Lawrenceburg Public Library District

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Contact Information
Directions/Parking Map:

Location Map

Visitor Parking:


 * The visitor parking lot is located on the corner of Vine Street and West High Street, to the east of the library.
 * Street parking is also available on West High Street and 150 Mary Ave. (Picture above is taken from 150 Mary Ave.)
 * Accessible parking and entrance is located on the corner of Vine Street and West High Street, to the east of the library.

Email: Send email Website Facebook: Lawrenceburg Public Library Facebook page

Address: 150 Mary Street Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Telephone: (812) 537-2775 Fax: (812) 537-2810

Genealogy & Local History Hours of Operation: Hours different from Library. Please confirm open times prior to your visit. Please contact us for an appointment outside of normal hours.


 * Monday: 11:00 am - 7:30 pm


 * Tuesday - Friday: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm


 * 1st Saturday of the month: 10:00 pm - 2:00 pm
 * Genealogy Roundtable - First Saturday of the Month: 11 AM to 12 PM.
 * Evenings by appointment. Please call or e-mail

Library Hours of Operation: 


 * Monday - Thursday: 9:00 am - 8:00 pm


 * Friday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm


 * Saturday: 9:00 pm - 5:00 pm

CURRENT HOLIDAY CLOSINGS:


 * Closed all major holidays
 * Closed Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Saturday of the Month

Other Closings:


 * Closed when public services are closed due to inclement weather

Description of Collections

 * Atlases/Landowner Plat Books for Dearborn County (1860, 1875, 1899 atlases; several plat books 1940s to present day). Early atlases of Hamilton County, OH, Ohio and Switzerland Counties, IN and Campbell and Boone Counties, KY.
 * Birth/Baptism Records incomplete; Health Department has 1882 to present day.
 * Business and City Directories (phone books and precursors to them from 1846 to present; some years missing).
 * Cemetery Records Also check FindAGrave
 * Church and Church Cemetery Records for Dearborn County, Indiana.
 * Dearborn County Cemetery Locations link to the Dearborn County Surveyor's Office. Click the "Cemetery" box on the left drop-down menu. Click on the township location.
 * Dearborn County Fair Programs containing business advertisements are at the Lawrenceburg location.
 * Divorce (incomplete)
 * Family History Files and Genealogies published books and donated files. (please see the Lawrenceburg Public Library District website for a list and check the catalog for publications.)
 * Funeral Home Records
 * High School Yearbooks for Lawrenceburg from 1914 to present (some years missing).
 * Histories - Church histories, city, township, and county histories for areas surrounding Dearborn County. Eastern states histories and biographies. Please see the Lawrenceburg Public Library District website for catalog listing.
 * Directories and Telephone Books of Lawrenceburg and Aurora beginning in 1859.
 * Lawrenceburg Mayor Biographies
 * Local historical files, including businesses, churches, homes, schools, events, and floods.
 * Marriage Records - Indexes
 * Military including Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Dearborn County, Civil War Regimental Histories, Pictorial History of World War II.
 * Moores Hill College Yearbooks for 1898, 1905, 1907, 1913, 1916 and "Moores Hill College - An Intimate History" by John W. Winkley.
 * Naturalization Records Indexes 1838-1905.
 * Newspapers on microfilm, 1830s to 2017. Newspapers.com Local Newspapers in the Genealogy and Local History room only.
 * Obituaries online and hard copies, available at the library or offsite with a library card.
 * Periodicals, Indiana Historical Society publications and Family Tree Magazine.
 * Probate Index
 * Sanborn Insurance Maps for the town of Lawrenceburg, 1881-1922.
 * Vital records for Hamilton County, OH and Boone County, KY, including marriage, death, cemetery, and church records, local histories and biographies.
 * Yearbooks for East Central High School, North Dearborn, Bright and Guilford are at the North Dearborn Branch.
 * Yearbooks for Lawrenceburg High School beginning in 1914 (some years missing) are at the main Lawrenceburg Library.
 * Yearbooks for Lawrenceburg City School 1963-1964 and 1967-1968 are at the Lawrenceburg Library.
 * Yearbooks for Lawrenceburg Junior High School and Central Jr. High School 1966-1967 and 1968-1969 are at the Lawrenceburg Library

Services

 * Genealogy Roundtable - First Saturday of each month at 11:00 AM. Please refer to the library newsletter for topic of the month.
 * FamilySearch - Lawrenceburg Public Library is a FamilySearch Affiliate Library. Additional record collections are available at the Lawrenceburg location on library computers or personal device.
 * Ancestry.com - library edition is available at both library locations on library computers or personal device.
 * Fold3 - (military research) is available at both library locations on library computers, personal device or offsite with a library card.
 * Newspapers.com - available at both library locations on library computers.
 * Microfilm Reader with printer
 * Computer stations

Research Assistance

 * Staff consultants are available to assist in genealogy and local history searches.

Please call in advance to schedule an appointment.


