Butler County, Ohio Genealogy

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

Ohio Online Genealogy Records

Butler County, Ohio Record Dates

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Hamilton County 24 March 1803.
 * County Seat: Hamilton

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:

Neighboring Counties
Hamilton County • Warren County • Montgomery County • Preble County • Union County, Indiana • Franklin County, Indiana • Dearborn County, Indiana

Description
The county was named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 fighting Indians in northern Ohio. It's county seat is Hamilton and was founded 1803. It is located in the Western area of the state.

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Ohio county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Ohio County Boundary Maps" (1788-1888) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
1912 Although the Butler County Courthouse was reported to have been destroyed by fire on March 14, 1912, it was really only the original, four-tiered, domed tower which was capped with a statue of Justice that was destroyed. The courthouse still stands and is being used today by the Probate Court. County records were saved by spectators and courthouse employees who carried them out of the building.

Bible Records
For an extensive list of resources for Bible Records see Ohio Bible Records.

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 * Hamilton

Directories

 * Rural Directory, Butler County, 1932-1934

Genealogy

 * Miami Valley Genealogy Index is an Index to more than a half million pointers to records all over Miami Valley including Butler County.

Local History

 * A History and biographical cyclopaedia of Butler County, Ohio: with illustrations and sketches of its representative men and pioneers (Cincinnati, Ohio: Western Biographical Pub. Co., 1882) Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library;
 * Bartlow, Bert S., Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio ([Indianapolis, Ind.] : B. F. Bowen &amp; Co., 1905) Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library;

Land and Property

 * 1836 - Butler County 1836 land ownership maps Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
 * 1790-1907 - Bureau of Land Management index Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Butler County, Ohio War Veteran Database search
 * Soldiers, Sailors &amp; Pioneers Monument on the site of Fort Hamilton in Hamilton
 * Veteran Searches: Military Discharge Search

World War I

 * 1914-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1914-1918 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1916-1920 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * various years - community contributed newspaper articles Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

The following is a list of newspapers published in Butler County through 1900.

Butler County Democrat. (Middletown, Ohio) 185?-185? Butler County Democrat. (Hamilton, Ohio) 187?-1923 Butler County Democrat. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1870-1870 Butler County Democrat. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1874-19?? Butler County Democrat. And True Telegraph. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1870-1874 The Butler County Press. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946 The Butler County Signal. (Middletown, Ohio) 19??-19?? The College Corner Chronicle. (West College Corner, Ind.) 1891-190? The Corner Stone. (College Corner [i.e. West College Corner], Ind.) 1872-187? The Daily Journal. (Middletown, Ohio) 18??-18?? The Daily Press. (Rossville, Butler County, O. [Ohio]) 1851-1851 The Daily Republican-news. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1898-1919 The Daily Signal. (Middletown, Ohio) 1891-1907 Daily Telegraph. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1860-18?? Democracy Untrammeled, and Butler County Investigator. (Rossville, Ohio) 1849-1849 The Free Soil banner. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1848-1848 Hamilton Advertiser. (Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio) 1825-1826 Hamilton Daily Democrat. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1886-1897 Hamilton Daily Herald. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1885-1887 Hamilton Daily News. (Hamilton, [Ohio]) 1879-1898 The Hamilton Daily Republican. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1892-1898 Hamilton Evening Democrat. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1897-1907 The Hamilton Gazette &amp; Miami Register. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1819-1821 The Hamilton Gooroo. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1876-19?? Hamilton Intelligencer. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1828-1837 Hamilton Intelligencer. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1840-1862 Hamilton Intelligencer &amp; Advertiser. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1821-1825 The Hamilton Ohio Advertiser. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1826-1827 Hamilton Ohio Intelligencer. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1838-1840 Hamilton Register. (Hamilton, Ohio) 18??-???? Hamilton Socialist. (Hamilton, Ohio) 19??-19?? Hamilton Telegraph. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1847-1851 Hamilton Telegraph. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1853-1857 Hamilton Telegraph. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1861-19?? Hamilton True Telegraph. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1861-1870 Hamilton Weekly Telegraph. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1851-1853 Harrison Democrat. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1840-1840 The Hickory Club. (Rossville, Ohio) 1838-1838 The Hickory Club. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1840-1840 The Investigator. (Oxford, Ohio) 1886-18?? The Miami Democrat. (Rossville, Ohio) 1850-1851 Miami Echo, and the Hamilton and Rossville Advertiser. (Hamilton, Ohio ;) 1842-1842 The Miami Herald. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1817-1819 Miami Intelligencer. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1814-1816 The Miami Journal. (Miami University, Oxford, Ohio) 1886-18?? [http://digital.lib.muohio.edu/mustudent/ Miami Student. (Oxford, Ohio) 1867-current] The Middletown Daily Signal. (Middletown, Ohio) 18??-1891 Middletown Farmer. (Middletown, Ohio) 1840-1841 Middletown Herald. (Middletown, Butler County, Ohio) 1853-1855 The Middletown Journal. (Middletown, Ohio) 1891-current Middletown Emblem. (Middletown, Butler County, Ohio) 1851-1853 The Middletown Journal. (Middletown, Ohio) 1857-1912 The Middletown Mail. (Middletown, [Ohio]) 1839-1840 The Middletown Signal. (Middletown, Ohio) 18??-19?? Murray's Weekly Volunteer. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1822-1825 The Ohio Independent Press. (Rossville, Butler County, Ohio) 1830-18?? The Oxford Advertiser. ([Oxford, Ohio]) 19??-19?? Oxford Chronicle. (Oxford, [Ohio]) 1834-18?? The Oxford Citizen. (Oxford, Ohio) 1854-1892 The Oxford Enterprise. (Oxford, Ohio) 1881-18?? The Oxford Leader. (Oxford, Ohio) 1882-18?? Oxford Lyceum and Journal of Literature and Science. (Oxford, Ohio) 1833-1834 The Oxford News. (Oxford, Ohio) 1886-1892 The Oxford News. (Oxford, Ohio) 1893-1909 Oxford News-Citizen. (Oxford, Ohio) 1892-1893 The Philanthropist. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1816-1817 The Reily Courier. (Reily, Ohio) 18??-19?? The Rossville Advertiser. (Rossville, Ohio) 1849-1849 The Scott battery. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1852-1852 The True Gazette. (Hamilton, O.) 187?-1??? The Volunteer. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1821-1822 Weekly Hamilton Telegraph. (Hamilton, [Ohio]) 1858-1861 The Western Telegraph. (Rossville [Hamilton], Ohio) 1836-1847

