Ripley County, Indiana Genealogy

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

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed 27 December 1816 from Dearborn and Jefferson Counties.
 * County Seat:  Versailles

Description
The county was named for Gen. Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, an officer in the War of 1812, who was mainly remembered for the Battle of Lundy's Lane and the Siege of Fort Erie, in 1814. The county seat is Versailles and the county was organized in 1818. The County is located in the East-Central part of the state.

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:

Neighboring Counties
Decatur •  Franklin  •  Dearborn  •  Ohio  •  Switzerland  •  Jefferson  •  Jennings

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Indiana County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Indiana County Boundary Maps" (1790-1873) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

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

Cemeteries

 * Ripley County Cemeteries and Locations rootsweb
 * 1861-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Census Records

 * Index to Defective, Dependent &amp; Delinquent Census for Ripley County, Indiana (1880) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Methodist

 * 1847-1915 - Methodist Episcopal Church, Batesville, Baptism Index 1847-1915 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.
 * 1847-1916 - Methodist Episcopal Church, Batesville, Marriage Index 1847-1916 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

Directories

 * Directory of Businesses in Ripley County, Indiana (1858, 1868) (members only database, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Local Histories

 * History of Ripley County Linkpendium


 * Ripley County History Book Committee, Ripley County Historical Society (Ripley County, Ind.), and Daughters of the American Revolution. Ripley County History, 1818-1988, Ripley County, Indiana. (Osgood, IN: Ripley County History Book Committee, 1989.) 977.214 H2r FHL US/CAN Book 977.214 H2r v. 2,, Other Libraries

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Civil War
Civil War service men from Ripley 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 Ripley County.


 * 5th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry (90th Regiment, Indiana Volunteers), Company H
 * 6th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company K
 * 7th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Companies C, and D
 * 9th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company B
 * 13th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company B
 * 16th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company F
 * 20th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Reorganized Company G
 * 37th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company A, D, and Reorganized Company A
 * 44th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company K
 * 68th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B, E, and K
 * 83rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies A, E, F, G, and K
 * 91st Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
 * 123rd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D
 * 146th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company H
 * 156th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
 * 28th US Colored Troops, Addition Recruits for Colored Troops

World War I

 * 1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Residents of Ripley County who served in WWI ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

Probate Records
Online Records
 * 1798 – 1999 Indiana Wills and Probate Records 1798-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Probate records are court records created after an individual’s death that relate to a court’s decisions regarding the distribution of the estate to the heirs or creditors and the care of any dependents. These documents are important to family history researchers because they usually exist for time periods before civil birth and death records were kept. While probate records are one of the most accurate sources of genealogical evidence, they have limitations.

The Circuit Court has responsibility for the probate records of Ripley County.

The following Ripley County probate records have been indexed and transcribed:


 * The University of Mary Washington has indexed and transcribed probate inventories for Dearborn, Franklin, and Ripley counties.

School Records

 * Directory of Teachers for Ripley County (1936) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)

County Courthouse
Ripley County Courthouse PO Box 177 Versailles, IN 47042 Phone: 812.689.6115 County Health Department has birth and death records. County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1818. County Recorder has land records.

Family History Centers

 * Batesville Indiana Family History Center

For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the family history center directory.

Societies
Ripley County Historical Society 125 Washington St. PO Box 525 Versailles, IN 47023 Telephone Number: 812-689-3031 Website

Batesville-Area Historical Society 15 W. George St. Batesville, IN 47006 Telephone Number: 812-932-0999 E-mail: [mailto:bahs@etczone.com bahs@etczone.com] Website

Vital Records

 * Indiana State Digital Archives

Marriage Records

 * 1800s-2007 - Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $


 * 1780-1992 - FamilySearch


 * 1802-1892 Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 - Ancestry.com $


 * 1811-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images

Death Records

 * 1882-1920 at FamilySearch Historical Records - Index only
 * 1899-2011 Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 at Ancestry - ($), index and images
 * Indiana State Digital Archives

Websites

 * Ripley County, Indiana Genealogy, History and Facts
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * INGenWeb, Ripley County
 * USGenWeb, Ripley County
 * , Ripley County
 * Ripley County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)