Mahoning County, Ohio Genealogy

Guide to Mahoning 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 Columbiana and Trumbull counties 16 February 1846.
 * County Seat: Youngstown

Description
The county was named from the Mahoning river, which in turn was named from a Native American word meaning "salt lick". It's county seat is Youngstown and was founded March 1, 1846. It is located in the North-Eastern area of the state.

Neighboring Counties
Trumbull County •  Portage County  •  Stark County  •  Columbiana County  •  Lawrence County, Pennsylvania  •  Mercer County, Pennsylvania

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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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

General

 * Mahoning Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, Youngstown, Ohio, Court, Church and Family Records of Mahoning and Columbiana Counties of Ohio
 * Mahoning Valley Historical Society has a variety of collections of original church records including but not limited to Lutheran and Reformed congregations within the county

Lutheran

 * Records of Wooland Avenue Lutheran Church, Youngstown, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Society of Friends

 * 1828-1926 - Church Records - Society of Friends, Damascus, New Garden and Springfield Quarterly Meetings.
 * 1864-1959 - Church Records - Society of Friends, East Goshen Monthly Meeting.
 * Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. IV:(Ohio Monthly Meetings)including West and East Goshen Monthly Meetings. Found at Ancestry.com ($)

Court Records
See Ohio Court Records for more information about using these records.

The following abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed through the Family History Library.


 * 1847-1867 - Civil Records
 * 1846-1946 - Records of the Probate Court
 * 1848-1851 - Court Records

Local History

 * Williams, H.Z. and Bro. History of Trumbull and Mahoning Counties: with illustrations and biographical sketches. (Cleveland: H.Z. Williams and Bro., 1882) Digital version at Internet Archive; Google Books. Index of names Digital version at ;.
 * Youngstown, Chicago: American Historical Society, 1920. Digital version at: Ancestry.com ($)
 * Butler, Joseph Green, History of Youngstown and Mahoning Valley, Ohio (Chicago, Illinois : American Historical Society, c1921) ; digital version at ; . Every name Index
 * Sanderson, Thomas W. 20th Century History of Youngstown and Mahoning County, Ohio and Representative Citizens (Tucson, Arizona : W.C. Cox Co., 1974) ; ;
 * 1805-1955 - Columbiana Sesquicentennial Official Historical Program

Land and Property
Online Resources


 * Beginning 1820 - Land Patent Search See Ohio Land and Property for more information about this database.
 * 1796–1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records found at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Ohio Land Records This database was officially known as the Pre-1908 Homestead and Cash Entry Patent and Cadastral Survey Plat Index and contain over 100,000 Ohio land patents dated before 1908. Found at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Mahoning County Township Map with a detailed map of each section.
 * Mahoning County Land Records Found at usgwarchives.net

Maps



 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)
 * Map of Mahoning County, Ohio : showing the original lots and farm

Civil War
Civil War service men from Mahoning 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 Mahoning County.


 * - 41st Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company F
 * - 105th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies A and H

Naturalization and Citizenship
Original Naturalization records for Mahoning County, Ohio are housed at the Oak Hill Renaissance Place and available for public viewing.

Oakhill Renaissance Place 345 Oakhill Avenue, Suite 102 Youngstown, OH 44502 Phone: 330-740-2110

Newspapers
Online Newspapers


 * 1869–1875 - The Mahoning Valley Vindicator (Jun–July) Google News Archive
 * 1875–1877 - The Mahoning Vindicator (July–July) Google News Archive
 * 1896–1928 - The Sunday Vindicator (Jun–Oct)Google News Archive
 * 1891–1893 - Youngstown Evening Vindicator (Mar-May) Google News Archive
 * 1899–1890 - The Evening Vindicator (Sept 23–Jun 23) Google News Archives
 * 1981–2009 - The Vindicator (Oct–Jun) Google News Archive
 * 1807–1984 - Youngstown Vindicator (Apr–Aug) Issues intermittent Google News Archive

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * Mahoning County Newspaper Articles Courtesy of USGenWeb.

Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

Obituaries

 * Ohio Genealogical Society Obituary Database

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.
 * 1846–1899 - Original Mahoning County Probate Estate Case Packets ;are housed at the Mahoning Valley Historical Society Archive. These packets contain the original documents, with actual signatures; wills, administration applications, bonds, inventories, receipts, affidavits, and any other record needed to settle an estate. These packets are the originals.
 * ca. 1870-1905. Original Mahoning County Probate Civil Case packets are housed at the Mahoning Valley Historical Society's Archival Library. These cases include but are not limited to: civil cases, divorces, guardianships, inquests of lunacy, applications for the Worthy Blind (1904-1905), judgements, land transfers resulting from estate files, legal name changes, adoptions, etc. These are original documents with actual signatures.
 * NOTE: for Mahoning County, OH the court records currently available through Familysearch are the Transcribed Court Records, not the original Probate Estate or Probate Civil Case Packets. Transcribed court records do not usually contain original signatures, nor is every individual document transcribed by the court which pertains to that case packet. Interim and final reports and other legal documents required by the court are transcribed by a clerk from the actual documents. Frequently there are additional documents within the original case packet itself that are not deemed necessary to transcribe. Mahoning County is fortunate in that both transcribed records and original packets exist for a significant period. Human error is always a factor in transcribing records. There may also be instances where the original does not exist any longer but the transcription does. It is strongly suggested that researchers seek out both the Transcribed Records, and the Original packets where-ever possible.

