Genealogy & Local History

BCPL Resources

  • Ancestry Library Edition

    The largest online family history resource available, with access to both domestic and international records. The temporary home access period for this resource has ended; access is available inside the library only.

  • AtoZdatabases

    AtoZdatabases is a premier online reference and research tool providing instant, up-to-date information on US businesses and residents, including marketing and sales leads; mailing lists; employment opportunities; background searches; and profiles on companies, executives, and healthcare professionals. Plus, search historical addresses, locate lost friends and family, attend live training webinars, or send group e-mails for free with pre-designed templates.

  • HeritageQuest Online

    This comprehensive treasury contains unique American genealogical sources, local and family histories, convenient research guides, interactive census maps, and more.

  • Newspapers.com– World Collections

    Powered by Ancestry and distributed by ProQuest, Newspapers.com– World Collections provides online access to 4,000+ historical newspapers dating from the early 1700s into the 2000s. It includes well-known regional and state titles as well as small local newspapers from the United States and other countries. 

  • ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Louisville Courier-Journal

    For researchers seeking an authoritative, regional perspective on national and international events, as well as local perspectives on community news, the full-text, digitized pages of this newspaper (1830–2000) are a valuable resource in a variety of fields including history, political science, African-American studies, and genealogy.

  • Universal Class

    Learn skills for business and life! Universal Class offers more than 500 lifelong-learning courses covering everything from wellness and personal growth to homeschooling, parenting, hobbies, and finance. Many courses even offer continuing education units (CEUs).


Susan S. Craik Genealogy Room

The Susan S. Craik Genealogy Room is located at Ridgway Memorial Library. We have various materials in print, as well as microfilm and microfiche. Resources include birth, death, and marriage records; census and cemetery records; and newspapers and periodicals.

Shelving guide to the Genealogy & Local History Collection at Ridgway Memorial Library.

Family Files

Our Family Files consist of information contributed by patrons and other genealogy researchers on different families in the Bullitt County area. The files are kept in the Genealogy Room at Ridgway Memorial Library. Additional family files can be located at the Courthouse building in the Bullitt County History Museum.

Information & Local History Files

Newspaper clippings, pamphlets, maps, and other materials that provide information on Bullitt County history and other areas of interest. Files located in the Genealogy Room at Ridgway Memorial Library. Information and Local History Files Subject Index»

We now have a Low Vision Reading Aid available.
This reader magnifies and enlarges text and increases the contrast to make print easier to read for people with low vision.


County, Regional, and State Information

1917 Shepherdsville Train Wreck

Ancestral Trails Historical Society

Bullitt County Genealogical Society

Bullitt County History Museum

Bullitt County KYGenWeb Homepage - Area cemetery transcriptions, land records, tax lists, and more. Hosted by Roots Web.

The Bullitt Pioneer - Extracts and annotations from the microfilm of early Bullitt County newspapers 1901–1912.

Cemetery Database (Find a Grave) - International listing; includes Kentucky and Bullitt County.

Draper Collection, 1740–1892 - Nearly 500 volumes of manuscripts, papers, and books collected by Lyman Copeland Draper about the history of the trans-Allegheny West, a region including the western areas of the Carolinas and Virginia, all the Ohio River Valley, and part of the upper Mississippi Valley from the 1740s to 1830. Several volumes of local interest are available in the Susan S. Craik Genealogy Room at Ridgway Memorial Library.

Kentuckiana Digital Library - Search over 550,000 digital images including historic newspapers, photographs, rare Kentuckiana imprints, Sanborn maps, and historic issues of the Daily Racing Form.

Kentuckiana Genealogy - Message board and other links.

Kentucky Explorer Magazine

Kentucky Vital Records Index

Lebanon Junction Historical Pictures

Louisville Genealogical Society

Mount Washington Historical Society

Ohio River Valley, 175 0–1 820 - Part of the Library of Congress American Memory Project. Consists of 15,000 pages of original historical material drawn from the collections of the Filson Historical Society and the University of Chicago.


Database and Link Collections

American Family Immigration History Ellis Island

Census Online

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet

Daughters of the American Revolution Library

Ellis Island Records

FamilySearch - Research database provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Includes downloadable Research Helps by state, including a Kentucky Research Outline, a statewide index of collections, and more.

Genealogy Indexes, Records & Databases on the Internet

Genealogy Links - A portal collection of genealogy links.

Genealogy Search Online - Genealogy chat and other resources.

Internet Public Library Genealogy Links

Kindred Trails - Portal site for genealogy links and databases.

Library of Congress Local History and Genealogy Reading Room

National Archives and Records Administration - Look under Online Research Tools for Access to Archival Databases (AAD) or to search descriptions of the the National Archives' holding in the Archival Research Catalog (ARC). Get research help and access federal records including military records.

Native American Genealogy and Information (NativeWeb)

Notable Women Ancestors - Hosted by Roots Web.http://www.nativeweb.com/resources/genealogy_tracing_roots_/

Preservation Directory - Clearinghouse for historic preservation, preservation-based tourism, and downtown revitalization projects across the U.S. and Canada. Includes Preservation Events & Conferences; a Video Library with clips of restoration projects in progress, preservation walking tours, and endangered places; and listings and links for over 7000 history museums, 1000 downtown and main street groups, and 4500 historical societies in North America.

Roots Web - Genealogical data cooperative.

Social Security Death Index (Ancestry.com)

Social Security Death Index (Family Tree Maker)

Vitalrec.com - Source for locating vital records online. Get applications and contact information for vital records offices. Searchable by state.