Champaign County, Ohio Genealogy

Guide to Champaign 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 Franklin and Greene counties 20 February 1805.
 * County Seat: Urbana

Description
The county was named from the French word for "open level country". It's county seat is Urbana and was founded March 1, 1805. It is located in the West 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
Logan County •  Union County  •  Madison County  •  Clark County  •  Miami County  •  Shelby County

Boundary Changes
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
1948 A courthouse fire may have damaged or destroyed some records.

Bible Records
For an extensive list of resources for Bible Records see Ohio Bible Records.

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

Church Records
Finding Church Records at Other Repositories


 * various years - St. John's Lutheran Church records Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Adams County, Ohio Church Records in online catalogs like:


 * WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).

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

Local History

 * Middleton, Evan P. History of Champaign County Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume 1 (Indianapolis, Indiana : B.F. Bowen, 1917) Digital version at Google Books.
 * Middleton, Evan P. History of Champaign County Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume 2 (Indianapolis, Indiana : B.F. Bowen, 1917) Digital version at Internet Archive.
 * A Centennial Biographical History of Champaign County, Ohio (Chicago, Illinois : Lewis Publish Company, 1902) Digital version at Google Books; Internet Archive.
 * Antrim, Joshua, The history of Champaign and Logan Counties, from their first settlement (Bellefontaine, Ohio : Press Print. Co., 1872) Digital version at Google Books; Internet Archive.

Land and Property

 * 1790-1907 - Bureau of Land Management index Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War, 1861-1865
Reportedly 3,235 men from Champaign County participated in the Civil War in some way.

Civil War service men from Champaign 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 Champaign County.


 * - 113th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies E and K

Roster of Soldiers who enlisted from Champaign County, Ohio, for service in the Armies of the United States during the war of 1861-1865, who died or were killed in the service. List courtesy of Champaign County Historical Society.

Champaign County Military burials with many brief biographies at Find A Grave (11 records)

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * various years - Champaign County newspapers list of county newspapers and publication dates. Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
 * various years - community contributed newspaper articles Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

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.
 * various years - community contributed wills Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Courthouse
Champaign County Courthouse 200 N Main Street Urbana, OH 43078 Phone: 937.653.2746

Probate Judge has birth, marriage and probate records. County Health Department has death records. County Auditor has burial records. County Recorder has land records. County Clerk has divorce and court records.

Family History Centers
Dayton Ohio East Family History Center. For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the FHC directory.


 * Champaign County Library Family History Center
 * Piqua Public Library Family History Center

Societies

 * Champaign County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society PO Box 682 . Urbana, OH 43078-0680

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 ($)
 * 1821–1962 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. This is an incomplete index of extractions of original records and of patron-submitted records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. Information may have been previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.
 * 1856–1909 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. The collection includes a name index and images of county birth records in Ohio. The time period and type of record varies by county.
 * 1908-1964 - Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964 at ancestry.com ($)
 * various years - community contributed vital records Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * 1789-2013 - at FamilySearch — index and images. Name index and images of county marriage records acquired from local courthouses.
 * 1800-1958 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. Name index to marriage records from the state of Ohio. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and some FamilySearch Centers. Due to privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records. A few records may be earlier or later.
 * 1800-1942 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1803-1900 - Ohio Marriages, 1803-1900 at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1898-1912 - Ohio Marriages at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1970-2007 - Ohio Marriage Index, 1970, 1972-2007 at ancestry.com ($)
 * various years - community contributed vital records Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1840-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1854–1997 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. Name index to death and burial records from the state of Ohio. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. This set contains 2,535,556 records. Due to privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records. A few records may be earlier or later.
 * 1908–1953 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. Name index and images of Ohio statewide death certificates.
 * 1908–1932, 1938–1944, and 1958–2007 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. Index of deaths from the Ohio Department of Health in Columbus. Index provided by Ancestry.com.
 * 1908-2007 - Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007 at ancestry.com ($)
 * various years - community contributed vital records Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

 * 1962-2007 - Ohio Divorce Index, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007 at ancestry.com ($)

Websites

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