Ohio Genealogical Society

Purpose of the Society
Ohio Genealogical Society Mission

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. Your membership in The Ohio Genealogical Society will help you further your research goals and will also help OGS in its important work of collecting and preserving Ohio's family history and heritage.

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.

Membership Benefits
Single Membership $40.00;  Joint Membership $45.00; Click here to join.

The Ohio Genealogical Society gives its members valuable benefits including:


 * Award-winning Ohio Genealogy News
 * Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly
 * Members-only section of the OGS website
 * Use of the OGS Library at no charge
 * Discounts on OGS Publications and Conferences
 * OGS Lineage Societies
 * Knowledgeable staff and volunteers

Events
OGS Events Calendar by Date

Chapters
OGS Chapters alphabetical by county name. Many counties in Ohio have a chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society.

Library Services and Resources
The Ohio Genealogical Society has the best collection of family folders in Ohio. They also have county record guides, biographies, genealogies and unique indexes to various Ohio records. Read about the Samuel D. Isaly Library and its hours, admission, contact, resources, and policies. Library Services:  copy service, meeting rooms, researchers list, scanning and photocopy services, speakers bureau, and tours.

Library Resources
The OGS Library is an indispensable resource for Ohio genealogy.
 * OGS Library Catalog by "Anywhere," Author, Subject, Title.
 * Over 70,000 books alphabetically by state/county/subject or surname
 * County and City Directories for Ohio
 * Largest collection of Ohio yearbooks (23,000)
 * Over 300 manuscript collections
 * FamilySearch Affiliate Library
 * Ohio published histories and genealogical references
 * Large family history section
 * 250,000 ancestor cards alphabetical by surname
 * 4,000 Family Bible records, indexed
 * Lineage societies' applications and ancestors, over 10,000 pre-1821 Ohio settlers
 * Various Ohio county court records on microfilm
 * Ancestor Charts filed by member surname
 * Eight cabinets of surname files
 * Complete set of Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly (formerly The Report ), OGS Genealogy News, Ohio Records and Pioneer Families, Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal, Gateway to the West and other periodicals
 * Ohio Cadastral Map Collection (Land owners)
 * Newsletters from 100 OGS Chapters
 * Original 1880 Census volumes

Public databases from OGS

 * OGS Lineage Societies
 * Century Families of Ohio
 * First Families of Ohio Roster
 * Ohio Mayflower Society Index
 * Roster of Society Of Civil War Families of Ohio (SCWFO)
 * Settlers and Builders of Ohio Roster


 * Military
 * Ohio's Revolutionary War Veterans Index
 * World War I 83rd Division Personal Information Cards Index


 * Additional databases
 * OGS Bible Records Index
 * Ohio Cemetery Locations Index
 * Ohio Obituary Index
 * Whissemore Photograph Collection

Members-only Databases
These databases are available only to members. They are NOT public databases:


 * 11 databases for MEMBERS ONLY from the Ohio Civil War Center
 * Hundreds of Ohio County databases
 * Statewide Databases such as:
 * African-Americans Migrating to Ohio, 1861-1863
 * 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Reunion, 1883
 * Roster of the 60th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 1906
 * Ohio State Medical Society, 1899
 * Virginia Military District School Land Sales, 1814-1815
 * Ohio Birth Index, 1940-1998
 * Ohio Marriage Index, 1789-1830
 * Ohio Marriage Index, 1970-1990
 * Ohio Divorce Index, 1962-1996
 * 1812 Ohio Tax List Index, A-Gibbs

Current OGS Publications
For past and present publications of the Ohio Genealogical Society, click here. Current Ohio Genealogical Society publications include:


 * Ohio Genealogy News
 * Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly
 * Eric Eugene Johnson, Ohio's Black Soldiers Who Served in the Civil War, 312 pages.
 * E. Paul Morehouse, and Eric E. Johnson, Grave Marking Ceremonies: Planning and Conducting an Event, 8 pages.

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a source at the , a similar source may be available at one of the following.

Similar Collections
The following libraries have significant genealogy collections which cover multiple Ohio counties and other states. The archives below are federal repositories which cover the entire US or large regions of the US, including Ohio.
 * State Library of Ohio, Columbus, has good records of Ohio, and of states like Pennsylvania, New York, and the states of New England which all contributed early immigrants to Ohio.
 * Ohio History Connection, Columbus, serves as a state archives. Excellent manuscript collection of government, land, and military records. Also, biographies, genealogies, and vital records.
 * Columbus Metropolitan Library Internet history and genealogy reference books, Sanborn maps, newspaper indexes, Columbus Historical Society, and images.
 * Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, The Western Reserve was a large part of Ohio settled by Connecticut Revolutionary War refugees. This important collection includes original land records, as well as many genealogies, biographies, histories, and Bibles of Pennsylvania and New England.
 * Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana, premier periodical collection, including Ohio genealogies, local histories, databases, military, censuses, directories, and passenger lists.
 * Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, a large repository with genealogies, local histories, censuses, military, land, indexes, vital records, court, and tax records mostly from the Mississippi Valley, eastern seaboard, Canada, and the British Isles.
 * National Archives Great Lakes Region (Chicago) federal court and agency records for Ohio, U.S. federal censuses 1790–1940; military service and pension indexes, passenger lists, naturalizations, Ancestry.com, HeritageQuest, Fold3.
 * National Archives I, Washington DC, census, pre-WWI military service &amp; pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, federal bounty land, homesteads, bankruptcy, ethnic sources, prisons, and federal employees. Includes Northwest Territory (Ohio) papers.

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Repositories in surrounding counties: in Ohio: Ashland, Crawford, Huron, Knox, and Morrow. =====
 * Archives of Ohio United Methodists, Delaware, history of Methodism in Ohio and generally, manuscripts, photos, local church histories, church records, ministers, newspapers, and personal papers.
 * Bowling Green State University Jerome Library local government records, and newspapers.
 * Dayton Metro Library, the Dayton Room  has one of Ohio's best genealogical collections including books, periodicals, indexes, genealogies, and biographies.
 * Erie Lackawanna Historical Society, Cleveland, history of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, Erie Railroad, Erie Lackawanna Railway, and related lines. No employee records.
 * Ohio University Alden Library, Athens, their excellent manuscript collection includes church records, and business records. They also have county histories, biographies, and newspapers. It is like a second state archives.
 * Palatines to America German Genealogy Society Resource Center, Columbus, has an extensive collection of German immigrant ancestor files. Their books are at the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
 * Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, a top genealogy and local history collection of early Ohio sources. This includes the Inland Rivers Library  of the Ohio River and its tributaries (riverboat traffic between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Louisville, Kentucky) in Special Collections.
 * Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, a good solid genealogy collection with oral histories, state and county histories, biographies, and genealogies. Youngstown was a portal for immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England entering Ohio.
 * Richland County Public Health Office of Vital Statistics, Mansfield, births and deaths since 1909.
 * Richland County Clerk of the Courts, civil, and criminal cases.
 * Richland County Recorder land records, DD-214 military discharges, veterans graves.
 * Richland County Coroner suspicious or unusual deaths.
 * Richland County Probate Court adoptions, birth, guardianships, mental commitments, name changes, probates and wills.
 * U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, Cleveland, recent civil and criminal cases
 * University of Akron Libraries Polsky Building one of six regional centers of Ohio records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
 * University of Cincinnati Blegen Library one of six regional history centers of Ohio for records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
 * Wright State University Dunbar Library, Dayton, one of six regional centers of Ohio records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
 * Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor one of six regional history centers of Ohio for records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.