Marion County, Ohio Genealogy

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

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Delaware County 12 February 1820.
 * County Seat: Marion

Description
The county was named for General Francis "The Swamp Fox" Marion, an officer in the Revolutionary War. It's county seat is Marion and was founded April 1, 1820. It is located in the Mid-Central area of the state.

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
Hardin County •  Hardin County  •  Delaware County  •  Morrow County  •  Crawford County  •  Wyandot County

Boundary Changes

 * 1848: Marion County gave up land for the formation of Morrow County in February. The Townships of Canaan, Cardington, Gilead, Morven and Washington were detached from Marion County and were transferred to Morrow County.


 * In return for this loss of land, Big Rock Township was detached from Delaware County Ohio and given to Marion County; afterward its name was changed to Waldo Township.

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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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

History
Marion County Ohio is one of the numerous counties in the United States named in honor for Gen. Francis Marion, "The Swamp Fox," who served in the Revolutionary War Brigadier General Francis Marion(c1732-1795). No member of the Marion family was involved in the establishment of the county, and the name is merely an honoraium.

Local Histories

 * Leggett, Conaway, The History of Marion County, Ohio: Containing a History of the County, Its Townships, Towns, Churches, Schools, etc., (Chicago, Illinois: Leggett, Conaway and Co., 1883). Digital copy at Internet Archive


 * Jacoby, John Wilbur, History of Marion County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, (Chicago, Illinois: Biographical Pub. Co., 1907).

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War
Service men from Marion 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 Marion County.


 * - 4th Regiment, Ohio Infantry (3 months, 1861), Companies H and K
 * - 96th Regiment
 * Company D (both Marion and Morrow Counties), roster
 * Company E, roster

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
Online Newspapers Online Newspaper Abstracts Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

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.

Courthouse
Marion County Courthouse 100 N Main Street Marion, OH 43302 Phone: 740.387.8128 Probate Court has marriage and probate records; City Health Department has birth and death records from 1908; Public Library has birth and death records 1867-1908; Clerk Court has divorce and court records; County records has land records

County Records are kept by the offices of the county government as proscribed by Ohio law and are subject to the public records retention policy of the State of Ohio.

The physical location of most original records (those not lost to fire, flood or other act of God) are kept in the offices of the elected officials who oversee a particular function of government.

Family History Centers

 * Marion 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.

Societies
The county is served by a membership based genealogical society, the Marion Area Genealogical Society, also known by its acronym of MAGS. The society is a chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. The society maintains open help days on Saturday afternoons at the Brinker Howser Resource Center, in the lower level of the Marion County Historical Society, 169 E. Church Street, Marion, Ohio 43302, 614-387-4255.

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

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage

 * 1789-2013 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1800-1958 - at FamilySearch — free; Index.
 * 1800-1942 - at FamilySearch — index

Online Marriage Indexes and Records Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1840-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1908-1953 - 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.

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Websites

 * Marion County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Marion County OH Genealogy
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.