Ross County, Ohio Genealogy

Guide to Ross County Ohio genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

United States Ohio  Ross County

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Adams and Washington Counties in 1798.
 * County Seat: Chillicothe
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Pickaway (north)·Pike (south)·Highland (southwest)· Fayette (northwest)·Vinton (east) · Hocking (northeast) · Jackson (southeast)

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Ohio county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Ohio County Boundary Maps" (1788-1940) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
For a list of record loss in Ohio counties see: Ohio Counties with Burned Courthouses

Cemeteries

 * Cemeteries
 * Cemetery Index
 * Ross County Cemeteries
 * The Tombstone Transcription Project
 * The Political Graveyard
 * Cemeteries of Ross County
 * Many Cemetery Records for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

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

See Ohio Cemeteries for more information.

Census and Directories

 * Census
 * Census Records
 * Ross County Ohio Census
 * U. S. City Directories(Chillicothe) $
 * Canton, Ohio 1914 City Directory
 * 1820 United States Census $
 * 1830 United States Census $
 * 1840 United States Census $
 * United States Census (Mortality) 1850
 * U. S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 $
 * United States Census, 1850
 * United States Census 1850
 * United States Census, 1860
 * United States Census 1860
 * 1860 United States Census$
 * United States Census, 1870
 * United States Census 1870
 * United States Census, 1880 (Index only)
 * United States Census 1880
 * 1880 United States Census $
 * United States Census, 1900
 * United States Census 1900
 * 1910 United States Census $
 * United States Census 1910
 * United States Census, 1920
 * United States Census 1920
 * 1930 United States Census$
 * 1930 Census of Merchant Seamen $
 * The 1803 Census Records for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.
 * Many City Directories Records for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Church Records

 * Bible &amp; Church Records
 * Churches
 * Ross County, Ohio Churches
 * Topographic Map Church Features in Ross County, Ohio
 * Many Church Records for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Court Records

 * Gateways to the West$ (Includes Territorial Court Order Book, 1798-1799, 1799-1800, Index to Estates and Guardianships 1797-1820).
 * Many Court Records for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

DNA
DNA has been collected from men claiming descent from the following Ross County, Ohio residents. Attempts have not been made to verify the lineages of those tested.


 * [Wright] Descendant of Gabriel Wright, b. c1743, d. 1803 Ross County, Ohio. Y-DNA Test, FTDNA (Kit 280291). Genetic signature available at Relatives of Dan Stone - Wright DNA Results and at Wright DNA Surname Project Results, courtesy: Dan Stone, Wright DNA Surname Project and Family Tree DNA.

Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups

 * Many Minority Records for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Funeral Homes

 * Funeral Homes in Ross County, Ohio

Local Histories

 * Bennett, Henry Holcomb, The County of Ross: A History of Ross County, Ohio, From the Earliest Days, (Madison, Wisconsin: S.A. Brant, 1902). Digital copy at Google Books Ancestry ($)(Indexed)


 * Evans, Lyle S., A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular Attention to the Modern Era in the Commercial, Industrial, Civic and Social Development, (Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 1987). Digital copy at Google Books Ancestry ($)(Indexed)


 * Finley, Isaac J. and Rufus Putnam, Pioneer Record and Reminiscences of the Early Settlers and Settlement of Ross County, Ohio, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Robert Clarke, 1871). Digital copy at Internet Archive


 * History of Ross and Highland Counties Ohio, (Cleveland, Ohio: Williams Bros., 1880). Digital copy


 * Perkins, George, Pioneer Sketches, Life in the Northwest Territory and Ross County, Ohio: 1600s-1896, (Chillicothe, Ohio: Ross County Genealogical Society, 1999).


 * Articles &amp; Stories
 * Biographies
 * Histories
 * Biographiesextracted from The County of Ross: by Henry Holcomb Bennett 1902
 * County History
 * Biographical Sketches
 * Many History Records for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Land and Property

 * Land Records
 * Land Patent Search
 * U. S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 $
 * Many Land Records for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)
 * Ross County Ohio Maps
 * Map of Ross County Ohio With Municipal and Township Labels
 * Many Maps for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

General

 * Many Military Records for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.
 * Military Records
 * Military Records for Ohio Counties

Civil War

 * Civil War service men from Ross 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 Ross County.


 * - 1st Regiment, Ohio Cavalry, Company M
 * - 1st Regiment, Ohio Heavy Artillery, Company B
 * -106th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company F

World War I

 * World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 ($)

World War II

 * United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
 * U. S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 ($)
 * Ross County, Ohio World War II Casualties Army and Air Force

Naturalization and Citizenships

 * Naturalization
 * Many Naturalization and Citizenship Records for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Newspapers
Online Newspapers


 * Obituaries
 * Chillicothe Gazette

OnlineNewspaperAbstracts


 * Bainbridge Banter $
 * Obituary Collection: Chillicothe Gazette $
 * http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~obitsindex/obits_oh_ross_01.htm Obituary Index, Ross County, Ohio]

Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

Probate

 * 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.


 * Wills &amp; Probate Records
 * Many Probate Records for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Repositories
See also a List of Ohio Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

Courthouse
Ross County Courthouse 2 N Paint Street Chillicothe, OH 45601 Phone: 740.702.3085

Probate Judge has birth, marriage, death and probate records; Clerk Court has divorce records from late 1800’s and court records; County Recorder has land records

Family History Centers

 * Chillicothe Ohio Family History Center

For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the FHC directory. Put your town name in the top search box.

Libraries

 * Ross County Libraries

Societies

 * Ross County, Ohio Genealogical Society
 * Ross County Heritage Center

Schools

 * Schools
 * Ross County School Districts

Taxation

 * Ohio Tax Records 1816-1838

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1800-1962 - Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 at ancestry.com ($)
 * Birth Records 1867-1908
 * 1908-1964 - Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964 at ancestry.com ($)

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * Orena V. Grant genealogical collection at ancestry.com ($)
 * Marriage Records
 * - at Ross County, Ohio marriage records at at ancestry.com ($)
 * Marriages 1798-1849
 * Ohio Marriages, 1803-1900 $

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * Orena V. Grant genealogical collection at ancestry.com ($)


 * Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953 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.
 * Many Divorce Records for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.
 * Ohio Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 2002 $
 * Death Records
 * Gateway to the West$ (Marriages from 1798-1809)
 * Many Vital Records for Ross County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see.

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Web Sites

 * Ross County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county. Search This Site
 * Ohio Genealogy Express
 * Ross County, Ohio Chamber of Commerce
 * Ross County, Ohio Genealogy Trails
 * Ross County, Ohio Genealogy Forum
 * Cyndi's List
 * Records ProjectRoss County Public Record Information Online
 * WikipediA Ross County, Ohio
 * Profile for Ross County, Ohio
 * Profile for Ross County, Ohio

Populated Places

 * Chillicothe
 * Histopolis (Details for Ross County, Cemeteries, Cities, Townships)
 * Ross County, Ohio

Neighboring Counties

 * Fayette
 * Highland
 * Hocking
 * Jackson
 * Pickaway
 * Pike
 * Vinton