The Batesville Memorial Public Library has a growing number of resources to help those interested in tracing their family history. The Genealogy collection contains locally prepared and published materials such as church cemetery records, census records, family histories and biographies. Also available on microfilm are the Franklin County Federal census records from 1820 through 1920, and the Ripley County Federal census records from 1870 through 1920. We also have the following records on microfilm for Ripley County: Births, Death Certificates, Naturalizations, Declarations of Intent, Probate Order Books A & B, Wills, and Contagious Diseases records. Some records from other nearby Indiana counties, such as Dearborn and Decatur, are included.

Also available on microfilm are the Batesville newspapers from 1887 to 2020, and some old newspapers from Brookville, Osgood, and Versailles, Indiana. Copies from microfilm or microfiche may be printed from the library’s reader/printer at a cost of 25 cents per page.

Our Genealogy Room is open during normal library hours.

The best times to visit with our Genealogy Specialist for some extra help is:

Mondays, Tuesdays, & Thursdays from 12 PM – 4 PM

Oldenburg Academy Yearbooks – A collection of digitized Oldenburg Academy yearbooks for years 1956 – 2018.

Batesville High School Yearbooks – A collection of digitized Batesville High School yearbooks for the years 1951 – 2018.

• Ancestry Library Edition – Provides patrons with instant access to a wide range of unique resources for genealogical and historical research
  **Ancestry Library Edition can only be used inside the library
• Family Search – Family Search is the largest family research archive, offering billions of records, images, and historical documents. The Library is a Family Search Affiliate, granting you access to additional collections while using inside the library.
• Hoosier State Chronicles – The Hoosier State Chronicles archive provides access to high quality digitized copies of Indiana’s historic newspapers.
• Indiana Memory – Indiana Memory provides access to digitized books, manuscripts, photographs, newspaper, maps, and other media.

• Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center – The Allen County Public Library Hosts the largest publicly-available genealogy collection in the country and has made many documents available online.
• Batesville Historical Center – The Batesville Historical Center researches, collects, preserves and promotes the material culture and history of the Batesville area.
• Cyndi’s List of Genealogical Sites – Cyndi’s List is a collection of genealogy resources across the internet
• Federal Land Records – Provides access to over five million Federal land title records issues between 1788 and present.
• Find A Grave – Find A Grave is the world’s largest gravesite collection.
• Ripley County Historical Society – The Ripley County Historical Society collects, preserves, and interprets the history of Ripley County, Indiana.
• Steve Morse Genealogical Sites – Steve Morse is a collection of genealogy resources across the internet.
• WRBI Obituaries – Obituaries from the WRBI radio station.

If you have research questions relating to genealogy/local history or would like to request a copy of an obituary or newspaper article, please complete the form below.