Step-by-Step Ohio Research, 1880-Present

Ohio Step-by-step research 1880--present

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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 should be asked?
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 :
 * Fifty Questions for Family History Interviews What to Ask the Relatives
 * Genealogy: 150 questions to ask family members about their lives
 * 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.
A census is a count and description of the population of a country, state, county, or city for a given date. A census took a "snapshot" of a family on a certain day. For each person living in a household you might find (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.

Using the clues to lead to census record searches.
While going through old papers in your grandmother's home, you find this newspaper clipping. It gives clues on where you can start looking for the family in census records. They seem to have always lived in New Vienna. A quick Google search tells us that is in Ohio. Mrs. Uible's maiden name is given: Gladys Hiestand, her father was Ira Hiestand, and her family home was Hillsboro. They have a son named Harold Uible, and an unnamed daughter who married Wiliam Horton. There is no date on the article, but since it is a 50th wedding anniversary, you can assume that the bride and groom were born about 70 years ago. That should put them in a time range to show up in the 1940 census, which is the most recent census we can search.



Look for ancestors in as many censuses as possible. Use the clues from each census for hints where to find families in both earlier and later census records.
- For more information, see Ohio Census and United States Census.

Step 3: Find birth, marriage, and death certificates for ancestors and their children.
States, counties, or (even towns in some states) recorded births, marriages, and deaths.
 * In addition to the child's name, birth date, and place of birth, a birth certificate may give the birthplaces of the parents, their ages, and occupations. *A marriage certificate might list the parents of the bride and groom.
 * A death certificate may give the person's birth date and place, parents' names and birthplaces, and spouse's name.

Using the census clues to lead to a birth certificate.
Census information gives approximate birth years and probable birth places, and that information leads to finding important birth records. In addition to basic birth date and place, a birth certificate can give age, birthplace, occupation, etc. about the parents. The index leads to images of the original records:

Using census clues to lead to a marriage certificate.
Finding marriage records can:
 * establish the full identity of the wife, with her maiden name and possible birth details.
 * find the names of the parents of the bride and groom.

Using census clues to lead to a death certificate.
Moving forward in time, older generations stop showing up in the census. That is a clue that they probably died in the last 10 years. The death certificate is important because of all the possible secondary data beyond just the date and place of death:
 * birth date and place of the deceased
 * maiden name of the wife
 * names of the deceased's parents
 * birth places of the deceased's parents.

Some of the examples shown above are index entries. That means for each of them an actual, original, full certificate exists. It is highly advisable to order the original certificate. It will contain many details not given in the index. In some cases, the image of the original is found online. Instructions are given below on obtaining the original certificate in other cases.

How to Find the Records
There are basically three ways to find these indexes or full original certificates:
 * online databases
 * writing to a county courthouse (prior to state civil registration beginning in 1867)
 * purchasing them through the mail

Records at the County Courthouse.
These records were originally created by county clerks, and then copies were sent to the state. County clerks can be willing to help find all the birth records for one family or perform other searches that the state would not do. To contact county clerks by e-mail or telephone, go to 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.

Order Certificates from Ohio Vital Records 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).


 * Where to Write for Ohio Birth, Marriage, Death and Divorce Records

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 4: Try to find additional details about ancestors in obituaries, cemetery records, and Social Security records online.
There are additional record collections available, based upon a person's death: obituaries, cemetery records, and Social Security records. These are a great source for more details about a person. Here are some examples; notice the level of details.

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

U.S. Social Security Death Index and Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

 * 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.

For more information, see Ohio Obituaries and Ohio Cemeteries.

Step 5: Search military records: World War I and World War II draft cards.

 * There are many different types of military records, some covered in online collections, some microfilmed, and some requiring you to order them from government repositories with a fee. For more information, read the U.S. Military Records Class Handout. 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.

World War I Draft Registration

 * One of the most helpful military records is the draft registration of 1917-1918. During three separate registrations, men born between 1873-1897 were required to register in the draft for World War I. Cards may give birth date, birth place, residence, occupation, employer, physical description, next of kin (usually the wife or mother), and number of dependents. Search for your male relatives born in this time period at.

World War II Draft Registration
Likewise, the World War II draft in 1942 may give birth date, birth place, residence, occupation, employer, and other family members as contacts. Search for your male relatives born in this time period at
 * , 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 your 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 are the next goal. Immigration refers to people coming into a country, such as the United States, and emigration refers to people leaving a country to go to another. Usually these records are passenger lists of the ships they sailed on. A typical record will show name, age, and country of origin, but in ship lists after 1906 you can find the actual town of birth, the next of kin still living in the old country and their residence, and the names of relatives in the place they are traveling to.

Immigration records
Passenger lists and border crossing lists are the most common immigration records. There are many immigration records available. Click here to see a complete list of available immigration records online. Notice that they are listed by state, but under the letter "U" there is a long list of records that cover all of the United States. Unless family information tells you the port where family arrived, you will need to search all of the United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records for the time period when your ancestors arrived.

There are also some immigration records unique to Ohio:


 * The Wales-Ohio Project.
 * , index and images
 * Ohio, Crew List Arrivals, 1929-1958, ($) index
 * Ohio, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1952-1963, ($) index

Naturalization (Citizenship) Records
Naturalization is the process of becoming a citizen. Records can include the immigrant's declaration of intent to become a citizen, petitions for citizenship, and final certificate of naturalization. Naturalization records after 1906 can show birth date and place, spouse's name, marriage date and place, and lists of children with their birth dates.

Ohio naturalization records could be recorded at the county court or the Federal District or Circuit Court. You must look for them in both locations. Try searching first in any county where the person lived, unless the census tells you the year they were naturalized, and you have evidence of where they lived that year. If you cannot locate them in the county records, try searching for them in the Federal courts.
 * , 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

Local histories

 * Published histories of towns, counties, and states usually contain biographies and accounts of early or prominent families.
 * Here are several websites that feature online copies of printed county histories:
 * Hathi Trust Digital Library. Don't use the keywords 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
 * Internet Archive.Use keywords "Ohio" and the county name.
 * Genealogy Book Links, Ohio. Browse list; county histories are interspersed.
 * Ancestry.com, ($). In the Card Catalog search box, use Ohio and the name of the county.


 * 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 out about local histories the library has by checking the FamilySearch Catalog. In the "place" field, type the name of your county and select it from the drop down list, then click "Search". A list of subheadings for the county will appear. Local histories containing genealogies and biographies will be found under Biography, Genealogy, History, and History - Indexes.

Biographies
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 10: Contact a county historical or genealogical society.
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 * County 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 county. :*Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area from other distant relatives who may actually have more family memorabilia than you.
 * 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 county. :*Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area from other distant relatives who may actually have more family memorabilia than you.


 * If you can find the society on the internet, 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, you can hire one of their members 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 12: 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. This can help you with other records kept on a county level.  Adams Allen Ashland Ashtabula Athens Auglaize Belmont 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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