Step-by-Step Ohio Research, 1850-1910

Ohio Step-by-Step Research, 1850--1910 Step-by-Step Research, 1880-present Step-by-Step Research, 1850--1910

Step 1: Find out everything possible from living relatives and their family records.
Every good genealogy project starts with finding all the clues that can be gathered from living relatives — both from their memories and from documents or memorabilia in their homes.

What are the best questions to ask?
In order to extend research, ask for names, dates, and places. Everything about who a relative was and when and where they lived is a clue to a new record search. For ideas, see :
 * 50 Questions to Ask Relatives About Family History


 * Creating Oral Histories

What documents should be collected or copied?
Because these records cover names, dates, places, and relationships, they are a valuable source of clues. Look for them in your home, your parents' home, and ask living grandparents to check for them.

Step 2: Find ancestors in every possible census record, 1850-1950, online.
Example of a census record.
 * A census is a count and description of the population for a given date. A census took a "snapshot" of a family on a certain day.
 * For each person living in a household (depending on the year), their name, age, birthplace, relationship to head of household, place of birth for father and mother, citizenship status, year of immigration, mother of how many children and number of children living, native language, and whether they were a veteran of the military can be listed.
 * Searching for a family in census records every ten years can identify all the children in a family.
 * Searching in earlier census records to find someone as a child can identify parents.





Quadrennial Censuses With Images Online
'''Ohio enumerated a quadrennial census at the county level. Some of these censuses still exist. Adult males age 21 and above were enumerated.'''

- For more information, see Ohio Census and United States Census.

Step 3: Try to find additional details in death certificates, Social Security, obituary and cemetery records online.
When a person dies, several records will be created: death certificates, Social Security records, obituaries, and cemetery records.
 * Death certificates can give birth information for people born before actual birth registration began. Death certificates frequently give the birth date and place, parents' names, and birth places of parents.


 * The Social Security Death Index includes those who had a Social Security number and/or applied for benefits. The index entries give the person's full birth date, last known residence, and residence at the time they first enrolled.


 * The Social Security Applications and Claims Index provides information filed in the application or claims process, including valuable details such as birth date, birth place, and parents’ names.

Example of a death index entry.
 * Cemetery records can be as simple as the information on the headstone or, in some FindAGrave records, they can report more thorough information about birth, parents, spouses, children, and siblings.



Death Indexes

 * Index only.
 * Index and Images.
 * Index and Images.
 * Ohio Deaths, 1913 - 1944, 1954 - 1963, ($), index
 * Ohio, Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-2007 ($)
 * Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963, index ($)
 * Ohio Death Certificate Index (Includes stillborn).
 * Ohio Deaths, 1959-2012, ($), index
 * Ohio Deaths, 1959-2012, ($), index

Writing for Full Death Certificates
The full original certificate will contain information not contained in the index. Although it costs money, consider sending for the full original certificates, particularly for direct line ancestors (grandparents, great-grandparents, etc).
 * Where to Write for Ohio Birth, Marriage, Death and Divorce Records

U.S. Social Security Records

 * The U.S. Social Security program began in 1935 but most deaths recorded in the index happened after 1962.
 * The Social Security Death index includes those who had a Social Security number and/or applied for benefits.
 * You can search these records online at
 * Also at Ancestry.com, ($), index.
 * The Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off, by providing information filed in the application or claims process.
 * The Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off, by providing information filed in the application or claims process.


 * If you find an ancestor in the SSDI index, you can order a copy of their original Social Security application (SS-5). If you can prove the individual has died (by sending an obituary or copy of their cemetery headstone), the application will also give the deceased's parents' names, if listed.

Obituaries

 * Online Ohio Death Records &amp; Indexes, by county
 * Ohio Obituary Index
 * Ohio Genealogical Society Obituary Index
 * Web: Ohio, MOLO Obituary Index, 1811-2012 ($)
 * Ohio Obituary Index, 1814-2013, ($), index
 * Genealogy Buff
 * Ohio Obituaries
 * — index and images

Cemetery Collections

 * Billion Graves
 * at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
 * BillionGraves Index at Findmypast ($)
 * Find-A-grave
 * at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
 * U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
 * at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
 * United States Deaths & Burials 1833-1970 in Ohio at Findmypast ($)
 * Ohio Cemetery Records at AccessGenealogy
 * Ohio Cemetery Records at Interment
 * Ohio Gravestones Photo Project at OhioGravestones
 * OhioTombstone Transcription Project at USGenWeb
 * Online Ohio Obituary and Cemetery Indexes at Online Death Indexes
 * Ohio Jewish Cemetery Project at International Jewish Cemetery Project

For more information, see Ohio Obituaries and Ohio Cemeteries.

