Franklin County, Indiana Genealogy
Guide to Franklin County, Indiana ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
Franklin County, Indiana | |||||||
Map | |||||||
![]() Location of Indiana in the U.S. | |||||||
Facts | |||||||
Founded | November 27, 1810 | ||||||
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County Seat | Brookville | ||||||
Courthouse | |||||||
Address | Franklin County Courthouse 634 Main Street Brookville, IN 47012-1405 Phone: 765.647.3322 | ||||||
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Contents
- 1 Historical Facts
- 2 Resources
- 2.1 Bible Records
- 2.2 Biographies
- 2.3 Business Records
- 2.4 Cemeteries
- 2.5 Census Records
- 2.6 Church Records
- 2.7 Court Records
- 2.8 Diaries
- 2.9 Directories
- 2.10 Emigration and Immigration
- 2.11 Ethnic and Religious Groups
- 2.12 Gazetteers
- 2.13 Genealogies
- 2.14 Histories
- 2.15 Land and Property
- 2.16 Maps
- 2.17 Military Records
- 2.18 Naturalization and Citizenship
- 2.19 Newspapers
- 2.20 Obituaries
- 2.21 Occupations
- 2.22 Probate Records
- 2.23 Public Records
- 2.24 Repositories
- 2.25 Taxation
- 2.26 Vital Records
- 2.27 Websites
- 3 Places
- 4 References
Historical Facts[edit | edit source]
Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
1882 | 1811 | 1882 | 1811 | 1811 | 1811 | 1807 |
- Parent Counties: Created by a legislative act dated November 27, 1810. Formed 1 Feb 1811 from Clark and Dearborn. [2]
- County Seat: Brookville [3]
Description[edit | edit source]
The county was named in honor of the distinguished Benjamin Franklin. It's county seat is Brookville and was founded November 27, 1810.[4] It is located in the South central area of the state.[5]
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
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:[6]
Cities | ||
Towns | ||
Census-designated places | ||
Townships | ||
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Union • Fayette • Rush • Decatur • Ripley • Dearborn • Butler • Hamilton • Preble
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
Feb. 1852 Franklin County courthouse was destroyed by fire, but no records were lost.
Resources[edit | edit source]
Bible Records[edit | edit source]
Biographies[edit | edit source]
Business Records[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
Tombstone Transcriptions Online | Tombstone Transcriptions in Print | List of Cemeteries in the county |
Findagrave.com | Family History Library | Findagrave.com |
INGenWeb | WorldCat | Billion Graves |
INGenWeb Archives | ||
Tombstone Project | ||
Indiana Interment | ||
Billion Graves | ||
See Indiana Cemeteries for more information. |
- Cemetery - Linkpendium
Census Records[edit | edit source]
For tips on accessing Franklin County, Indiana Genealogy census records online, see: Indiana Census.
- Index to Mortality Schedule (1860) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
- Index to Defective, Dependent & Delinquent Census (1880) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
- Franklin County Census Records - INGenWeb
Church Records[edit | edit source]
Most church records are held by individual churches. For contact information, check a phone directory, such as SearchBug or Dex Knows. Some denominations are gathering their records into a central repository.
- Members of Big Cedar Grove Baptist Church (1817-1835) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
For more information about these major repositories, see Indiana Church Records.
Finding More Church Records[edit source]
Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Franklin County, Indiana Genealogy Church Records in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
Court Records[edit | edit source]
Diaries[edit | edit source]
Jerome Wiley's Journal Franklin County, Indiana 1841-1891
Directories[edit | edit source]
- Directory of Businesses in Franklin County (1858, 1868) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
- Directory of Selected Residents of Franklin County (1876) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
- Residents of Indiana Masonic Home (1930) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
Ethnic and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]
Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
Genealogies[edit | edit source]
Histories[edit | edit source]
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Franklin County, Indiana Genealogy. County histories may include biographies; church, school and government histories; and military information.
- Every Name Index to History of Franklin County, Indiana. Every Name Index compiled by Cathy L. O'Connor, 2007; original text by August Jacob Reifel, 1915; reproduction by Unigraphic, Inc., 1971. EveryNameIndex.com
- History of Franklin County - Linkpendium
- Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. (Indianapolis, Ind: Frederic Luther Co, 1980).977.26 H2b 977.26 H2b v. 2 FHL US/CAN Book FHL Collection other libraries vol. 1 INTERNET ARCHIVE
- Reifel, August J. History of Franklin County, Indiana; Her People, Industries and Institutions. (Indianapolis, Ind: B.F. Bowen, 1915.) FHL US/CAN Film 934904 Item 3 FHL Collection other libraries INTERNET ARCHIVE
For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Indiana Local Histories.
Land and Property[edit | edit source]
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.
After land was transferred from the government to private ownership, subsequent transactions were recorded at the courthouse, where records are currently housed.
See Indiana Land and Property for additional information about early Indiana land grants and patents.
Finding More Land Records[edit source]
Additional land records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Franklin County, Indiana Genealogy Probate Records in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana
- Maps and Gazetteers -Linkpendiun
- Maps of Franklin County Location - INGen Web
Military Records[edit | edit source]
- Franklin County Military Records - INGenWeb
- Military Records and Histories - Linkpendium
Civil War[edit | edit source]
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. (Indianapolis, Ind: B.F. Bowen, 1915.), (page 292-315, Regiment, Companies, some Name's) FHL US/CAN Film 934904 Item 3 FHL Collection other libraries INTERNET ARCHIVE
World War I (The Great War), 1914-1918[edit | edit source]
- 1919 - Indiana, World War I, Enrollment Cards, 1919 at FamilySearch — index and images
World War II, 1941-1945[edit | edit source]
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
Occupations
[edit | edit source]
- Roster of Civilian Conservation Corps, Brookville (1938) ($, Indiana Genealogical Society)
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
In most counties in Indiana, probate records have been kept by the county clerk of the circuit court. They include wills, fee books, claim registers, legacy records, inheritance records, probate ticklers, and dockets. The records are available at the county courthouse.
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 Franklin County.
The following Franklin County probate records have been indexed and abstracted:
- 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.
Finding More Probate Records[edit source]
Additional probate records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Franklin County, Indiana Genealogy Probate Records in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
- South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Wills Index 1830-1971 for St. Joseph County
Public Records[edit | edit source]
School Records[edit | edit source]
Voter Registration[edit | edit source]
Repositories[edit | edit source]
Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Franklin County Courthouse
634 Main Street
Brookville, IN 47012-1405
Phone: 765.647.3322
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. [7]
Archives[edit | edit source]
Libraries[edit | edit source]
Museums[edit | edit source]
Societies[edit | edit source]
Franklin County Historical Society
Route 4, Box 52
Brookville, IN 47012
Franklin Historical Society
PO Box 342
Brookville, IN 47012-0342
Email: focogensoc@netscape.net
Website
Franklin Township Historical Society
P.O. Box 39015
Indianapolis, IN 46239
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.
- For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map
For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the family history center directory.
Taxation[edit | edit source]
Indiana tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses 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.
For more information see the wiki page Indiana Taxation.
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
- Franklin County Vital Record - INGenWeb
- - see - Vital Record - Linkpendium
Birth Records[edit | edit source]
Marriage Records[edit | edit source]
- 1800s-2007 - Indiana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
- 1780-1992 Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992 - FamilySearch
- 1802-1892 Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892 - Ancestry.com $
- 1811-2007 Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007 at FamilySearch — index and images
Death Records[edit | edit source]
- 1882-1920 Indiana, Death Index, 1882-1920 at FamilySearch Historical Records - Index only
- 1899-2011 Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 at Ancestry - ($), index and images
- Indiana State Digital Archives
- Deaths at Indiana Masonic Home (1930-1931) Indiana Genealogical Society $
Finding Vital Records at Other Repositories
Additional vital records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Franklin County, Indiana Genealogy Vital Records in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Franklin County, IN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
- Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
- EveryNameIndex.com Free online genealogy indexes for those big old county histories.
- USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
- FamilySearch Catalog
- Franklin County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
Places[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Franklin County, Indiana. Page 211-218 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 208-211.
- ↑ August J. Reifel, History of Franklin County Indiana Her People, Industries and Institutions. (Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen & Company, Inc., 1915), pages 78-79, images 157-158; digital images. Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/historyoffrankli00reif : accessed 7 May 2014).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Franklin County, Indiana" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_County,_Indiana (accessed 10 May 2012).
- ↑ Genealogy Trails History Group, “Franklin County, Indiana Genealogy and History”, http://genealogytrails.com/ind/franklin/ accessed 3/28/2017.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Franklin County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_County,_Indiana 3/28/2017.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Franklin County, Indiana," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_County%2C_Indiana, accessed 09 December 2019.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Franklin County, Indiana 212 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
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