Stark County, Ohio Genealogy

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

Ohio Online Genealogy Records

Stark County, Ohio Record Dates

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Columbiana County in1808 (1809).
 * County Seat: Canton

Description
The county was named for John Stark, Revolutionary War General known as the "Hero of Bennington". It's county seat is Canton and was founded February 13, 1808. It is located in the North-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
Summit County • Portage County • Mahoning County • Columbiana County • Carroll County • Tuscarawas County • Holmes County • Wayne County

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

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

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


 * Canton

Lutheran

 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Massillon, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60722/ ($).

Court Records
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Ohio, Stark County Court Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Local Histories

 * Perrin, William Henry, History of Stark County: With an Outline Sketch of Ohio, (Chicago, Illinois: Barkin and Battey, 1881). Digital copy at FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($)(Indexed);


 * Blue, Herbert T.O., History of Stark County, Ohio: From the Age of Prehistoric Man to the Present Day, (Chicago, Illinois: S. J. Clark Pub. Co., 1928).


 * Lehman, John H., A Standard History of Stark County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the Past, (Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Pub. Co., 1916). Digital copy at FamilySearch Digital Library;


 * Danner, John, Old Landmarks of Canton and Stark County, Ohio, (Logansport, Indiana: B.F. Bowen, 1904).

Land and Property
'''Stark County in fact has its own online digital archives system where all deeds and mortgages can be viewed by making a free account. Simply go to the Stark County Recorder's Office Website, click on "Archive Search Instructions"  and "Search Archives" in the left hand column, and follow the instructions carefully to find any land records available.'''

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War
Civil War service men from Stark 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 Stark County.


 * Ohio Genealogical Society. Stark County Chapter. Special schedules of the eleventh census of the United States, 1890 : schedules enumerating union veterans and widows of union veterans of the Civil War for Stark County, Ohio. (North Canton, Ohio : Ohio Genealogical Society. Stark County Chapter, 1995),(


 * - 4th Regiment, Ohio Infantry (3 months, 1861), Company F (also known as Canton Zouaves)
 * - 104th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies A, B, and E
 * - 107th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies A, D, and H

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
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.
 * 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
Stark County Courthouse 110 Central Plaza S; Canton, OH 44702-2219 Phone: 330.438.0796 County Health Department has birth records; Probate Court has marriage and probate records; Family Court has divorce records; County Recorder has land records

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Ohio, Stark County Coroner's Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Family History Centers

 * Canton Ohio Family History Center (North Canton)

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

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1841-2003 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm
 * 1789-2013 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1800-1958 - at FamilySearch — free; Index.
 * 1800-1942 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage ($) — index

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.
 * 1908-1932, 1938-2018 Ohio, Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018 at Ancestry.com ($) — index and images
 * Ohio, Stark County Court Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Websites

 * Stark County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Stark County OH Genealogy
 * 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.