Step 4: Search for county birth and marriage records online.
'''Vital records registration of births and marriages at the state level started in 1905. Prior to that the individual counties kept some records. The starting dates of those records vary from county to county, depending on when the county was formed.'''

Online Records
Births Marriages
 * , index.
 * Ohio, Births and Christenings, Index, 1800-1962 ($)
 * Index only.
 * Index and Images, dates vary by county.
 * Ohio, Birth Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 ($), also at MyHeritage, ($),
 * — index and images
 * Ohio Marriages, 1789-1898 ($)
 * Index only.
 * Ohio Marriages, 1803-1900 ($)
 * Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003, ($), index
 * Ohio Marriage Index, 1970, 1972-2007 ($)
 * Ohio Marriage Records, 1970, 1972-2011, ($) index

Records at the County Probate Court, the Ohio Historical Society, or at the Vital Statistics Department
Almost always the full original certificate will contain information not contained in the index. Although it costs money, consider sending for the full original certificates, particularly for direct line ancestors (grandparents, great-grandparents, etc).
 * State office has birth records since December 20, 1908. For earlier birth and death records, write to the Probate Court in the county where the event occurred.
 * Copies of marriage records are not available from the State Health Department. Inquiries will be referred to appropriate office. For certified copies of marriage records, please write to the Probate Court in the county where the event occurred.
 * State office has death records since January 1, 1964. For earlier death records, write to the Probate Court in the county where the event occurred. Death records that occurred December 20, 1908 – December 31, 1963 can be obtained from:
 * Ohio Historical Society, Archives Library Division
 * 1982 Velma Avenue
 * Columbus, OH 43211-2497

-
 * Vital Statistics Department has births from 1908 and deaths from 1964.

For contact information for the Counnty Probate Court, see the Wiki article for each county. Links to the county Wiki articles are found at the end of this page or by clicking here: Ohio Counties. For more information on birth, marriage, and death records in Ohio, see How to Find Ohio Birth Records, How to Find Ohio Marriage Records, and How to Find Ohio Death Records.

Step 5: Search military records: World War I and II draft cards.
There are many different types of military records: draft records, enlistment records, service records, pension records, etc. Information in military records can vary from a simple lists of name, age, and residence, to more detailed records including name, residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, physical description, number of dependents, pensions received, disabled veterans, needy veterans, widows or orphans of veterans, and other information. - '''Example of a World War I draft card. Locating the draft cards for all of Cecil's brothers would detail their birth dates and places.''' - Example of a World War II draft card.



'''Search the World War I and World War II Draft Collections for male relatives.
- For more information and additional collections, see Ohio Military Records.
 * , index and images.
 * , index and images.

Step 6: Look for church records.
Church records function as vital records. Church records are particularly helpful prior to the advent of civil registration.
 * An infant christening or baptism record documents a birth.
 * Many, if not most, people are married in a church, and then a record is created by the minister.
 * Likewise, ministers presided over funerals, then creating a burial record, which documents a death.



FamilySearch Indexes

 * 1762-2008 Ohio, Church Records, 1762-2008 - Index and images. Incomplete.
 * 1765-1947 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1821-1962 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1800-1958 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1833-1967 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1854-1997 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Ancestry.com Indexes

 * 1800-1962 Ohio, Births and Christenings, Index, 1800-1962 ($)
 * 1789-1898 Ohio Marriages, 1789-1898 ($)
 * 1789-1898 Ohio, Marriages Extracted from the Old Northwest Genealogical Quarterly, 1789-1898 ($)
 * 1803-1900 Ohio Marriages, 1803-1900 ($)

Dutch Reformed

 * 1856-1970 U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Vital Records, 1856-1970, index and images, incomplete.($)
 * 1856-1970 U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Membership Records, 1856-1970, index and images, incomplete.($)

Lutheran

 * 1781-1969 - U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969, index and images, incomplete.($)
 * 1800-1947 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Swedish American Church Records, 1800-1947, index and images, incomplete.($)

Presbyterian

 * 1701-1970 U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970, index and images, incomplete.($)

Quakers (Society of Friends)

 * Shaker membership card index
 * 1681-1935 U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935, index & images ($).
 * Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. IV: (Ohio Monthly Meetings) ($)
 * Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. V: (Ohio Monthly Meetings) ($)

Shakers

 * Shaker Membership Card Index.

Roman Catholic

 * Catholic Heritage Archive Scroll down to Ohio listings. Dioceses of Cincinnati and Toledo

Step 7: Search for wills and probate packets.

 * County probate records include '''probate proceedings, petitions, affidavits, orders for sales, reports of sales, administrators' and executors' bonds, guardianship papers, wills, and letters of administration.
 * In a will book, usually just a transcription of the will is recorded. But all of these other records are kept in a probate packet.
 * Administrations are probate proceedings that handled an estate if no known will existed.



Online Records

 * United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search: Ohio
 * 1786-1998 Ohio Wills and Probate Records 1786-1998 at Ancestry — index and images $
 * 1789-1996 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images

Probate Information in County Wiki Articles
Each Ohio county Research Wiki page lists additional probate sources, including where to write for records: Ohio Counties

For more information, see Ohio Probate Records and United States Probate Records.

Step 8: If any ancestor was an immigrant, search immigration and naturalization records online.
The census records may show that an ancestor was born in another country. It will be necessary to try to find the town or city they were born in to continue research in the country of origin. Searches of immigration records (usually passenger lists) and naturalization (citizenship) records would be the next step.



Ohio Immigration Records

 * United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records
 * The Wales-Ohio Project.
 * , index and images
 * Ohio, Crew List Arrivals, 1929-1958, ($) index
 * Ohio, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1952-1963, ($) index

Ohio Naturalization and Citizenship Online Records

 * United States Naturalization and Citizenship Online Genealogy Records
 * , index. Also at Find my Past, index
 * Naturalization Petition and Record Books for the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, Cleveland, 1907-1946 ($)
 * U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes for Ohio, Northern District, Eastern Division, Cleveland 1855-1967 - U.S. District Court ($)
 * Ohio, Naturalization Petition and Record Books, 1907-1946 ($)
 * Ohio, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977 ($), also at My Heritage, ($), index
 * Ohio, Naturalization Petition and Record Books, 1907-1946 ($)
 * Ohio, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977 ($), also at My Heritage, ($), index

For more information, see Ohio Emigration and Immigration and Ohio Naturalization and Citizenship.

Step 9: Search land records online.
These records will give the They can contain clues to
 * names of the buyer (grantee) and seller (grantor),
 * previous or new residence of the parties to the deed
 * the date they obtained the land,
 * the description of exact location of the land, sometimes mentioning neighbors.
 * family members who shared ownership of the land,
 * sold or gave land to a child, or
 * officially witnessed the sale.

Search for any ancestor's land records.

 * United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search: Ohio
 * Pre-1908 Ohio, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * Ohio Early Land Ownership Records at Ancestry - index to abstracts ($)
 * 1788-1960s U.S. Land Patent Search at Bureau of Land Management, index and some records
 * 1820-1908 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1861-1932 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection - images
 * 1863-1908 U.S., Homestead Records, 1863-1908 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
 * 1906-1975 Alaska, U.S., Deed and Tract Books at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * Early Ohioans' Residences from the Land Grant Records at Ancestry - index ($)
 * Ohio, First Land Owners (Published 1911) at Findmypast - index & images ($)
 * Ohio, Surveys Of The Public Lands (Published 1884) at Findmypast - index ($)
 * Land Patents - Ohio at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * Survey Plats and Field Notes at Bureau of Land Management - index
 * Land Owner Search at Historygeo.com ($), index to maps of original land owners

For more information, see Ohio Land and Property and United States Land and Property.

Local Histories

 * Published histories of towns, counties, and states sometimes contain biographies and accounts of early or prominent families.
 * Here are several websites that feature online copies of printed county histories: Ohio; that will bring up too many hits. Just use the name of the county and "county": for example, "Hyde County"
 * Google Books. Use keywords "Ohio" and the county name. Hits will list online readable books, lists of libraries that carry the book, and purchasing opportunities.
 * Family History Books
 * County and Town Histories:*Internet Archive.Use keywords "Ohio" and the county name.
 * Ancestry.com, ($). In the Card Catalog search box, use Ohio and the name of the county.

FamilySearch Collected Local Histories

 * Local histories are extensively collected by the FamilySearch Library, public and university libraries, and state and local historical societies.
 * If you have access to the FamilySearch Library or a FamilySearch center, you can find local histories by:
 * Go to the FamilySearch Catalog.
 * In the "Place" field, type the name of your county and click "Search".
 * A list of subheadings for the county will appear. Local histories containing genealogies and biographies will be found under Biography, Genealogy, History, or History - Indexes.

Biography Collections
These collections of biographies can be searched online. Most have a table of contents and an index. Or use the "Find" function on a computer.
 * Ohio Biographies
 * Ohio Biographies Project.
 * Ohio Biographical Sketches, 1876 ($)
 * History of the Western Reserve, Vol. 3, e-book
 * County and Town Histories, with biographies
 * Biographical and historical memoirs of the early pioneer settlers of Ohio, with narratives of incidents and occurrences in 1775. By S. P. Hildreth. Also at: HathiTrust, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($).
 * Representative men of Ohio, 1900-1903, e-book
 * Ohio, the future great state, her manufacturers, and a history of her commercial cities, Cincinnati and Cleveland, with portraits and biographies of some of the old settlers and many of the most prominent business men, e-book
 * Historical collections of Ohio: containing a collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, etc. related to its general and local history with descriptions of its counties, principal towns, and villages, e-book
 * Historical collections of Ohio ... an encyclopedia of the state, e-book
 * A biographical cyclopædia and portrait gallery of distinguished men, with an historical sketch, of the state of Ohio, e-book

Step 11: Contact a local historical or genealogical society.
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 * Historical societies have collections that are frequently little known and often overlooked.
 * Many have a surname file, where they have collected genealogies, newspaper clippings, old photographs, etc.
 * Many have a sort of "pioneer ancestor" program, where people can submit pedigrees to prove they are the descendants of an early resident of the area.
 * Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area from other distant relatives who may actually have more family memorabilia.
 * Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area from other distant relatives who may actually have more family memorabilia.


 * Find the society on the internet, and they may list their holdings. Or call them on the phone, find out what they have, and find out what arrangements can be made to search their collection. Frequently, one of their members can be hired to search the collection for you.

This online directory by GenealogyInc. lists historical and genealogical societies by county: Click on the map to select a county, then scroll down to the historical or genealogical society listings. Here is an example of an internet website for a local genealogical society.

Historical Images
Records collected and digitized by FamilySearch can all be found through their Historical Images feature.
 * Ohio, United States Historical Images, New Version
 * Ohio, United States Historical Images, Old Version

Ohio Online Genealogy Records
Search any other online records listed in Ohio Online Genealogy Records. The steps given here are intended to list record sources which can most efficiently identify descendants. Many other online records which might or might not mention descendants are listed in the Ohio Online Genealogy Records page, including immigration records, land records, military records, newspapers, and probate records, and others. These can be records that cover a smaller group within the population, such as men who served in the military, etc.
 * Ohio Online Genealogy Records

Step 13: Study the Research Wiki pages for any county in Ohio.
This article focused more on Ohio state or state-wide records. There is a separate Wiki article for each county in Ohio. These articles give information, office addresses, and links to county records.  Adams Allen Ashland Ashtabula Athens Auglaize Belmont</li> Brown</li> Butler</li> Carroll</li> Champaign</li> Clark</li> Clermont</li> Clinton</li> Columbiana</li> Coshocton</li> Crawford</li> Cuyahoga</li> Darke</li> Defiance</li> Delaware</li> Erie</li> Fairfield</li> <li>Fayette</li> <li>Franklin</li> <li>Fulton</li> <li>Gallia</li> <li>Geauga</li> <li>Greene</li> <li>Guernsey</li> <li>Hamilton</li> <li>Hancock</li> <li>Hardin</li> <li>Harrison</li> <li>Henry</li> <li>Highland</li> <li>Hocking</li> <li>Holmes</li> <li>Huron</li> <li>Jackson</li> <li>Jefferson</li> <li>Knox</li> <li>Lake</li> <li>Lawrence</li> <li>Licking</li> <li>Logan</li> <li>Lorain</li> <li>Lucas</li> <li>Madison</li> <li>Mahoning</li> <li>Marion</li> <li>Medina</li> <li>Meigs</li> <li>Mercer</li> <li>Miami</li> <li>Monroe</li> <li>Montgomery</li> <li>Morgan</li> <li>Morrow</li> <li>Muskingum</li> <li>Noble</li> <li>Ottawa</li> <li>Paulding</li> <li>Perry</li> <li>Pickaway</li> <li>Pike</li> <li>Portage</li> <li>Preble</li> <li>Putnam</li> <li>Richland</li> <li>Ross</li> <li>Sandusky</li> <li>Scioto</li> <li>Seneca</li> <li>Shelby</li> <li>Stark</li> <li>Summit</li> <li>Trumbull</li> <li>Tuscarawas</li> <li>Union</li> <li>Van Wert</li> <li>Vinton</li> <li>Warren</li> <li>Washington</li> <li>Wayne</li> <li>Williams</li> <li>Wood</li> <li>Wyandot</li> </ul>
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