Ohio History Connection

United States Ohio  Archives and Libraries Ohio Historical Society

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Contact Information
E-mail:


 * For inquiries about research questions or on the resources available in the Archives/Library: [mailto:reference@ohiohistory.org reference@ohiohistory.org]
 * For inquiries about permissions and rights for images: [mailto:images@ohiohistory.org images@ohiohistory.org]

Address:


 * The Ohio Historical Society
 * 800 E. 17th Avenue
 * Columbus, OH 43211

Headquarters includes: Ohio Historical Society, Ohio Historic Preservation Office, Ohio History Center &amp; Museum, Ohio History Store, Ohio Village, State Archives Library. Telephone: Phone: 614-297-2300 or Toll Free at 1-800-686-6124 Hours and holidays:


 * Ohio History Center: Wednesday through Saturday, 10-5; Sunday, Noon-5.
 * Archives/Library: Wednesday through Saturday, 10-5.

Directions, maps, and public transportation:


 * Google Map and Directions to the Ohio Historical Society
 * Columbus has a public transportation system using busses knows as "COTA," (Central Ohio Transit Authority). Bus schedules and route maps are available on COTA’s website, as well as information related to public transportation services available to anyone with a disability.

Internet sites and databases:


 * Ohio Historical Society Home Museums &amp; Historic Sites, Exhibits, Collections &amp; Archives, Education, Local History Office, Ohio Historic Preservation Office, Publications, Featured Pages, Calendar, "I am a History Geek Page" and Genealogy Workshops.
 * Ohio Historical Society's Online Collections Catalog (OCC) has two search options, but will be merged as one soon. Also available on WorldCat.
 * Library and Newspapers
 * Manuscripts, Audio/Visual, and State Archives
 * Ohio Memory, a collaborative project of the Ohio Historical Society and the State Library of Ohio, is a digital library with 250,000 images. Search by subject, place, contributor. View the Ohio Guide Collection, and Oral History Collection.

Collection Description
The Ohio Historical Society serves as the state archives. They have an excellent collection of manuscripts for government, land, and military records, as well as biographies, genealogies, and vital records.


 * Collections &amp; Archives has objects, photos, and documents to represent all of Ohio's 88 counties covering a vast array of topics from the earliest Paleo Indians to current times such as: Archaeology, Archives/Library, Digital Collections &amp; Services, History, Natural History, State Archives, Manuscripts/Audiovisuals, Museum and Library Services.
 * Archives/Library helps people to discover the stories of Ohioans who built our state’s farms, industries, businesses, schools, churches, social organizations, governments and communities. Visitors to the Research Room will discover government records, manuscripts, film, video, photographs, books and maps. The Archives contains over 70,000 cubic feet of records and thousands of printed materials.
 * Collections Blog

Tips
The Ohio Historical Society has within its network over 50 historical homes, museums, archaeological sites, nature preserves, geological sites, and more across Ohio. Map showing were they are.

Guides

 * Citizen's Guide. See video about Ohio's history. Read Guide to learn about the Ohio Historical Society.
 * Research Guides available on these topics: Audiovisual Material, Birth Records, Death Records, Divorce Records, Marriage Records, General Government Records, Military Rosters, Newspapers,, and Prison Records.
 * Andrea D. Lentz, and Sara S. Fuller, eds., A Guide to Manuscripts at the Ohio Historical Society (Columbus, Ohio: Ohio Historical Society, 1972). Digital version ;.
 * Suzanne Wolfe Mettle, et al., comps. Genealogical Researcher's Manual with Special References for Using the Ohio Historical Society Library (Columbus, Ohio: Franklin County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society, 1981). ;.

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a source at the , a similar source may be available at one of the following.

