Ohio, County Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Ohio 

What is in the Collection?
The "Ohio County Marriages, 1789-2013" collection consists of index and images of county marriage records within the state of Ohio, acquired from local courthouses. The records consist of:
 * Licenses
 * Certificates
 * Declarations
 * Affidavits
 * Loose documents
 * Abstracts
 * Licenses to perform marriages

The records are generally arranged by:
 * County, volume and date
 * License number
 * Page number

The "Ohio, Marriages, 1800-1942" is a name index to marriage records from the state of Ohio. Microfilm copies of some of these records are available at the Family History Library and some FamilySearch Centers. Due to privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records. A few records may be earlier or later. Images containing social security numbers of living individuals are restricted and are not displayed. European Union member-country passports were sometimes photocopied and included with marriage license documents and are restricted. Images within the same digital folder as a restricted image are also unavailable.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
County marriage records include the following information:


 * Names of bride and groom
 * Date and place where license issued
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Date marriage was recorded
 * Name of officiator

Beginning about 1870:


 * Ages of bride and groom
 * Bride and groom's place of residence
 * Bride and groom's place of birth
 * Occupation
 * Names of parents, including maiden name of mother
 * Names of witnesses, if any
 * Title of officiator

Coverage Map
A coverage map of cut-off dates for marriages in Ohio County is found at Ohio County Marriages Restriction Dates.

Sample Images
County marriage records have been kept from about the time the county was formed to the present. The marriages were recorded by clerks of the various courts. In Ohio the probate court usually recorded marriages, although the court of common pleas also recorded some early marriages. In 1949 the state assumed responsibility for recording marriages.

Most marriages in a county were recorded. However, some religious groups may not have reported church marriages to civil authorities. General compliance with the civil registration process increased after civil registration began in 1949.

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate date of marriage.
 * The place where the marriage occurred.
 * The name of the intended spouse.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "County" ⇒Select the "Record Type, Year Range, and Volume" which takes you to the images

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

With either search keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Look at the actual image of the record, if you can, to verify the information and to find additional information.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Copy the citation below, in case you need to find this record again later.
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional land records that might have more information.
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to determine an approximate birth date to find church and vital records such as birth, baptism, and death records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find immigration and probate records.
 * Use the information in each record to find additional family members in the censuses. There may be clues to maiden names if a father deeded property to his daughter upon marriage. Witnesses and neighbors may be in-laws or relatives.
 * Repeat this process with additional family member’s records to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county.
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records.

For a summary of this information see the wiki article: United States, How to Use the Records Summary (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, plea se email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image citation: Top of Page