Sources checked October 24, 2026. Additional local collection descriptions and dates checked November 4, 2026. Earlier valid guide content retained. Dates describe selected holdings, not complete coverage.
Start with one connection.
Bring a person, a place, approximate years, and one question. A township, congregation, school, or employer may reveal records a surname search misses. The custodian can be outside the county.
STOP 01 / Plainfield · Hendricks CountyPlainfield-Guilford Township Public Library: Genealogy and Local History
Try a record type that rarely appears in a simple surname search.
The library links indenture records for 1837–1849 and 1849–1872, naturalization declarations for 1852–1906 and final oaths for 1856–1906, coroner indexes, obituary resources, and Indiana Boys' School material.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Choose the named record index from the genealogy page. Some links lead to county-hosted images; ask the Indiana Room about underlying records, local photographs, and newspaper microfilm.
A question you can ask
What does the full indenture or naturalization record say beyond the name in the index?
Keep in mind
An institutional or indenture entry needs its legal and historical context. Online index coverage is not a promise that all case papers survive.
STOP 02 / Danville · birth and death recordsHendricks County Health Department: genealogy requests
Use the county's dedicated genealogy application.
The published application covers births and deaths occurring in Hendricks County more than 75 years ago; the stated record start is 1882.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Complete the current application with names and event dates, and confirm payment and identification instructions with the department before sending it.
A question you can ask
Is this event eligible for a genealogy search, and what copy or transcription will be supplied?
Keep in mind
The request applies to events in the county, not simply people who later lived there. Early records may be incomplete.
STOP 03 / Indianapolis · county-specific holdingsIndiana State Library: Hendricks County research guide
Identify a record series before requesting an original.
The guide lists Marriage Record Book, 1824–1837, supplemental marriage transcripts for 1880–1920, and Deaths with Burial in County, 1882–1990.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Use the county guide to copy the title and call number, then search the State Library catalog or use its Ask-a-Librarian service to confirm access.
A question you can ask
Does a supplemental marriage transcript or burial-related source add details missing from the basic index?
Keep in mind
These are selected library holdings, often indexes or abstracts. The guide does not promise every original record or online images.
STOP 04 / Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library, Indiana RoomThree election snapshots: Liberty Township and county voters
Liberty Township voter list, 1841; Hendricks County lists, August 1845 and November 1860.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Download the library-hosted indexes, search name variants and retain township and page references for a request to the Indiana Room.
A question you can ask
Which item covers my person, place and year, and how can I consult the underlying record?
Keep in mind
Three dated lists, not continuous registration records. Absence does not prove nonresidence or ineligibility.
STOP 05 / Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library, Indiana Room1955 adult-male enumeration between federal censuses
1955 Hendricks County census of adult males.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Search the library-hosted PDF and ask the Indiana Room for the underlying record when a match matters.
A question you can ask
Which item covers my person, place and year, and how can I consult the underlying record?
Keep in mind
Population-specific enumeration: it does not represent women, children or every household member.
STOP 06 / Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library, Indiana RoomCentral Academy catalogs and commencement programs
Catalogs listed for 1883–84, 1884–85, 1885–86, 1889–90 and 1901–02; selected commencement material extends from 1884 to 1918.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Open individual PDFs from the library’s Central Academy section. Begin with the catalog or program dated nearest the student’s attendance.
A question you can ask
Which item covers my person, place and year, and how can I consult the underlying record?
Keep in mind
Selected surviving publications, not a continuous student register. A program listing need not establish graduation.
STOP 07 / Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library, Indiana RoomCounty high-school graduates and Plainfield yearbooks
County high-school graduate index, 1904–1907; library links Plainfield High yearbooks labeled 1951–2018.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Search the county graduate PDF, then browse the school’s digitized yearbooks and the library’s every-name yearbook index.
A question you can ask
Which item covers my person, place and year, and how can I consult the underlying record?
Keep in mind
The same library page also labels an older yearbook link 1951–1989. Confirm actual volumes in the viewer; do not assume every year through 2018 is available. The every-name index is a work in progress.
Leave a trail another researcher can follow.
Save the repository, collection title, dates, volume, page or item identifier, link, and the date you consulted it. Follow an index to the original record when possible. Keep uncertain names and inferred relationships visibly separate from what the source states.
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