Hamilton County, Ohio Genealogy

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County Courthouses
Hamilton County Courthouse 1000 Main St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

William Howard Taft Center 230 E. Ninth St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

The records are maintained by the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts. The Hamilton County Courts are located downtown in several different buildings. The Court of Common Pleas, Municipal Court, Small Claims Court and Clerk of Courts are in the Hamilton County Courthouse. The William Howard Taft Center is the location of the Probate Court and the First District Court of Appeals. Directions and parking options are on the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts website. Detailed contact information can also be found on their website. See Resources, Court below for information on record availability and location.

Federal Courts in Hamilton County
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio Office of the Clerk Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse, Room 103 100 East Fifth Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Directions and hours can be found on their website. In addition to Hamilton County, this is also the District Court for Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Highland, Lawrence, Scioto and Warren counties in Ohio. Place of Recourse: History of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, 1803-2003 provides a detailed history of the court including many examples. The history is particularly helpful to researchers as it details the evolution of the court and its jurisdictional history. See Resources, Court below for information on U.S. District Court record availability and location.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse 100 East Fifth St. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 513-564-7000

Directions to the court are on their website. In addition to Ohio, this is also the U.S. Court of Appeals for Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. The courthouse also contains a library that serves the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, District Courts, and Bankruptcy Courts. The library is a repository for the Federal Depository Library Program. See Resources, Court below for information on Circuit Court record availability and location.

Parent Jurisdictions
Hamilton County was created 2 Jan 1790 as an original county in the Northwest Territory. In 1803, Ohio became a state with Hamilton County as one of the original counties.

County seat: Cincinnati

Record Loss
Many court records were destroyed by fire in 1814, 1849 and 1884. Very few Court of Common Pleas and Probate Court records survived the fires. Fortunately, the original Will files survived and Will Books were reconstructed from the files. Work by William Graver has determined that the Recorder's deed and mortgage record books are complete. It was previously believed that some of the volumes were missing. The confusion was caused by an unusual numbering system employed by the Recorder.

Populated Places
A Gazetteer of Hamilton Co., Ohio 1784-1986 can be found in Guide to Genealogical Resources in Cincinnati &amp; Hamilton Co., Ohio, 6th Edition.

Cincinnati

Terrace Park, Ohio Building Survey contains history of every building in the village with stories, photos, census and a deed index. The site also includes genealogy records for former residents.

The following populated placed can be found in the Family History Library catalog: Addyston, Anderson Township, Bevis, Bridgetown, Camp Dennison, Carthage, Cincinnati, Colerain Township, College Hill, Columbia, Columbia Township, Crosby Township, Cumminsville, Delhi Township, Elmwood Place, Fairfield, Fernbank, Fulton, Glendale, Green Township, Harrison, Lockland, Madisonville, Miami Heights, Monfort Heights, Montgomery, New Haven, North Bend, Norwood, Reading, Sayler Park, Springdale, Springfield Township, St. Bernard, Sycamore Township, The Village of Indian Hill, White Oak, Whitewater

Townships
Anderson, Cincinnati, Colerain, Columbia, Crosby, Delhi, Green, Harrison, Miami, Millcreek (defunct), Spencer, Springfield, Storrs (defunct), Sycamore, Symmes, Whitewater

Neighboring Counties

 * Boone County, Kentucky
 * Butler County, Ohio
 * Campbell County, Kentucky
 * Clermont County, Ohio
 * Dearborn County, Indiana
 * Franklin County, Indiana
 * Kenton County, Kentucky
 * Warren County, Ohio

Cemeteries
A list of Hamilton County's active cemeteries is in The Guide including their addresses, dates of establishment, indexes and/or websites. There is a map showing the locations of both current and defunct cemeteries. The Guide also has an annotated listing of active and defunct burial sites compiled by Mary H. Remler. Hamilton County Genealogical Society (HCGS) has published many cemetery records. For a complete list, see HCGS Publications.

Cemetery Deeds and Lot Owner Deeds

 * Cemetery deeds (1859-1934) FHL US/CAN Film 344600, 344601
 * Cemetery lot owner deeds are indexed in The Tracer. See ‘TRACER, Article Index, 1979-2008’ for descriptions and issue numbers.

Cemetery Records

 * Bevis - Cedar Grove Cemetery (1870-1930) FHL US/CAN Film 1544104
 * St. Aloysius Gonzaga Cemetery FHL US/CAN Film 1703689 Item 2
 * Wesleyan Cemetery, 1842-1994, Hamilton County, Ohio 1418410 Item 1-2, 1838212
 * Cemetery records indexed in The Tracer can be found using PERSI or ‘TRACER, Article Index, 1979-2008’.

