Marion County, Ohio Genealogy

United States Ohio Marion County

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Delaware County in 1820 (1824).
 * County Seat: Marion
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Wyandot and Crawford (north)·Delaware (south)·Union (southwest)·Hardin (west)· Morrow (east)

County Courthouse
Marion County Ohio is located in North Central Ohio. The countyseat is Marion (city), Ohio. The county itself is comprised of fifteen townships: Big Island, Bowling Green, Claridon, Grand, Grand Prairie, Green Camp, Marion (township), Montgomery, Pleasant, Prospect, Richland, Salt Rock, Scott, Tully, and Waldo Townships.

In addition to Marion, the county is home to the incorporated villages of Caledonia, Green Camp, La Rue, Morral, Prospect and Waldo. Unicorporated communities include Martel, Kirkpatrick, Brush Ridge, Big Island, Claridon, DeCliff, Espyville, Owens, Meeker and Tobias.

Namesake
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.

= History =

Parent County
Marion County was created by the Ohio Legislature and erected on February 12, 1820 from Delaware County.

Boundary Changes
Marion County gave up land for the formation of Morrow County in February 1848. 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.

See an interactive map of Marion Count boundary changes.

= County 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.

Marion County Courthouse
While the County Court House is located at the north east corner of Main and Center Street in Marion, only the Clerk of Courts Records are located in that facility. This includes county court of common pleas and some early records associated with the defunct courts such as the Chancery Court that functioned from 1821 until ca. 1850.

Marion County Administration Building
All other County offices are located in the Marion County Administration Building, one quarter mile west of the courthouse.

This includes Probate Court (Wills, Guardianships, etc.) and Family Court; county offices of the Engineer, Recorder, Auditor and Treasurer are also located in this facility.

Public access to a variety of other public records are available through the Marion Public Library which maintains microfilm copies of Marriage Records and early birth and death from 1867 through 1908. These same records are available through the Ohio Historical Society. Some early court records are also available on microfilm.

= Genealogical Society =

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.

Neighboring Counties

 * Crawford
 * Delaware
 * Hardin
 * Morrow
 * Union
 * Wyandot

Military

 * 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

Vital Records
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.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Marion Ohio Family History Center

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.