Franklin County, Ohio Genealogy

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

Description
Franklin County was named after Benjamin Franklin. the county is located in the central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Franklin County Government Center 373 South High Street, 23rd Floor Columbus, OH 43215 Phone: 614-525-3600 Franklin County Website

Probate Court has birth and death records before 1908, marriage and probate records; Clerk Court has divorce and court records from 1803; County Auditor has land records

Populated Places
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:

History Timeline

 * Created just 2 months after Ohio became a state.
 * Originally extended all the way to Lake Erie before the divisions.
 * Parts set off in a series of divisions:
 * -20 February 1805: Champaign
 * -10 February 1808: Delaware
 * -12 January 1810: Pickaway
 * -16 February 1810: Madison
 * -10 January 1820: Union

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * 1765-1947 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; selected counties, incomplete; includes, death, church, and cemetery records
 * FamilySearch Places

Lutheran

Christ Lutheran Church, Columbus


 * Records of Christ Lutheran Church, Columbus, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Gahanna


 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Gahanna, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1790-1907 Land Records at OHGenWeb Archives
 * Deeds at OHGenWeb Archives

Local Histories

 * Martin, William T.; History of Franklin County: a collection of reminiscences of the early settlement of the county… (Columbus, Ohio: Follett, Foster, 1858) Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, Internet Archives.
 * Taylor, William Alexander; Centennial history of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio (Chicago, Illinois: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1909) Volume 1 online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archives; Volume 2 online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books.
 * Moore, Opha; History of Franklin County, Ohio (Topeka [Kansas]: Historical Pub. Co., 1930) Volume 1 online at FamilySearch Digital Library; Volume 2 online at FamilySearch Digital Library; Volume 3 online at FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * 1796 History of Franklin and Pickaway Counties, Ohio (Portland, Indiana: Williams Bros., 1880) Online at FamilySearch Digital Library

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940) at MapofUS.org
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * My History: Extensive digitized collection from Columbus Metropolitan Library. Contains Columbus and Franklin County history, photographs, documents, maps, and artifacts.

Military Records

 * 1888-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.

Civil War Civil War service men from Franklin 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 Franklin County.


 * - 1st Regiment, Ohio Cavalry, Companies F and K
 * - 1st Regiment, Ohio Heavy Artillery, Company C
 * - 113th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies B, C, H, and I


 * Franklin County, Ohio Civil War Military Roster. (Austin, Minnesota : Ohio Genealogy Center, c1984).


 * Histories of the large companies from Franklin County can be found in William Brothers, History of Franklin and Pickaway Counties, Ohio : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers 1880. (Indiana: Unigraphic, 1974). On line at: FamilySearch Digital Library

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 1900s at History Connection —  Select county.
 * 1793-2009 Ohio Newspapers, 1793-2009 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
 * 1866-1867 Deaths from the Ohio State Journal, 1866-1867 at OHGenWeb
 * Early-late 1900s  Newspapers at Ohio Memory — sort by County, City, Time Period, and more.
 * 2005 Arlington News at in Google News Archive
 * Newspaper Articles at OHGenWeb Archives

Obituaries

 * 1931-1997 Columbus News Index Obituary Index at Columbus Metropolitan Library.

Other Records
My History: Extensive digitized collection at Columbus Metropolitan Library. Contains Columbus and Franklin County history, photographs, documents, maps, and artifacts.
 * MLS Real Estate Cards 1950-1970 at Columbus Metropolitan Library. Photographic collection of 190,000 cards of Central Ohio houses and businesses; contains property description and history.

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 OHGenWeb 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.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

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

 * 1765-1947 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; selected counties, incomplete; includes, death, church, and cemetery records
 * 1841-2003 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry ($) — Index
 * 1918-1953 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1959-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1959-1998 at MyHeritage - index ($)

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

 * 1765-1947 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images; selected counties, incomplete; includes, death, church, and cemetery records
 * 1833-1967 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1840-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007 at FamilySearch – How to Use this Collection
 * 1908-1932, 1938-2018 Ohio, Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * 1918-1953 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Divorce

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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Columbus Ohio FamilySearch Center (Grove City)
 * Columbus Ohio North FamilySearch Center (Dublin)
 * Columbus Ohio South FamilySearch Center (Reynoldsburg)
 * New Albany Ohio FamilySearch Center
 * Columbus Metropolitan Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Columbus Metropolitan Library

Local History & Genealogy, 3rd floor Main Library 96 S Grant Ave Columbus, OH 43215-4781 Phone: 614-645-2275 Website Ohio History Connection Archives & Library (State Archives) Ohio History Center 800 E 17th Ave Columbus, OH 43211 Phone: 614-297-2300 / 800-686-6124 Website State Library of Ohio Materials have moved to the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Bexley Public Library 2411 E Main St Bexley, OH 43209-2498 Phone: 614-231-9709 Website Grandview Heights Public Library 1685 W First Ave Grandview Heights, OH 43212 Phone: 614-486-2951 Website Southwest Public Libraries 3959 Broadway Grove City, OH 43123-2699 Phone: 614-875-6716 x133 (Office) Website Upper Arlington Public Library 2800 Tremont Rd Upper Arlington, OH 43221-3199 Phone: 614-486-9621 Website Westerville Public Library 126 S State St Westerville, OH 43081-2095 Phone: 614-882-7277 Website Worthington Libraries 820 High St Worthington, OH 43085-4108 Phone: 614-807-2620 Email: [mailto:ask@worthingtonlibraries.org ask@worthingtonlibraries.org] Website

Museums
Ohio History Connection 800 E 17th Ave Columbus, OH 43211 Phone: 800-686-6124 Website Grove City Welcome Center & Museum 3378-B Park St Grove City, OH 43123 Phone: 614-277-3061 Email:[mailto:grovecityohhistory@gmail.com grovecityohhistory@gmail.com] Website Hanby House Westerville Historical Society PO Box 1063 Westerville, OH 43086 Phone: 614-891-6289 / 800-600-6843 E-mail:[mailto:HanbyHouse@WestervilleHistory.org HanbyHouse@WestervilleHistory.org] Website

Societies
Columbus Historical Society 717 W Town St Columbus, OH 43222 Email:[mailto:info@columbushistory.org info@columbushistory.org] Website The Franklin County Genealogical & Historical Society 96 S Grant Ave Columbus, OH 43215-4702 Phone: 614-849-1239 Email: [mailto:TFCGHS@gmail.com TFCGHS@gmail.com] Website The Ohio Genealogical Society 611 State Route 97 West Bellville, OH 44813 Phone: 419-886-1903 Website

Ohio History Connection 800 E 17th Ave Columbus, OH 43211 Phone: 614-297-2300 / 800-686-6124 Email: [mailto:info@ohiohistory.org info@ohiohistory.org] 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 Project
 * Franklin County OH Genealogy at LDSGenealogy
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Franklin County.
 * – 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.