Western Round-Up (Western College, Oxford, Ohio) 1930-1971 Western Telegraph and Butler County Ohio Advertiser. (Rossville, [Ohio]) 1833-1836 Western Telegraph, and Hamilton Ohio Advertiser. (Hamilton, Ohio) 1827-1831 &lt;br&gt;

Probate
Online Probate Records
 * 1786 - 1998 Ohio Wills and Probate Records 1786-1998 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1789 - 1996 at FamilySearch.org — images
 * 1790–1967 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. This collection consists of probate records and estate files from county courthouses in Ohio. The content and time period varies by county, with more records being added as they become available. This Collection will include records from 1789 to 1996. Currently, (September 2012) the collection is only searchable by browsing the images. A list of Fires that have destroyed records in the courthouses of several counties are listed on the Record Description page.
 * 1811-1869 - community contributed wills Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Repositories

 * Butler County, Ohio Records Center and Archives 123 North Third St . Hamilton, Ohio 45011 . (513) 887-3437

Courthouse
Butler County Courthouse 315 High Street Hamilton, OH 45011-2756 Phone: 513.887.3278

County Health Department has birth and death records. Probate Judge has marriage and probate records. Court Clerk has divorce and court records. County Auditor has land records.

Family History Centers

 * Middletown Ohio Family History Center
 * Oxford Ohio Family History Center
 * West Chester Ohio Family History Center
 * Fairfield/Hamilton Ohio Family History Center

Libraries

 * Hamilton Lane Library 300 North Third Street . Hamilton, Ohio 45011 . (513) 894-7156
 * Lane Libraries serving Hamilton . Fairfield . Oxford Locations
 * Middletown, West Chester, Trenton Public Libraries Middletown Branch . 125 South Broad Street . Middletown, Ohio 45044 . (513) 424-1251
 * Midpointe Library System Genealogy Collection
 * Smith Library of Regional History A Department of the Oxford Lane Public Library, 441 S. Locust Street Oxford, Ohio 45056 . (513) 523-3035

Societies

 * Butler County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society
 * Butler County Historical Society
 * Butler-Warren County African American Historical Society] 4521 Poppy Drive (P.O. Box 715) . Middletown, Ohio . (513) 424-1791
 * Southwest Butler County Genealogical Society

Online Genealogy Research Groups

 * U.S. Midwest Genealogy Research Community - FamilySearch Facebook Research Group
 * Ohio Ancestors - FamilySearch Community group, must have a free FamilySearch account to join
 * U.S. and Canada Genealogy Research - FamilySearch Community group, must have a free FamilySearch account to join
 * U.S. and Canada Genealogy Research - FamilySearch Community group, must have a free FamilySearch account to join

Taxation

 * 1800-1950 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1800-1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1800-1962 - Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1821–1962 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. This is an incomplete index of extractions of original records and of patron-submitted records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. Information may have been previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.
 * 1841-2003 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1908-1964 - Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964 at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry.com ($) — index
 * various years - community contributed births Courtesy of OhioGenWeb

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * 1789-2013 - at FamilySearch — index and images. Name index and images of county marriage records acquired from local courthouses.
 * 1800-1958 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. Name index to marriage records from the state of Ohio. Microfilm copies 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.
 * 1800-1942 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1908-1964 - Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964 at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * various years - community contributed births Courtesy of OhioGenWeb

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1840-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1854–1997 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. Name index to death and burial records from the state of Ohio. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. This set contains 2,535,556 records. 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.
 * 1908-1953 - Ohio Deaths Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch. Records include such information as birth date of deceased, city, county, and state of death, name of spouse if married, names of parents, maiden name of mother, name of informant, if deceased was single, married, windowed or divorced, occupation of deceased.
 * 1908–1932, 1938–1944, and 1958–2007 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. Index of deaths from the Ohio Department of Health in Columbus. Index provided by Ancestry.com.
 * 1908-2007 - Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007 at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1908-1932, 1938-2018 Ohio, Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018 at Ancestry.com ($) — index and images
 * 1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($) — index
 * various years - Ohio Death Index searchable database courtesy of OhioGenWeb

Original Death Records on Microfilm 

Divorce

 * 1962-2007 - Ohio Divorce Index, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007 at ancestry.com ($)

Websites

 * Butler County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Butler County OH Genealogy
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook*Butler County Ohio Resources Links
 * Butler County Rootsweb site