Franklin County, Indiana Genealogy

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

Description
Franklin County was named in honor of the distinguished Benjamin Franklin. It is located in the east-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Franklin County Courthouse 634 Main Street Brookville, IN 47012-1405 Phone: 765-647-3322 County Website

Franklin County Health Department 1010 Franklin Ave. Ste. 210 Brookville, IN, 47012 Health Officer: Darrell Brimhall, MD Phone Number: 765-647-4322 Fax: 765-647-5248 Health Department

County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1811. County Recorder has land records from 1811. County Health Department has birth and death records from 1882. Public Library has cemetery records from from 1817 and naturalization records from 1820. Health Department has birth records and death records.

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 this county:

Biographies

 * Indiana Biography Index at Indiana State Library

Business, Commerce, and Occupations
Occupations
 * Roster of Civilian Conservation Corps, Brookville (1938) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Census Records

 * Index to Mortality Schedule (1860) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Index to Defective, Dependent & Delinquent Census (1880) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Franklin County Census Records - INGenWeb

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places


 * Members of Big Cedar Grove Baptist Church (1817-1835) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Court Records

 * 1811-1813 (*); Territorial Court of Oyer and Terminer at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1811-1814 (*); Court of Common Pleas at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1811-1814 (*); Court of Common Pleas at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1811-1814 (*); Territorial Court of Common Pleas at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1811-1815 (*); Court of Common Pleas at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images


 * 1811-1816 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1811-1816 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1811-1825 (*); Court of Common Pleas and Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1811-1837 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1814-1817 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images


 * 1814-1845 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1815-1865 (*); Circuit and Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1818-1875 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1825-1826 (*); Clerk of the Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1853-1859 (*); Court of Common Pleas at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images


 * 1853-1872 (*); Court of Common Pleas at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1853-1873 (*); Court of Common Pleas at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1862-1873 (*); Circuit Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses in Franklin County (1858, 1868) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Directory of Selected Residents of Franklin County (1876) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)
 * Residents of Indiana Masonic Home (1930) at Indiana Genealogical Society ($)

Funeral Homes

 * Cook Rosenberger Funeral Home in Brookville.
 * Meyers Funeral Home in Batesville.
 * Phillips & Meyers Funeral Home in Brookville.
 * Weigel Funeral Home in Batesville.

Local Histories

 * Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. 1899. Chicago : Lewis. Online at: Vol. 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive; Vol. 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Hathitrust;.
 * History of Franklin County, Indiana. 1915. By August J. Reifel. Indianapolis, Ind: B.F. Bowen. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Hathitrust, Internet Archive; . Index: Every Name Index, compiled by Cathy L. O'Connor, 2007.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Historic Indiana Maps at IUPUI University Library
 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Indiana
 * Maps of Franklin County Location - INGen Web
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Military Record Series Index at Indiana Digital Archives
 * Franklin County Military Records - INGenWeb

Civil War Civil War service men from Franklin 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 Franklin County


 * 4th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company B
 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company G
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C, and Reorganized Company A
 * 18th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 37th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company B, and Reoganized B
 * 52nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies F, anf H
 * 68th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, C, G, H, and I
 * 83rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 123rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, D, I, and K
 * 134th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company H
 * 139th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company B
 * 146th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 148th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, and B

Civil War Books:


 * "Civil War" in "Military History of Franklin County" Chapter 12 of Reifel, August J. History of Franklin County, Indiana, her people, industries and institutions : with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families. (Indianapolis, Ind: B.F. Bowen, 1915.) Online at: FamilySearch Digital Book; FHL US/CAN Film 934904 Item 3 ; INTERNET ARCHIVE

World War I


 * 1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * Naturalization Record Series (for this county) at Indiana Digital Archives. Search by names.

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * Hoosier State Chronicles

Other Records
Diaries Jerome Wiley's Journal Franklin County, Indiana 1841-1891

Probate Records
The following Franklin County probate records have been indexed and abstracted:
 * 1798-1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry $


 * Franklin County Inventories provides transcribed probate inventories indexed by date.
 * The University of Mary Washington has indexed and transcribed probate inventories for Dearborn, Franklin, and Ripley counties.

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 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.

Vital Records

 * Franklin County Vital Record - INGenWeb

Marriage

 * 1780-1992  at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1800s-2007 Indiana, United States Marriages at Findmypast $
 * 1802-1892 Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 at Ancestry $
 * 1811-1959 Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959 at MyHeritage - index and images, ($)
 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Death

 * Pre-1882 WEB: Indiana, Deaths, Pre-1882 at Ancestry.com - index, (Free collection)
 * 1750-1993 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
 * 1882-1920 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1899-2011 Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 at Ancestry ($)
 * Deaths at Indiana Masonic Home (1930-1931) Indiana Genealogical Society $

Family History Centers

 * Batesville Indiana Family History Center
 * Oxford Ohio Family History Center
 * Franklin County Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Greensburg-Decatur County Public Library - an affiliate library.
 * Lawrenceburg Public Library District - West Harrison Branch - an affiliate library.
 * Union County Public Library - an affiliate library.

Societies
Franklin County Historical Society P.O. Box 342 Brookville, IN 47012-0342 Email: [mailto:FranklinCountyHistSoc@gmail.com focogensoc@netscape.net] Facebook Website

Websites

 * Indiana Digital Archives Search by name in all records or specific collections
 * Indiana Historical Society Digital Collections Search by county or keyword
 * Indiana Memory Click the map or select a statewide collection
 * List of indexes and databases at Indiana State Library
 * Indiana Genealogical Society Databases Free and Members-only. Select a county
 * Resources on IndianasGore
 * EveryNameIndex.com for Indiana Free online genealogy indexes for county histories. Select a county.
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * Franklin County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * – 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.