Cemetery Records Available Online

 * Gate of Heaven Cemetery
 * Mt. Washington Cemetery
 * Oak Hill Cemetery
 * Rest Haven Memorial Park
 * Spring Grove Cemetery
 * St. Joseph New Cemetery
 * Walnut Hills Cemetery
 * Wesleyan Cemetery

U.S. Population Census Schedules
Population schedules are widely available on microfilm and on the internet for 1820-1880, 1890 Veteran’s Census, 1900-1930 including indexes of varying quality and completeness. Tax and voter lists can serve as partial substitutes prior to 1820.

U.S. Nonpopulation Census Schedules
U.S. Special census schedules are available on microfilm through the NARA, and on microfilm at the State Library of Ohio and Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.


 * 1850 Agriculture: T1159,Roll 4
 * 1860 Agriculture: NARA T1159, Roll 20
 * 1870 Agriculture Recapitulation: NARA T1159, Roll 31
 * 1870 Agriculture: NARA T1159, Roll 36
 * 1850 Industry: NARA T1159, Roll 12
 * 1870 Industry: NARA T1159, Roll 46
 * 1880 Industry: NARA T1159, Roll 94
 * 1850 Mortality: NARA T1159, Roll 14 also available on Ancestry.com
 * 1860 Mortality: NARA T1159, Roll 29 also available on Ancestry.com
 * 1880 Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes: NARA T1159, Roll 99

State Census
There are no state census records for Ohio. Tax lists, voter lists and directories can be used as a partial substitute.

Church

 * Numerous church records are available on microfilm at both the PLCH and through the Family History Library. A list of microfilms at the PLCH is in their card catalog and in a Guide to Genealogical Resources in Cincinnati &amp; Hamilton Co., Ohio, 6th Edition.  Hamilton County Genealogical Society (HCGS) has published many church baptismal, marriage and burial records. For a complete list, see HCGS Publications and ‘TRACER, Article Index, 1979-2008’.
 * This is a partial listing of microfilm available through the Family History Library: 0974060, 1510039, 1510042, 1510044, 1510055, 1510056, 1510057, 1510072, 1514042, 1514059, 1514063, 1514070, 1548046, 1548049, 1630318, 1686036, 1686037, 1845262, 1902451, 1954690, 1955128, 1955202, 1987642, 1987643, 2020899, 2030565, 2048136.  A more complete listing is being prepared.

Court
''In the courts outlined below, several state and federal courts are included. Depending on the time period, these courts held either original or appelate jurisdiction for Hamilton Co., Ohio.''

Justice of the Peace - Township
The University of Cincinnati Archives holds township Justice of the Peace records for the following townships: Cincinnati Twp Civil Docket (1846-1900), Cincinnati Twp Criminal Dockets (1860-1913), Cincinnati Twp Apprenticeship Book (1862-1898), Delhi Twp Criminal Docket (1853-1905), Millcreek Twp Criminal Docket (1853-1863, 1881-1890), Whitewater Twp Civil Docket (1860-1876, 1910-1911), Whitewater Twp Criminal Docket (1860-1931).

Hamilton Co,, Ohio Court of Common Pleas (1787- )/Cincinnati Municipal Court
The Hamilton County Clerk of Courts maintains the court records of Hamilton County and the Municipal court. Many of the early court records have been moved to the University of Cincinnati Archives or the Cincinnati Historical Society. The Hamilton County Courthouse has the following records available on microfilm: Naturalization Records (1850-1893), Declarations of Intent (1842-1926), Court Dockets (1884-present), Certified Judgments (1884-present), Pending Suits (1884-present), Judgments (1884-present), Law Suits and Divorces (1884-1994) and Criminal and Civil Records (1884-present). The Hamilton County Clerk of Courts website has a searchable database of cases that indexes many of these records. Early records may only contain a list of litigants. Many cases tried after 1884 involved property or estates from earlier time periods. It is worthwhile to search the records for all your ancestors.

Hamilton Co., Ohio Probate Court

 * Estate settlement matters were handled by different courts in different time periods. See Probate below.
 * The Hamilton County Probate Court has digitized and made available many different records including Minister's Licenses (1963-1975), and Physician Certificates (1919-1987). See also Probate and Immigration, Naturalization and Citizenship.
 * The University of Cincinnati Archives holds many of the county's Court of Common Pleas and Probate Court original records. For a partial list of UC Archives holdings, see A Guide to Genealogical Resources in Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio, 6th Edition or Inventory of Government Documents for Eight Counties of Southwest Ohio.

Hamilton County Circuit Court (1883-1912)
The FHL has Hamilton County Circuit Court Records 1844-1847 with a Diary, 1856-1861 of Charles Morton as a manuscript on microfilm FHL US/CAN Film 897439 Item 2.