Overlapping Collections


 * National Archives I, Washington DC, census, pre-WWI military service &amp; pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, federal bounty land, homesteads, bankruptcy, ethnic sources, prisons, and federal employees. Includes Northwest Territory (Ohio) papers.
 * National Archives Great Lakes Region (Chicago) old federal court and agency records for Ohio, U.S. federal censuses 1790–1940; military service and pension indexes, passenger lists, naturalizations, Ancestry.com, HeritageQuest, Fold3.
 * Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana, premier periodical collection, including Ohio genealogies, local histories, databases, military, censuses, directories, and passenger lists.
 * Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, a large repository with genealogies, local histories, censuses, military, land, indexes, vital records, court, and tax records mostly from the Mississippi Valley, eastern seaboard, Canada, and the British Isles.
 * State Library of Ohio, Columbus, has good records of Ohio, and of states like Pennsylvania, New York, and the states of New England which all contributed early immigrants to Ohio.

Similar Collections


 * Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, a top genealogy and local history collection of early Ohio sources. This includes the Inland Waterways Library of Ohio River (and its tributaries) riverboat traffic between Pittsburgh, PA and Louisville, KY.

Neighboring Collections


 * Columbus Public Health Office of Vital Statistics birth and deaths since 1908.
 * Franklin County Clerk of the Courts, civil, and criminal cases.
 * Franklin County Coroner deaths.
 * Franklin County Recorder land records, DD-214 military discharges, veterans graves.
 * Franklin County Probate Court adoptions, birth, guardianships, mental commitments, name changes, probates and wills.
 * U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, Columbus, recent civil and criminal cases.
 * Ohio_Historical_Society, Columbus, serves as a state archives. Primarily collects manuscripts including government, land, and military records. Also has biographies, genealogies, and vital records.
 * Columbus Historical Society memory project, recommended reading, and links.
 * Columbus Jewish Historical Society genealogies, oral histories, local histories, digital collections.
 * Columbus Metropolitan Library Internet history and genealogy, Sanborn maps, newspaper indexes, Columbus Historical Society, and images. (Genealogy section moved until Aug 2016).
 * Franklin County Genealogical and Historical Society, Grove City, research services, obituaries, and pioneer families.
 * Hillard Historical Society Library, Hillard, papers, books, photographs, maps, and other historical materials.
 * Palatines to America German Genealogy Society Resource Center, Columbus, has an extensive collection of German immigrant ancestor files. Their books are at the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
 * Repositories in surrounding counties: Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Madison, Pickaway, and Union.
 * Ohio Genealogical Society, Bellville, has the best collection of family folders in Ohio. They also have county record guides, biographies, genealogies and unique indexes to various Ohio records.
 * Bowling Green State University Jerome Library local government records, and newspapers.
 * Dayton Metro Library, the Dayton Room  has one of Ohio's best genealogical collections including books, periodicals, indexes, genealogies, and biographies.
 * Erie Lackawanna Historical Society, Cleveland, history of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, Erie Railroad, Erie Lackawanna Railway, and related lines. No employee records.
 * Ohio University Alden Library, Athens, their excellent manuscript collection includes church records, and business records. They also have county histories, biographies, and newspapers. It is like a second state archives.
 * Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, a good solid genealogy collection with oral histories, state and county histories, biographies, and genealogies. Youngstown was a portal for immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England entering Ohio.
 * Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, Fremont, is strong on Ohio history and genealogy, as well as Sandusky River and Great Lakes history, U.S. history and Black studies.
 * Toledo‑Lucas County Public Library, this is the place to come if you are looking for early Ohio settlers who entered Ohio via the Great Lakes and Toledo. They have Great Lakes traffic records.
 * University of Akron Libraries Polsky Building one of six regional centers of Ohio records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
 * University of Cincinnati Blegen Library one of six regional history centers of Ohio for records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
 * Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, The Western Reserve was a large part of Ohio settled by Connecticut Revolutionary War refugees. This important collection includes original land records, as well as many genealogies, biographies, histories, and Bibles of Pennsylvania and New England.
 * Wright State University Dunbar Library, Dayton, one of six regional centers of Ohio records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
 * Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor one of six regional history centers of Ohio for records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
 * Repositories in surrounding states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia; and in Canada: Ontario.
 * Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, millions of books, newspapers, periodicals, and photos about genealogy and family history, biographies, censuses, citizenship, immigration to and from Ohio and the USA, settlement, births, marriages, deaths, and divorces.