THE BRICK WALL
PROTOCOLGENEALOGY · BEYOND THE SEARCH BOX
BRICK WALL PROTOCOL / FREE GUIDES

Perry County:
Digitized parish registers, telephone directories and newspapers.

Use Tell City’s library portal by publication title and date. A surname search alone can miss handwriting and poorly recognized print.

Not sure where to begin? Build a free three-step research plan → Choose your question, period and records already checked.

Explore records coverage by year ↓

Additional collection references

Sources checked October 25, 2026. Based on public institutional descriptions and collection catalogs; no staff confirmation or onsite inspection. Confirm access before visiting.

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 / Online / Tell City

Perry County Public Library: newspapers and directories

Place a household in town between census years.

The portal lists Tell City telephone directories for 1943–1991, Tell City News for 1977–1992 and Perry County News for 1992–2011.

Research details & a question to ask

How to begin

Choose a title and year, then browse pages as well as searching names. Save the issue or directory date and page.

A question you can ask

Does the same address appear in adjacent years?

Keep in mind

Catalog spans may contain gaps. OCR can miss names.

STOP 02 / Online / Perry County area

Perry County Public Library: digitized parish registers

A church entry may preserve a different family connection.

The same portal lists St. Paul deaths for 1877–1976 and St. Patrick baptisms for 1887–1935, among other parish titles.

Research details & a question to ask

How to begin

Select the parish register and browse the relevant pages. Preserve headings and neighboring entries when interpreting handwriting.

A question you can ask

Does the entry identify sponsors or parents?

Keep in mind

Check the parish and register dates; a portal publication label is not always the event date.

STOP 03 / Indianapolis / statewide

Indiana State Library: Perry County holdings

Turn a county index into a precise request for the underlying record.

Selected holdings include marriages for 1814–1850 and supplemental marriage transcripts for 1887–1905.

Research details & a question to ask

How to begin

Open the county guide, copy the title and call number, then check the catalog or ask the library about format and access before visiting.

A question you can ask

Does the transcript point to a fuller application or return?

Keep in mind

These are selected library holdings, often indexes or transcripts. A listed date range does not guarantee every event survives or that original images are online.

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.

Return to the Indiana county map · Explore Ohio collections

Corrections or a useful collection? hello@brickwallprotocol.com

PERRY COUNTY / SELECTED RECORDS COVERAGE

Which collections cover your years?

Use these dated holdings to choose a next search. This is a selection of cataloged collections, not a complete inventory of Perry County records.

A range is a lead, not a guarantee. Bars show the dates stated by the cited catalog or inventory. They do not establish uninterrupted coverage, complete reporting or online image access. Unmarked years mean not represented in this selection, not that records were destroyed. Indexes and abstracts still need to be followed to the underlying record.

Sources reviewed October 26, 2026. Blue shows cataloged holdings; rust identifies indexes or compiled publications where the source specifies them. Read the format label and access notes for each row.

preliminary microfilm inventory entry

Deed Records (microfilm)

Listed years: 1859–1881.

Source, access and coverage limits

This preliminary inventory warns that it may not be up to date. Give the State Library the title, volumes and years when asking about microfilm access or digital copies. Check the linked entry for gaps and confirm current availability before visiting.

Keep in mind: Selected Indiana State Library holdings. Microfilm overview bounds can include indexes and multiple volumes; consult item-level entries for gaps. These are not countywide survival dates or an assurance of online images. Preliminary inventory entries may not reflect current holdings; confirm with the library.

preliminary microfilm inventory entry

Probate order books and complete records (microfilm)

Listed years: 1834–1870, 1834–1919.

Source, access and coverage limits

This preliminary inventory warns that it may not be up to date. Give the State Library the title, volumes and years when asking about microfilm access or digital copies. Check the linked entry for gaps and confirm current availability before visiting. Order books: 1834-1919. Complete records: 1834-1870.

Keep in mind: Selected Indiana State Library holdings. Microfilm overview bounds can include indexes and multiple volumes; consult item-level entries for gaps. These are not countywide survival dates or an assurance of online images. Preliminary inventory entries may not reflect current holdings; confirm with the library.

preliminary microfilm inventory entry

Births (microfilm)

Listed years: 1889–1894, 1899–1905.

Source, access and coverage limits

This preliminary inventory warns that it may not be up to date. Give the State Library the title, volumes and years when asking about microfilm access or digital copies. Check the linked entry for gaps and confirm current availability before visiting.

Keep in mind: Selected Indiana State Library holdings. Microfilm overview bounds can include indexes and multiple volumes; consult item-level entries for gaps. These are not countywide survival dates or an assurance of online images. Preliminary inventory entries may not reflect current holdings; confirm with the library.

preliminary microfilm inventory entry

Delayed birth records (microfilm)

Listed years: 1941–1964.

Source, access and coverage limits

This preliminary inventory warns that it may not be up to date. Give the State Library the title, volumes and years when asking about microfilm access or digital copies. Check the linked entry for gaps and confirm current availability before visiting. The plotted years refer to delayed registration or issuance, not the years people were born.

Keep in mind: Selected Indiana State Library holdings. Microfilm overview bounds can include indexes and multiple volumes; consult item-level entries for gaps. These are not countywide survival dates or an assurance of online images. Preliminary inventory entries may not reflect current holdings; confirm with the library.

Confirm the historical jurisdiction as well as the date. A record may be held outside today’s county, and an inventory’s ending year does not mean recordkeeping stopped.

Check historical jurisdiction → · Find collections for my years →

FOLLOW THE COLLECTION

Additional collection references

Official catalog descriptions checked October 25, 2026. These notes identify research routes, not completed name-level searches.

Reuben Bates general-store ledger

An Indiana Historical Society article indexes February and October 1838 transactions at Bates’s Troy store, including customers and people buying on another person’s account.

How to begin: Use the article’s page references, then request BV0003, SC2720 folder 1 or film F1699 for the full account.

What remains uncertain: The article contains inconsistent overall date wording. Anchor conclusions to dated entries; its selected months are not a complete customer index.

HELP KEEP THIS GUIDE USEFUL

Know a collection we should include?

Suggest a correction, an overlooked collection or an updated access detail. An official link or source helps us check it before making a change. Please leave out private family documents and sensitive personal information.

Suggest a correction or collection

Opens your email app with the guide name and link filled in. Prefer webmail? Email hello@brickwallprotocol.com and include this page’s title or URL.

Share this county guide

Know someone researching here? Share this to help them find their next source.

Share on Facebook ↗

THE BRICK WALL PROTOCOL ON YOUTUBE

A short video. A new direction.

Watch the Short. Open the protocol. Follow the evidence.

▷   Subscribe on YouTube ↗