Ohio Supreme Court (1803-present)
Prior to 1851, the Ohio Supreme Court sessions involving Hamilton Co., Ohio cases were held and recorded in Hamilton County. Many of the records were lost due to courthouse fires. Prior to 1823, there was no provision for recording Ohio Supreme Court decisions. From 1823-1851 the court met annually in Columbus to review cases that decided questions of law - these sessions were referred to as the Supreme Court in bank. The decisions of the Supreme Court in bank were published in a series of books titled, Cases decided in the Supreme Court of Ohio in bank. The following volumes are available through Google books: Vol. 1, Dec 1823 &amp; Dec 1824; Vol. 2, Dec. 1825. Other published sources available through Google books include: Reports of Cases at Law and in Chancery decided by the Supreme Court of Ohio 1831-1834, Condensed reports of decisions in the Supreme Court of Ohio, Volumes 6-7.

US Federal District Court (1803-present)
The U.S. Federal District Court Records from 1803-1982 are in Record Group 21 at the Chicago Branch of the NARA. The U.S. Federal District Court Records include 7 volumes of Chancery Record Books, 1869-1915. Chancery records can be rich sources of genealogical information as they include the records of disputed estate settlements. The US Federal District Court also has Naturalization Records, 1852-1966.

U.S. Federal Circuit Courts, (1807-1911)
The U.S. Circuit Court Records from 1807-1911 are in Record Group 21 at the Chicago Branch of the NARA. The U.S. Circuit Court Records include 90 volumes of Chancery Record Books, 1828-1911. Chancery records can be rich sources of genealogical information as they include the records of disputed estate settlements.

Directories
The PLCH Virtual Library has City Directories for the following years available online: 1819, 1825, 1829, 1831, 1834, 1836-7,1839-40,1842,1843,1846,1848-1923. “Cincinnati and Hamilton County Directories” gives an excellent analysis of available directories and their use in research. The article includes a detailed accounting of changes in directory listings and contents over time including pointing out directories with unique personal or historical content.

Genealogy and Local History

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

Immigration, Naturalization and Citizenship

 * The Hamilton County Probate Court has digitized and made available many different records including Naturalizations (1856-1906).
 * The UC Archives has indexed Hamilton County Ohio Citizenship Records, 1837-1916. The indexes are available online at their website.

Land
The Hamilton County Recorder's office has the 7-series by-area indexes available online. These are not the by-name indexes. By-name indexes for Hamilton County are incomplete.

Maps
Volumes 1-4, 1904-1930, of Cincinnati Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps are now available on the PLCH Virtual Library. For the geographic areas covered by each volume, go to the volume’s first page following the index pages.

Military

 * Civil War service men from Hamilton 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 Hamilton County.


 * - 1st Regiment, Ohio Cavalry, Company C, also known as "Pope's Escort" and "Shield's Body Guard" and Company G with many men from Clermont
 * -106th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies A, B, C, E, G, H, I, and K
 * - Bard's Independent Company, Ohio Cavalry Militia
 * - Burdsal's Independent Company, Ohio Cavalry

Probate

 * The Hamilton County Probate Court has digitized and made available many different records types including Estates (1791-1984), Wills (1791-1973), Trusts (1791-1984), Guardianships (1791-1984) and Probate Court Journal Entries (1791-1837). Probate Court Journal Entries have been transcribed in Abstract of Book 1 and Book A, Probate Record 1791-1826; Abstract of Book 3, Probate Record 1829-1834; and Abstract of Book 4, Probate Record, 1834-1837. The original books are held by the University of Cincinnati Archives - designated as 'Original Entry Books'.
 * The University of Cincinnati Archives has indexed Hamilton County Ohio Wills, 1791-1901. The indexes are available online at their website.
 * The Hamilton County, Ohio Genealogical Society is currently creating a master index of Will Books (1918-1973). If you would be interested in participating, please contact HCOGSIndexing@gmail.com.

Vital Records

 * Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953 Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch Record Search. 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
 * The Hamilton County Probate Court has digitized and made available many different records types including Births (1863-1908), Marriages (1808-1983), and Deaths (1881-1908). These records are indexed in FamilySearch Record Search.  With the volume and page number from FamilySearch Record Search, the original records can be viewed at the Hamilton County Probate Court.  Indexes are as follows: Birth Records (1863-1908) are indexed in Ohio Births and Christenings 1821-1962 Marriage Records (1801-1931) are indexed in Ohio Marriages, 1800-1958 Death Records (1881-1908) are indexed in Ohio Deaths and Burials 1854-1997
 * The University of Cincinnati Archives has received an LSTA Grant to Digitize Cincinnati Birth and Death Records. Access to those records is expected in August 2010.

Societies
Hamilton County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society

P. O. Box 15865 Cincinnati, OH 45215-0865 (513) 956-7078 http://chgsohio.org

Many indexes are available at the website.

Libraries
Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

800 Vine Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-2009 513-369-6900

Cincinnati Historical Society

1301 Western Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio 45203 Phone: 513-287-7030 Fax: 513-287-7095 library@cincymuseum.org

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * The Hamilton County Probate Court has digitized many of its records and made them available online.
 * The Hamilton County Probate Court has digitized many of its records and made them available online.

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