Franklin County was created on November 27, 1810 and was formed fromClark and Dearborn Counties. The County was named forBenjamin Franklin, American Statesman, Scientist, and Writer.
The County Seat is Brookville and was first settled in 1804 by Lismund Bayse, James Knight, Robert Breckenridge, John Test and Amos Butler. By 1849 it had a population of about 1,200. See also County History for more historical details.
Franklin County is divided into 13 Civil Townships as follows: Bath, Blooming Grove, Brookville, Butler, Fairfield, Highland, Laurel, Metamora, Posey, Ray, Salt Creek, Springfield and Whitewater
Cities, Towns and Communities include Ashy, Bath, Blooming Grove, Brookville, Buena Vista, Cedar Grove, Drewersburg, Hamburg, Highland Center, Klemmes Corner, Laurel, Metamora, Mixerville, Mound Haven, Mount Carmel, New Fairfield, New Trenton, Oak Forest, Old Bath, Oldenburg, Palestine, Peoria, Peppertown, Raymond, Rockdale, Saint Marys, Saint Peter, Scipio, Sharptown, South Gate, Stavetown, Yellow Bank, and Youngs Corner.
Indiana Newspaper Holdings for Franklin County: The county newspaper holdings are under regular revision, as new microfilm holdings are added. These files are not up to date; there are continuous updates and corrections.
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information. Courthouse destroyed by Fire in Feb. 1852, No records lost
NOTE: The date listed for each category of record is the earliest record known to exist in that county. It does not indicate that there are numerous records for that year and certainly does not indicate that all such events that year were actually registered.See also the Franklin County Courthouse History
Franklin County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1811 , Probate Records from 1811 and Court Records from 1811 and is located at 634 Main Street, Brookville, IN 47012; (765)647-3322 The Clerk of the Circuit Court is a ministerial officer who is the custodian of the Clerk's record and seal, issues process, accepts filings of commencement of actions in litigation, enters judgments and orders of the court, receives money in his official capacity, makes certified copies of record, issues many miscellaneous licenses, and keeps a record of all wills and matters of trust in probate proceedings.
Franklin County Recorder has Land Records from 1811 and is located at 459 Main Street, Brookville, IN 47012; (765)647-5131. The county recorder's function is to maintain permanent public records involving a wide variety of instruments. These documents detail transactions involving real estate, mining, personal property, mortgages, liens, leases, subdivision plats, military discharges, personal bonds, etc. Generally, all of these instruments are recorded either for giving legal public notice of their existence or for safekeeping and future reference. The recorder maintains and preserves all legal documents affecting title to real property.
Franklin County Health Department has Birth / Death Records from 1882 and is located at 459 Main Street, Courthouse Annex, Brookville, IN 47012; (765) 647-4322.
Below is a list of online resources for Franklin County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Franklin County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Indianapolis Newspaper Index, 1848-1991: Select articles from 1848-1888 Indianapolis daily newspapers; heavily focused on deaths and marriages. Select articles from 1898-1991 about people, places, events, and topics in Indianapolis and the state of Indiana. Extremely limited for deaths; no coverage of marriages. Card file also available in the Microforms Area, second floor.
Reference & Government Services CD Collection: Database to allow searching of the hundreds of CDs from the federal government and other sources, part of the collections of the Reference & Government Services Division.
Indiana Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Indiana Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Birth Certificates:
The Division of Vital Records and Statistics maintains birth records that occur in Indiana since Oct 1907 to the present.
Prior to October 1907, records of birth are filed only with the local health department in the county where the birth actually occurred.
Cost: Initial search and one certified copy or certification of the record or No Record Statement is $10.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy.
Make your check or money order payable to "Indiana State Department of Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep check amount for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
In Person:
The ISDH Vital Records office is located at 6 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. The office is open for walk-in requests from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., E.S.T., Monday through Friday (excluding official State Holidays). The cost for the first certificate is $10.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Average wait time is less than an hour.
Processing Time: 5 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Death Certificates: The Division of Vital Records and Statistics maintains death records that occur in Indiana since 1900 to the present. Prior to 1900, records of death are filed only with the local health department in the county where the death actually occurred.
For deaths occurring from 1900 to 1917, the city and/or county of death is required in order to locate the record.
Cost: Initial search and one certified copy or certification of the record or No Record Statement is $8.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy.
