Preble County, Ohio Genealogy

Guide to Preble 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 Butler and Montgomery Counties in 1808.
 * County Seat: Eaton

Description
The county was named for Edward Preble, a naval officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. It's county seat is Eaton and was founded March 1, 1808. It is located in the Southwest 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
Darke County • Montgomery County • Butler County • Union County, Indiana • Wayne County, Indiana

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.

Genealogy
Genealogical &amp; Historical Records of Preble County contains the scanned images of obituary and marriage records of Preble County and new records are added on a regular basis.

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

Local Histories

 * Graham, Albert Adams, History of Preble County, Ohio: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, (Cleveland, Ohio: H.Z. Williams, 1881). Digital copy at


 * Lowry, R.E., History of Preble County, Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions, (Indianapolis, Indiana: B.F. Bowen, 1915). Digital copy at Google Books


 * Hiestand, Ione Sell, Preble County, Ohio, (Eaton, Ohio: Preble County Historical Society, 1992).

Land and Property

 * Ohio Historical Inventory for Preble County this resource provides a listing of historical and architectural significant houses and buildings of Preble County.

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)
 * Atlas of Preble County, Ohio from Actual Surveys by D. J. Lake (Philadelphia: C. O. Titus, c1871)
 * Composite Collection of Cadastral Maps of Preble County, Ohio by Seth Schlotterbeck (Eaton, Ohio: Preble County Historical Society, c1978)
 * Plat Book of Preble County, Ohio: Compiled from County Records and Actual Surveys. (Des Moines, Iowa: Northwest Publishing Co., 1912)
 * Township Maps of Preble County, Ohio: Compiled from County Records and Actual Surveys. (Richmond, Indiana: F. B. Robinson, c1897)

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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

The following is a list of Preble County newspapers that are available on microfilm and owned by the Preble County District Library (PCDL), unless noted. The dates/years next to a title are the years available on microflim, and not the years published.


 * Camden Gazette (1896-1902)
 * Camden Herald (1877-1879)
 * Camden Herald and Camden Gazette (1877-1879)
 * [Camden] Preble County News (1903-1989)
 * [Eaton] Bulletin (1937-1953)
 * Eaton Democrat (1854-1856, 1875-1926, 1935-1938)
 * [Eaton] Democratic Press (1860-1865)
 * [Eaton] Gospel Herald (1847-1848)
 * Eaton Herald (1900-1901, 1906-1918)
 * Eaton Independent (1873-1874)
 * [Eaton] Ohio Graphic (1928-1990) - not ownd by PCDL
 * [Eaton] Preble County Democrat (1857-1859)
 * [Eaton] Preble County Democrat (1902-1908)
 * Eaton Register (1830-1918) [scattered issues from 1830-1875]
 * [Eaton] Register-Herald (1918-Present)
 * Eaton Semi-Weekly News (1927-1935)
 * Eaton Weekly Democract (1870-1873)
 * Eldorado Bee (1898-1901, 1908-1927)
 * Eldroado News (1927, 1930-1931)
 * Lewisburg Leader (1897-1982)
 * New Paris Graphic-Mirror (1958-1962)
 * New Paris Mirror (1883-1922, 1930-1931)
 * [West Alexandria] Record (1905-1910) - not owned by PCDL
 * [West Alexandria] Twin Valley Eco (1899-1931) - not owned by PCDL
 * [West Alexandria] Twin Valley News (Microfilm: 1955, 1973-1991; Bound vols: 1954-2010)

Currently published newspapers.


 * [Eaton ] Register-Herald
 * [West Alexandria] Twin Valley News

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.


 * 1806–1854 Preble County, Ohio Wills Vol. I and Vol. II at Ancestry.com ($) Will Abstracts.

Courthouse
Preble County Courthouse 101 E Main Street Eaton, OH 45320 Phone: 937.456.8145 Probate Judge has birth and death records from 1867, probate records from 1800 and marriage records from 1808; Clerk Court has divorce and court records from 1850; County Recorder has land records from 1804

Family History Centers

 * Westlake 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

 * Preble County Room, houses the genealogical and local history collections of the Preble County District Library.

Societies
Preble County Genealogical Society Preble County District Library 450 S. Barron Street Eaton, Ohio 45320 Website
 * Preble County Historical Soceity

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


 * 1800-1962 - Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 at ancestry.com ($)


 * 1908-1964 - Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964 at ancestry.com ($)

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * 1789-2013 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1800-1958 - at FamilySearch — free; Index.
 * 1800-1942 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1808-2000 - Preble County, Ohio, Marriage Index at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1808-1830 and 1830-1840 - Preble County, Ohio Marriage Records Vol. I and Vol. II] at ancestry.com ($)

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1835-2010 Preble County, Ohio, Death Index at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1840-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Preble County, Ohio Cemetery Inscriptions at ancestry.com ($)
 * 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.
 * An excellent source of early marriage and obituary information is the online database entitled Genealogical &amp; Historical Records of Preble County, Ohio, sponsored by the Preble County District Library. A searchable database of marriages, obituaries and some cemetery records links to the actual scanned image of the genealogical and historical documents, which date back into the 1800s.

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Websites

 * Preble County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Preble County OH Genealogy
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook