Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy

Guide to Belmont 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 Jefferson and Washington counties 7 September 1801.
 * County Seat: St. Clairsville

Description
The county was named for rom the French for "beautiful mountain" and refers to the scenery. It's county seat is St. Clairsville and was founded September 7, 1801. It is located in the Eastern 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
Jefferson County •  Harrison County  •  Guernsey County  •  Noble County  •  Monroe County  •  Marshall County Ohio 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
1980  A courthouse fire may have damaged 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

 * various years - community contributed church records Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Court Records
Belmont became part of the State of Ohio on 1 Mar 1803, having formerly been part of the Northwest Territory. It was served by the Ohio District Court from 1803 until 10 Feb 1855, when the court was divided into Northern and Southern districts. Belmont was part of the Southern District. On 3 Mar 1911, the court was further divided and was subsequently part of the Southern Eastern District. See Ohio District Court Jurisdictions for a chart of the Ohio counties and the district courts that served them. District and Circuit Courts had the same jurisdictions.

Local History

 * McKelvey, A.T. Centennial history of Belmont County, Ohio and representative citizens (Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co. 1903) Digital version at Google Books; . Indexed in “Index to McKelvey’s centennial history of Belmont County, Ohio, 1801-1901” (St. Clairsville, Ohio : Cumberland Trail Genealogical Society, 2001).
 * Poorman, Christian L., History of the Upper Ohio Valley: with family history and biographical sketches; a statement of its resources, industrial growth and commercial advantages, Vol. 2 (Madison, Wisconsin : Brant &amp; Fuller, c1890) Digital version at ;.
 * Caldwell J. A., History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio (Wheeling, West Virginia : Historical Pub. Co., 1880) Digital version at ;.

Land and Property

 * 1790-1907 - Bureau of Land Management database some deeds, Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War
Civil War service men from Belmont 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 Belmont County.


 * - 98th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies B and E

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
Online Newspapers Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * 1855-1906 - Belmont County Newspapers death and marriages notices, Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives
 * 20th century - Obituary Index Courtesy of OhioGenWeb

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
 * various years - community contributes wills Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

County Courthouse
Belmont County Courthouse 100 W Main Street Saint Clairsville, OH 43950-1225 Phone: 740.699.2139

Court Clerk has divorce and court records from 1820. County Health Department has burial records. Probate Court has birth, marriage, death and probate records.

Family Search Centers
For additional nearby FamilySearch Centers, search online in the FHC directory.


 * Belmont Public Library

Libraries

 * Belmont County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society

Societies
Belmont County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society Barnesville Hutton Memorial Library 308 East Main Street Barnesville OH 43713 P O Box 285, Barnesville, OH 43713-0285 Phone: 740-425-1651 Website Ohio Genealogical Society 611 State Route 97 West Bellville, OH 44813-8813 Phone: (419) 886-1903 Email: [mailto:ogs@ogs.org ogs@ogs.org] Website

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

Taxation

 * 1800–1850 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. Name index of tax records as recorded with the County Auditor of each county. Entries are recorded in voucher books, one person per page. The majority of the tax records in this collection are for the years 1816 through 1838. Currently (September 2012) this collection is 17% complete. Additional records will be added as they are completed.

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 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.
 * 1867-8 - Birth Records transcribed from probate court records, Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
 * 1856 - some births Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
 * various years - community contributed births courtesy of OhioGenWeb

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 marriages most are pre-1900, Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
 * various years - community contributed births 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.
 * 1856-7 - Township Deaths Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
 * 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 deaths courtesy of OhioGenWeb

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

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

Websites

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