 * Inquiries are accepted through telephone, mail or e-mail.
 * Please provide as much information as possible to correctly identify the ancestor or family you wish searched.

Examples of searchable requests:


 * Please copy the obituary for John Doe who died January 17, 1956.
 * Please locate the marriage date for Alice Jones and James Campbell who were married in Dearborn County in the 1870s.
 * Please check the "History of Dearborn and Ohio Counties" volume for biographies of Tom Walton and Henry Becker.
 * Please email scanned copies of the business file about the Bauer Cooperage.

History
A Brief History of Dearborn County By Chris McHenry

Hundreds of years before white settlers approached Dearborn County, a mysterious group of Native Americans lived in a hilltop fortress covering about 12 acres of land. Early explorers sailed past on the Ohio River, including Celeron, a French Canadian who reportedly buried a lead plate claiming the land for France near the mouth of the Miami River. George Rogers Clark and explorers from Virginia and Pennsylvania passed by on their way up or down the Ohio River, but none made permanent settlements.

Less than ten years after the end of the Revolutionary War, new settlers began taking up land in Dearborn. The Federal Government did not begin land sales until after 1800. Among the first settlers were at least 50 to 75 veterans of the Revolutionary War. In 1802 Army Captain Samuel Colville Vance bought the land on which Lawrenceburg now stands and founded a town. At that point, Lawrenceburg was part of Hamilton County, Ohio. Settlers first built homes near the river, gradually working their way up the Whitewater, Tanners Creek, Hogan Creek and Laughery. Six hundred and sixteen men over 21 were counted in 1807, but a few years later, families began fleeing to Kentucky when Indians joined with the British in the War of 1812.

With the arrival of the 1830s and 1840s came several waves of German immigrants. Catholic immigrants tended to settle in the northeastern part of the county, while Lutherans gravitated toward the southwestern part of the area. By 1830, opposition to slavery was increasing and anti-slavery societies were being formed. One of the earliest in Indiana was at East Fork Methodist Church, founded, and mostly attended, by hardy English immigrants. Because of its location right across the Ohio River from Kentucky, Dearborn County was a logical place for escaping slaves on their way to Canada. In 1862, young men of Dearborn County rushed to volunteer. So many of them in fact, that one whole company led by Aurora Mayor Frederick Slater, arrived in Indianapolis after the quota for that call had been filled. Not one to waste manpower, Governor Morton sent them to help fill out the Kentucky ranks, and served throughout the Civil War as part of the 11th Kentucky Regiment. Dearborn County men, both black and white, fought in every major battle of the war, including those along the rivers.

In the 1830's, the Whitewater Canal had been built, opening up the interior of Indiana to the possibility of shipping to Lawrenceburg and the Ohio River. Its usefulness was short lived. Spring floods washed out the banks over and over and eventually the Canal, and almost the State of Indiana, went bust. In the 1850's, two railroads were built through Dearborn County. One went from Lawrenceburg northwest through Guilford to Indianapolis, and the other came west from Cincinnati, through Aurora, and through Milan and on to St. Louis. Dearborn County's young men marched off to battle in the Spanish-American War and again in World War I. When the survivors came marching home again, they found a booming economy.

For the complete article, please refer to Brief history

Tips for Your Visit

 * Please call genealogy consultants ahead for information about local resources and to reserve research materials.
 * Please contact us for an appointment outside of normal hours.

Additional Repositories
Lawrenceburg Public Library is conveniently located near the following repositories:


 * Dearborn County Clerk of Court's Office

Records: Marriage, Divorce, Wills, Probate, Guardianship, and Naturalization. Provide approximate year of the record needed for search services. '''Please call for current fee schedule. Personnel will supply copy of marriage record with payment and SASE.'''

Address: 215 W. High Street Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Telephone: (812) 537-8867 Hours: M-F 8:30-4:30 Website


 * Dearborn County Health Department

Records: Births and Deaths (1882-present day). Personnel will do searches if the precise birth year is known. Please see website for current fee schedule. '''Photo ID required for all certified record requests as well as documentation to show proof of relationship. Request records by mail from the website.'''

Address: 165 Mary Street Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Telephone: (812) 537-8826 Hours: M-F 8:30-4:30 Website


 * Dearborn County Historical Society

Records: Birth Records, Delayed Birth Records (1941-1952), Coroners Records (1884-1912), Estate Records (1826-1942), Guardianship Index (1826-1972), Marriage Information (Affidavits, Applications, Index, Records), Military Records (Civil War), Naturalization Records (1838-1905).

Address: 508 West High Street Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Telephone: (812) 537-4075 Hours: M, W, F 1-4. Other hours by appointment. Website


 * Dearborn County Recorder's Office

Records: Deeds, Mortgage Records, Current Plat Maps, Power of Attorney, Affidavits. Personnel will offer guidance searching records. Please see website for current fee schedule. No mail-in search requests accepted.

Address: 165 Mary Street Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Telephone: (812) 537-8837 Hours: M-F 8:30-4:30 Website

Guides

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