Ohio Genealogical Society

Purpose of the Society
Mission of the Ohio Genealogical Society

The Ohio Genealogical Society is the largest state genealogical society in the United States. Its mission is to meet the educational needs of its members and the general public through the acquisition, preservation, and dissemination of genealogical and historical information.

OGS is a non-profit organization, incorporated under Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3) whose purposes are:

Fostering an interest in all of the peoples who contributed in any way to the establishment and perpetuation of the state of Ohio. Searching for the reasons and forces behind the migration of early settlers into this state. Preserving and safeguarding manuscripts, books, and memorabilia relating to the early settlers of Ohio. Securing and holding copyrights, master copies and plates of books, periodicals, tracts, and pamphlets of genealogical and historical interest to the people of Ohio. Publishing, printing, buying, selling and circulating literature regarding the purposes, records, acquisitions and discoveries of the Society. Aiding others in the publication and dissemination of materials pertaining to Ohio, including biography and family and local history. Receiving and holding gifts and bequests from any source for the benefit of the Society, disposing of such gifts and bequests not needed and using funds derived therefrom solely for the purposes of the Society. Doing all things incidental to the perpetuation of the purposes of the Society, and exercising the powers legally and properly requisite thereto.

Help the Society Can Provide
The OGS Library is an indispensable resource for Ohio genealogy.


 * Over 40,000 books alphabetically by state/county/subject
 * Ohio published histories and genealogical references


 * Large family history section
 * 250,000 ancestor cards alphabetical by surname
 * 4,000 Family Bible records, indexed
 * Century Families of Ohio files
 * First Families of Ohio files, with over 10,000 pre-1821 Ohio settlers
 * Settlers and Builders of Ohio files
 * Society of Civil War Families of Ohio files
 * Various Ohio county court records on microfilm
 * Ancestor Charts filed by member surname
 * Eight cabinets of family files
 * Complete set of Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly (formerly The Report), OGS Genealogy News, Ohio Records &amp; Pioneer Families, Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal, Gateway to the West and other periodicals
 * Ohio Cadastral Map Collection (Land owners)
 * Ohio census 1820-1940, Indexes
 * Newsletters from 100 OGS Chapters
 * Original 1880 Census volumes
 * 1000 CD ROM titles, computer stations, Internet access
 * County and City Directories for Ohio
 * Yearbooks
 * Over 300 manuscript collections
 * International Genealogical Index, Ancestral File, for World

Record Collections

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Indexes for (add County/town/state name here)



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Publications In the Society's Holdings

Books



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Periodicals



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Family Files



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Misc



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Publications for Sale

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Look-up Services

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Local Repositories Society Members Visit



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Benefits to Those Who Join the Society
Cost of membership and how to join:

Unlimited Online Access to:


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Newsletter/Periodical:

Free Look-ups:


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Field Trips:

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Meetings
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Workshops
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Board Meetings
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Indexing

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Other Projects

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Past Projects

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The Ohio Genealogical Society has a free database with genealogical data. it is located under the Database Tab on their homepage. If you are researching a lot in Ohio, it may be worth joining, which will give you access to much more material.