Make your check or money order payable to "Indiana State Department of Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep check amount for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
In Person:
The ISDH Vital Records office is located at 6 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. The office is open for walk-in requests from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., E.S.T., Monday through Friday (excluding official State Holidays). The cost for the first certificate is $8.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Average wait Time is less than an hour.
Processing Time: 5 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Marriage Certificates: Certified copies of marriage certificates are not available from the State Health Department. They are available from the Clerks of the Circuit Court in the county where the marriage was granted. Fees vary.
Divorce Certificates: Certified copies of divorce certificates are not available from the State Health Department. They are available from the County Clerk in the county where the divorce was granted. Fees vary.
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Below is a list of online resources for Franklin County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Franklin County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Indiana newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Click Here to Search Indiana Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Below is a list of online resources for Franklin County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Franklin County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Indiana Census, 1790-1890: This collection contains the following indexes: 1790 (Northwest Territory) Federal Census Index; 1807 State Census Index; 1810 Wayne County Census Index; 1812 Census Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1870 Federal Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedule.
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Ohio and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Indiana showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Indiana showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at County Maps
Below is a list of online resources for Franklin County Maps. Email us with websites containing Franklin County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Indiana Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Franklin County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Franklin County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Indiana (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Indiana World War II Servicemen: Database to locate information about Indiana men and women who served in World War II who were mentioned in one of the Indianapolis daily newspapers during the war.
Records of county taxes were kept as early at 1842, although most were discarded. Remaining ones would be at the county courthouse. National Archives-Great Lakes Region has records of the Internal Revenue Service for Indiana for 1867 to 1873. These are tax assessment records, arranged by district and then chronologically.
Below is a list of online resources for Franklin County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Franklin County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Franklin County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Franklin County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Tri-County Genealogical Society, 23184 Pocket Road West, Batesville, IN 47006
Indiana State Library,
Attn: (Division or Staff Name),
140 North Senate Avenue,
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2296
Loan Desk and General Inquiries: 317-232-3675,
ind@statelib.lib.in.us
Genealogy Division: 317-232-3689,
genealogy@statelib.lib.in.us
Indiana Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Indiana Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
The commissioner's office of each Indiana county may have burial records for soldiers, sailors, and marines. If available, the records should include name, age, date of enlistment, discharge date, and death date. Records begin about 1862.
The Indiana State Library holds records of inscriptions from some Indiana cemeteries. The "Indiana Cemetery Locator File," compiled by the Genealogy Division, is an alphabetical listing of cemeteries, indicating the location in the state and the designation in the Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library where inscriptions may be found.
Below is a list of online resources for Franklin County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Franklin County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Indiana obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Indiana newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Indiana.
Click Here to Search Indiana Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Franklin County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Franklin County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Indiana Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
1849 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Gazetteer," published by E. Chamberlain
Franklin County, named in honor of Dr. Franklin, was organized in 1810, and is bounded east by the State of Ohio, south by Dearborn and Ripley, west by Decatur and Rush, and north by Fayette and Union counties. It is about twenty-seven miles in length from east to west, and fifteen in breadth, and contains 400 square miles. In 1830 the population was 10,199, in 1840, 13,349, and at this time [1849] about 18.000. It is divided into eleven civil townships, to wit: Springfield, Bath, Brookville, White, Water, Posey, Highland, Ray, Bloominggrove, Fairfield, Salt Creek and Laurel. The northeast part of the county is level, the central and western rolling, and in many places quite hilly. The timber is principally oak, sugar, beech, hickory and black walnut. The soil is generally good. About one-eighth of the county is bottomland, lying along Whitewater and its branches, with a very rich soil, well adapted to the growth of corn. The high lands are better for wheat and grass, and the state of the farming interest is creditable to the county.
There are twenty flouring mills, thirty-five sawmills, one paper mill, one fulling mill, two cotton factories, two printing offices, fourteen lawyers, twenty physicians, twenty-one ministers of the Gospel, a flourishing County Seminary, and common school districts are organized in every part of the county. There are numerous monuments of ancient population, such as mounds of earth structures of stone, embedded in the earth and prepared with apparent skill, so that the deposits of some very distant period are found in a remarkable state of preservation.
The abundant water power of Franklin County, the facilities for trade by the Whitewater Canal, its vicinity to Cincinnati and generally very fertile soil, are rapidly increasing its population and wealth. The taxable land, at this time [1849], amounts to 245,631 acres.
