Darke County, Ohio Genealogy

United States

Ohio

Darke County

Guide to Darke County, Ohio ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Ohio Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Greenville Organized: January 3, 1809 Parent County(s): Miami Neighboring Counties Mercer  • Auglaize  • Shelby  • Miami  • Montgomery  • Preble  • Wayne (IN)  • Randolph (IN)  • Jay (IN) See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The county was named for William Darke, a General in the American Revolution. It is located in the West-Central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Darke County Courthouse
504 South Broadway Street
Greenville, Ohio 45331
Phone: 937-547-7340
Darke County Website

Probate Judge has birth and death records 1867-1908, marriage records from 1817 and probate records;
Clerk Court has divorce and court records from 1820;
County Recorder has land records from 1816 and burial records (veterans graves) from 1832

Darke County, Ohio Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1867	1817	1867	1820	1816	1818	1820
Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1908. General compliance year is unknown.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Parent Counties: Formed from Miami County 3 January 1809. County Seat: Greenville Interactive Map of Ohio County Formation History (1790-1897) - animated maps illustrating Ohio county boundary changes Ohio Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Populated Places

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in Darke County:

Cities
Greenville (county seat)
Villages
Ansonia Arcanum Bradford Burkettsville Castine Gettysburg Gordon	Hollansburg Ithaca New Madison New Weston North Star Osgood Palestine	Pitsburg Rossburg Union City Versailles Wayne Lakes Yorkshire
Unincorporated communities
Abbottsville Baker Beamsville Braffetsville Brock Coletown Cosmos Dawn Delisle Fort Jefferson Frenchtown	Hill Grove Horatio Hunchberger Corners Jaysville Lightsville Nashville New Harrison North Dayton Otterbein Painter Creek Pikeville	Poplar Ridge Rose Hill Savona Sharpeye Stelvideo ampico Weavers Webster Willowdell Woodington Yankeetown
Townships
Adams Allen Brown Butler Franklin Greenville Harrison	Jackson Liberty Mississinawa Monroe Neave Patterson Richland	Twin Van Buren Wabash Washington Wayne York

Resources

Bible Records

For an extensive list of resources for Bible Records see Ohio Bible Records.

Biographies

• The history of Darke County, Ohio : containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; history of Ohio; map of Darke County; Constitution of the United State, Miscellaneous Matters, ect. W. H. Beers & Co., 1880. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
• Wilson, Frazer Ells, History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present… (Biographies) 1914 (Milford, Ohio: Hobart Pub. Co., 1974) Volume 2 online at FamilySearch Digital Library; Google Books; Internet Archives.
• A Biographical History of Darke County, Ohio: a compendium of national biography (Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1900) Online at Google Books; Internet Archives; FamilySearch Digital Library.

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Darke County, Ohio online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find A Grave Interment OH Tombstone Transcription Project Billion Graves Ohio Gravestones
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Find A Grave
See Ohio Cemeteries for more information.

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1820	3,622	—
1830	6,204	71.3%
1840	13,282	114.1%
1850	20,276	52.7%
1860	26,009	28.3%
1870	32,278	24.1%
1880	40,496	25.5%
1890	42,961	6.1%
1900	42,532	−1.0%
1910	42,933	0.9%
1920	42,911	−0.1%
1930	38,009	−11.4%
1940	38,831	2.2%
1950	41,799	7.6%
1960	45,612	9.1%
1970	49,141	7.7%
1980	55,096	12.1%
1990	53,619	−2.7%
2000	53,309	−0.6%
2010	52,959	−0.7%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Ohio denominations, see Ohio Church Records.

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Ohio Land and Property for additional information about early Ohio land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Online Land Indexes and Records

• 1790-1907 Land Records at OHGenWeb Archives
• Landowner Search (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for this county. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see Ohio Local Histories.

• Wilson, Frazer Ells, History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present… (Milford, Ohio: Hobart Pub. Co., 1974) Volume 1 (History) online at [1]; Volume 2 (Biographies) online at FamilySearch Digital Library; Google Books; Internet Archives.
• McIntosh, W.H., The History of Darke County, Ohio, containing a history of the county… (Chicago: W.H. Beers, 1880) Online at Google Books; Internet Archives; indexed in Index to History of Darke County, Ohio FHL book 977.147 H2h index.
• Ohio Indexes at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Ohio (1788-1940) at MapofUS.org

Military Records

• 1888-1919 Ohio Soldier Home Records, 1888-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.

