The Ratliff Scrapbook Collection documents the history of Richmond and Wayne County, Indiana from the period of early white settlement until the onset of World War II. It includes obituaries, historical accounts, photographs, and detailed reminiscences of hunting, murders, hangings and other facets of pioneer life. The collection consists of two scrapbooks. The older was begun in the 1860s by Joseph C. Ratliff (1827-1909). Joseph C. Ratliff was a Hicksite Quaker and lifetime resident of the Richmond area who was active in the establishment of the Wayne County Historical Society. His scrapbook consists largely of obituaries of Richmond residents. His diaries for 1896 and 1897 form a separate collection. The larger scrapbook was carefully compiled by Joseph C. Ratliff's son Walter S. Ratliff (1860-1941). He was a farmer near Richmond and a member of the Indiana House of Representatives. He shared his father's historical interests, and much of his scrapbook consists of typescript reminiscences of pioneer life in Wayne and adjacent counties. The scrapbook also includes photographs of members of the Quaker Ratliff, Kindley, Furnas, and Comer families, clippings concerning local history, and a detailed account of the World War I service in France of Verlin C. Ratliff (1895-1956), Walter S. Ratliff's son.