1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature
The Whitewater River flows from the northwest to the southeast through Franklin County, forming one of the principal sections of Indiana's famous Whitewater valley. For the most part, Franklin county's terrain is rolling, except at the extreme eastern part. In the river bottomlands, and level areas east and north of the valley, the soil is best adapted to agriculture. The valley, known to early-day settlers as "The Whitewater," extends from the Ohio River northward almost half the length of the state, ranging from twelve to twenty-five miles in width.
Franklin is one of the southeastern border counties, its eastern boundary forming part of the Ohio line. It has an area of 394 square miles, and is divided into thirteen townships. Franklin County was greatly reduced in size in 1819 and in 1821 when Fayette and Union counties were formed from it.
The incorporated towns are Brookville, 2,148, the county seat; Cedar Grove, 221; Laurel, 516; Mt. Carmel, 150, and Oldenburg, 575. Oldenburg is known as the of some world famous religious institutions. In the first census of the county in 1815, it had the second largest population in the state, 7,370. In 1890, 18,366; 1900, 16,388; 1910, 15,335; 1920, 14,806; 1930, 14,498.
Brookville was one of the state's earliest centers. Beginnings in 1820, Brookville had its greatest period of prosperity, for it was named as Land Office. This boom lasted for only about five years, however, after which the Land Office was moved to Indianapolis. There followed a period during which the town languished, unfed by the fortunes of the steady stream of land purchasers. It was not until the late thirties that prosperity again visited the town and county. Then, with the building of the canal in the Whitewater valley, a lively shipping business sprang up. This era of the canals was an important one in Indiana history. Unfortunately, in the case of the canal of the Whitewater, more trouble than benefits resulted eventually, causing many of the county's populace to leave. Frequent flooding of the river often blocked traffic, and swept away entire mills and other property. The canal was almost ruined in the flood of 1847, and subsequent misfortunes finally ruined it.
Today, Brookville is one of the art centers of the state. One of the points, which make it so, is the monument in the courthouse yard to the soldiers and sailors of the Civil War. Outstanding, perhaps, is the Hermitage, which was the studio home of the late J. Ottis Adams. This studio was used for many years by four of the artists of the Hoosier group- Adams, Stark, Steele, and Forsyth. It is still used by Winifred B. Adams. Across from the Hermitage is the site of the paper mill, the second dry roll paper mill west of the Alleghenies, built in 1835. It came into prominence as a model for "The Old Mill," by a number of renowned artists.
Though other cities are proud of claiming General Lew Wallace, Brookville was his birthplace. A stone marker shows the site. Several of the old churches of the town are distinguished for their beauty and history.
It is interesting to the note that a descendant of Betsy Ross, James Conwell, founded the town of Laurel. Near the town is Derbyshire Falls, at about the center of the famous Whitewater valley.
At the source of Eli's Creek near the county line of Franklin, Union and Fayette, is the site of the Cockefair Woolen Mills, built by Elisha Cockefair in 1827. It is of historical note because it was run day and night to supply clothing for the Union Army soldiers. It has been purchased and removed to a nationally famous museum.
Among the beautiful features of Franklin County are the clustering spires and belfries of the Monastery of the Franciscan Order, Convent of the Sisters of St. Francis, and the Academy of the Immaculate Conception, at Oldenburg.
In Metamora is the studio of J. Ottis Adams and T.C. Steele, outstanding Hoosier artists.
There have been a remarkable number of outstanding personages connected with the history of Brookville, the county, and the Whitewater district in general. There were Governors Noble, Ray, Wallace, and Hammond; John P. St. John, Governor of Kansas; Stephen S. Harding, Governor of Utah; J. Wallace, Governor of Wyoming; U. S. Senators Jesse B. Thomas from Illinois, John Henderson from Mississippi, James Noble and Robert Hanna; James B. Tyner, Postmaster General; Edwin Terrill, Minister to Belgium; George Hitt, vice-consul to London; L. T. Mitchener, Attorney-General of Indiana; Judges Blackford, McKinney, and Stephens. It is remarkable that these judges, all from Brookville, at one time made up the entire Supreme Court of Indiana.
A number of writers other than the previously mentioned Lew Wallace were born in the county. Among these were Maurice Thompson and Joaquin Miller. Hiram Powers, a sculptor, and William M. Chase, a painter, come from Franklin County. Also a number of military and naval officers, as well as one or two scientists of note are claimed as distinguished sons.
The 1935 federal census listed two industries in Franklin County. The county had 1,928 farms averaging 124.1 acres each. The value of these farms was $8,982,250. A total of 60,366 head of livestock was reported.
In 1936, the total tax valuation of the county was $12,890,936.
