Erie County, Ohio Genealogy

Guide to Erie County, Ohio ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The county was named for the Erie tribe, whose name was their word for "wildcat". It is located in the North-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Erie County Courthouse 323 Columbus Avenue Sandusky, OH 44870 Phone: 419-627-7705 Erie County Courthouse

Erie County Recorder's Office Land Records 247 Columbus Avenue; Suite 225 Sandusky, OH 44870 Phone: 419-627-7686

County Health Department has birth records from 1908, death and burial records; Probate Judge has marriage and probate records; Clerk Court has divorce and court records from 1870; County Recorder has land records

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Church Records
Catholic
 * 1796-2004 at FamilySearch Historical Records – How to Use this Collection.

Local Histories
The Connecticut Western Reserve was a part of northeast Ohio originally intended for settlement by Revolutionary War refugees from Connecticut. William Dollarhide, and Ronald A. Bremer, America's Best Genealogy Resource Centers (Bountiful, UT: Heritage Quest, 1988), 89. . The former Connecticut Western Reserve lands were in the modern counties of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Trumbull fully, but also in parts of Ashland, Mahoning, Ottawa, Summit, and Wayne counties in Ohio.


 * Peeke, Hewson Lindsley; A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio: An authentic Narrative of the Past… (Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1916) Available online at: FamlySearch Digital Library Vol 1; Google Books; FamilySearch Digital Library Vol 2; Internet Archives Vol 2,
 * Williams, William W.; History of the Fire lands, comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio: with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers (Cleveland, Ohio: Leader Print, 1879) Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, Internet Archives.
 * Aldrich, Lewis Cass; History of Erie County, Ohio: with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers (Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason, 1889) Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books.
 * Ohio Indexes at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940) at MapofUS.org

Military Records
War of 1812 Civil War
 * 1888-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * Cherry, Marjorie Louise; Blockhouses and military posts of the Firelands (1968) Online at Internet Archive
 * Civil War service men from Erie County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Erie County.
 * -107th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company F
 * -123rd Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies G and K

World War I
 * 1914-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1916-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1800-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.

Newspapers

 * 1793-late 1900's at History Connection —  Select county.
 * Early-late 1900's Newspapers at Ohio Memory — sort by County, City, Time Period, and more.
 * Newspaper Articles at USGenWeb Archives

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1786-1998 Ohio, Wills and Probate Records 1786-1998 at Ancestry ($) — index and images.
 * 1789-1996 at FamilySearch.org — How to Use this Collection.
 * Wills at USGenWeb Archives

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records
 * 1800-1950 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1800-1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Birth

 * 1841-2003 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry ($) — Index
 * 1959-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1959-1998 at MyHeritage - index ($)

Marriage

 * 1789-2013 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1800-1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1800-1958 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

 * 1840-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1908-1932, 1938-2018 Ohio, Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1908-1932, 1938–1944, and 1958–2007 at FamilySearch – How to Use this Collection
 * 1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Divorce

 * 1962-2007 Ohio, Divorce Abstracts, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007 at Ancestry ($)

Family History Centers

 * Sandusky Ohio Family History Center
 * Oberlin Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Huron Public Library 333 Williams St Huron, OH 44839-1640 419-433-5009 Website Milan Public Library 19 E Church St P.O. Box 1550 Milan, OH 44846 419-499-4117 Website Berlin Public Library 4 E Main St Berlin, OH 44814 419-588-2250 Website Ritter Public Library 5680 Liberty Ave Vermilion, OH 44089-1196 440-967-3798 Email: [mailto:info@ritter.lib.oh.us info@ritter.lib.oh.us] Website Sandusky Library 114 W Adams St Sandusky, OH 44870 419-625-3834 Website Kelleys Island Branch Sandusky Library 528 Division St P.O. Box 401 Kelleys Island, OH 43438 419-746-9575 Website

Museums
Erie County Historical Society Museums P. O. Box 944 Sandusky, Ohio 44871-0944 419-702-0001 Website Follet House Museum 404 Wayne St Sandusky, OH 44870 419-627-9608 Website

Societies
Western Reserve Historical Society 10825 East Blvd Cleveland, OH 44106 216-721-5722 Email:[mailto:info@wrhs.org info@wrhs.org] Website, Information

Erie County Historical Society P.O. Box 944 Sandusky, OH 44871-0944 419-702-0001 Website

Websites

 * Local Gov't Records by County at Ohio History Connection — Browse their list; records are not online.
 * Custom Browse of Historical Collections at Ohio Memory — Use map or alpha bar to select county or place, then browse search options in left sidebar.
 * Ohio Genealogical Society ($) — online databases
 * Ohio GenWeb Page
 * Ohio Indexes at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county.
 * Erie County OH Genealogy at LDS Genealogy
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.