Civil War
Civil War service men from Darke County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Darke County.

World War I

• 1914-1919 Ohio, World War I Statement of Service Cards, 1914-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1914-1918 Ohio, World War I, Enrollment Cards, 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1916-1920 Ohio, WWI Index and Return Cards, 1916-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1800-1977 Ohio, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.

Newspapers

Darke County newspapers often contain genealogical value including obituaries, births, marriages, deaths, anniversaries, family gatherings, family travel, achievements, business notices, engagement information, and probate court proceedings.

For more Ohio newspaper information see Ohio Newspapers and Obituaries.

• 1793-late 1900's Newspapers at Ohio History Connection — Select county.
• 1850-1918 The Greenville Journal at Chronicling America
• Early to late-1900's Newspapers at Ohio Memory — sort by County, City, Time Period, and more.
• 1927-1996 Newspapers at OHGenWeb

Probate Records

From 1797 or the creation of the county, probate records were held by the Court of Common Pleas. After 1852, records are held by the Darke County Probate Court. Records include wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, marriage, adoption, and birth and death records (1867-1908 only). The records may give the decedent's date of death, name of spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

See Ohio Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• 1786-1998 Ohio, Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998 at Ancestry ($) — index and images.
• 1789-1996 Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996 at FamilySearch.org — How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1817-1860 Darke County, Ohio Common Pleas Court Records, 1817-1860 at Ancestry ($)
• 1818-1857 Darke County, Ohio Will Abstracts, 1818-1857 at Ancestry ($)
• Wills at OHGenWeb Archives

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

Ohio tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses before 1820 or to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned taxable property were listed, many residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties.

Online Tax Indexes and Records

• 1800-1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1800-1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Vital Records

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Marriages were usually recorded from the formation of the county and are held at the office of the County Probate Court. Divorce records are located with the county Clerk of Courts.

Any existing birth and death records from 1867 through December 19, 1908 are located at the County Probate Court. The Ohio Department of Health has birth records filed after December 20, 1908 and death records filed after January 1, 1954, while the Ohio History Connection houses death records from December 20, 1908 through December 31, 1953.

Birth

• 1800-1962 Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 at Ancestry ($) — Index
• 1841-2003 Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry ($) — Index

Marriage

• 1789-2013 Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1800-1942 Ohio Marriages, 1800-1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index.
• 1800-1958 Ohio Marriages, 1800-1958 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index.
• 1817-1840 Darke County, Ohio Marriages at Ancestry
• 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

• 1840-2001 Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1908-1953 Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1908-1932, 1938-2018 Ohio, Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
• 1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Divorce

• 1962-2007 Ohio, Divorce Abstracts, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007 at Ancestry ($)
  

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Darke County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Ohio Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Piqua Library - an affiliate library
Preble Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Darke County. For state-wide library facilities, see Ohio Archives and Libraries.

Arcanum Public Library
101 North St
Arcanum, OH 45304-1185
937-692-8484
Website

Bradford Public Library
138 E Main St
Bradford, OH 45308-1108
937-448-2612
Website

Greenville Public Library
520 Sycamore St
Greenville, OH 45331-1438
937-548-3915
Website

New Madison Public Library
142 S Main St
P.O. Box 32
New Madison, OH 45346-0032
937-996-1741
Website

Worch Memorial Public Library
790 S Center St
Versailles, OH 45380
937-526-3416
Website

Museums

The Garst Museum
205 N Broadway
Greenville, Ohio 45331
937-548-5250
Email:information@garstmuseum.org
Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Darke County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Ohio Societies.

The Darke County Genealogical Society, Inc.
P.O. Box 908
Greenville, OH 45331-0908
Website

Websites

• Local Gov't Records by County at Ohio History Connection — Browse their list; records are not online.
• Custom Browse of Historical Collections at Ohio Memory — Use map or alpha bar to select county or place, then browse search options in left sidebar.
• Ohio Genealogical Society ($) - online databases
• Darke County OH Genealogy at LDSGenealogy
• Darke County Genealogical Researchers at Darke County Ohio Genealogical Society
• Miami Valley Genealogy Index at Preble County District Library; Index to more than a half-million pointers to records all over Miami Valley including Darke County.
• Oh GenWeb Darke
• USGenWeb Archive
• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a family history center.