany. The high altar, a unique, gorgeous structure of Italian marble and fire-gilt bronze, hails likewise form the art studios of Germany and Italy. Beneath the chancel, there is a crypt containing four different grottoes; these grottoes are built of natural stone obtained from a cave in Ohio. The church contains fourteen altars, with baptismal chapel and a chapel of Our Lady near the entrance. The mammoth double organ is an instrument of 55 registers and 3,015 pipes.
After completion of the beautiful church a new four-story library 125 feet by 30 feet and a new seminary 200 feet by 40 feet, five stories high, built entirely of sandstone (form the monastery's own quarry), reinforced concrete and with tile roofs were added; also a reinforced concrete water tank, containing 500,000 gallons of water for supply and fire protection purposes was erected.
The membership of the Abbey at present (1915) is as follows: Priests, fifty-five; clerics, twelve lay brothers, forty; students of the college, 120; of the seminary, seventy, besides workingmen and employees, averaging about 300 all in all.
A Benedictine family is an industrious colony in itself, with agricultural facilities and practically all kinds of trades represented in the lay-brethren, to-wit: carpenters, blacksmiths, wagon makers, gardeners, butchers, shoemakers, tailors, bookbinders, cooks, electricians, tinners, mechanics, painters, scientists, musicians, etc., and is again proof, as in the past centuries, that such settlements become centers of industry, art, science, learning and piety. All of which naturally will exercise an influence upon its surroundings.
St. Meinrad's College, which was first opened for the education of young men on January 1, 1857, has developed since its establishment into an institution with three distinct departments and facilities: St. Meinrad's Seminary, St. Meinrad's College, and Jasper College. The three departments of this institution are conducted by the Fathers of the Benedictine Order, and are connected with the Abbey of St. Meinrad: the first two (for ecclesiastical students) at St. Meinrad, Indiana, the last named (for secular students) at Jasper, Indiana. All three departments were incorporated in the year 1890 under the title of "St. Meinrad's Abbey," subject to the laws of incorporation of the State of Indiana, and empowered to confer collegiate degrees until recent years.
Spencer is one of the southern counties bordering the Ohio River. It is noted for its large tobacco crops, although corn and other agricultural products also are raised on the rich river bottomlands. In the northern part large beds of coal are found, and some mining is done.
It has an area of 403 square miles, divided into nine townships. The incorporated city is Rockport, 2,396; towns: Dale, 770; Grandview, 588; Chrisney, 414, and Gentryville, 271. The county population in 1890 was 22,060; 1900, 22,407; 1910, 20,676; 1920, 18,400; 1930, 16,713.
Rockport is an Ohio River town located thirty miles from Evansville, and is served by one railroad. It is most important as the center of a great tobacco-growing district. Its manufactures include strawboard, school desks, buttons, boxes, egg cases, chairs, and furniture.
One of the most interesting features of Rockport is the historic flatboat landing, where biennially the Indiana Lincoln Memorial Association produces the pageant "When Lincoln Went Flatboating From Rockport." Among other points of interest in Rockport is Sargent's Inn, built in 1832. Lincoln was a guest here in 1844, when he was elector for Clay. At Rocky Side Park there is a marble slab in a rock cave at the site of the home of Spencer County's first white family, who came in 1807.
At the town of Grandview, five miles northeast of the County Seat, are several markers erected by the Lincoln Trail Club. One marks the site of an old blockhouse fort. In front of the public library is a series of plates giving the route traveled by Lincoln between Grandview and Lincoln City. At New Hope, which is two miles north of Grandview, a marker has been placed near the site of the old Bayse store where Lincoln traded.
In Lincoln City are two other markers in addition to the Memorial Area and Lincoln State Park. One, a monument on the grounds of the public school, marks the site of the cabin home of Thomas Lincoln, father of the Great Emancipator. In Old Pigeon Cemetery is a monument at the grave of Sarah Lincoln Grigsby.
East of Lincoln City is St. Meinrad, home of the famous abbey. This institution is one of Spencer County's most notable points of artistic interest.
Spencer County had fifteen manufacturing establishments, according to the figures of the 1935 federal census. Ninety-four wage earners were employed on payrolls totaling $61,974. The value of the products was $608,874.
The county had 2,221 farms averaging 101.3 acres each. The value of these was $6,796,852. A total of 40,666 head of livestock was reported.
The county's tax valuation for 1936 was $9,130,520.