Public Records

 * 1935 - Chaney High School, Youngstown, Ohio 1935 Basketball Team Photo with names of individuals.

Courthouse
Mahoning County Courthouse 120 Market Street Youngstown, OH 44503 Phone: 330–740–2104

Probate Court Phone: 330-740-2310 [mailto:MCProbate@mahoningcountyoh.gov MCProbate@mahoningcountyoh.gov]


 * Genealogical Resources: County marrige records; Births and Deaths 1864–1908; Guardianship; Will and estates (Wills are on film–original case packets are at the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.)

Mahoning County Recorder's Office Phone: 330-740-2345 [mailto:npalermo@mahoningcountyoh.gov npalermo@mahoningcountyoh.gov]


 * Genealogical Resources: Land and deeds; grave registrations; soldier's discharges after 1864. Mark the envelope of your requests with Probate Office or Recorder's Office

Mahoning County Clerk of Courts Phone: 330-740-2104


 * Original civil court packets/files 1871-1901 are housed at the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.

Family History Centers
The main FHC for Mahoning County, Ohio is the Youngstown Ohio Family History Center.

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

Libraries
Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County 305 Wick Ave. Youngstown, OH 44503 Phone: 330–744–8636


 * Genealogical resources: Newspaper film copies and indexes, directories, cemetery inscriptions database. This library is a FamilySearch Center where films can be ordered and viewed.

Museums
Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor 151 W. Wood Street Youngstown OH 44501–0533 Phone: 330–743-5934


 * Genealogical resources: Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Records, Court Dockets, Deeds, Newspapers

Societies
The Connecticut Western Reserve  was a part of northeast Ohio originally intended for settlement by Revolutionary War refugees from Connecticut. The former Connecticut Western Reserve  lands were in the modern counties of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Trumbull fully, but also in parts of Ashland, Mahoning, Ottawa, Summit, and Wayne counties in Ohio.

The Research Library at the Western Reserve Historical Society History Center  is the premier repository for Cleveland, Ohio and Connecticut Western Reserve history material. One of the principal strengths is its manuscript collections. The WRHS collection has original land records, genealogies of New England, New York, and Pennsylvania, biographies, histories, and family Bibles.

Other Societies

Mahoning County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society PO Box 9333 Youngstown, Ohio 44513-9333 E-mail: [mailto:MCCOGS@zoominternet.net MCCOGS@zoominternet.net]

The society has volunteers at the courthouse each Thursday 8am to 3pm; located in the Marriage Dept in the basement. Society members also volunteer at the Main Library Thursdays 1–4.

Mahoning Valley Historical Society 648 Wick Avenue Youngstown, OH 44502-1289 Phone: 330–743-2589 [mailto:mvhs@mahoninghistory.org archives@mahoninghistory.org] Genealogical collections: The MVHS Archival Library. Original probate and civil court records 1846–1900 for Mahoning County. Collection includes diaries, Bibles, photographs, fraktur, manuscripts, deeds, wills, maps, architectural and mechanical drawings, ledgers, county and local government records, and church records in addition to other collections.

Taxation
Original county tax lists are available 1846, and parts of the county for 1859 at the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.

Vital Records
See Ohio Vital Records for more information about Vital records in Ohio.

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Although Ohio enacted a statute in 1856 -1857 requiring registration of births, deaths and marriages, many did not comply. A second law occurred in 1867 but, again, was not always followed. By 1908, the law was more clearly defined and kept. Any existing birth and death records from 1867 through December 19, 1908 are located at the Mahoning County Probate Court. The Ohio Department of Health has birth records filed after December 20, 1908 and death records filed after January 1, 1954 while the Ohio Historical Society houses death records from December 20, 1908 through December 31, 1953. In addtion, the Youngstown City Health Districthas births 1909 to present and deaths 1892 to present.

Original marriage records are held at the office of the Mahoning County Probate Court with divorce records located with the Clerk of Court.

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1800-1962 - Ohio Births and Christenings Index found at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1821–1962 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. This is an incomplete index of extractions of original records and of patron-submitted records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. Information may have been previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.
 * 1856–1909 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. The collection includes a name index and images of county birth records in Ohio. The time period and type of record varies by county.
 * 1908-1964 - Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964 at ancestry.com ($)

Original Birth Indexes and Records on Microfilm


 * 1857 - Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths
 * 1864-1908 - Birth and Death Records

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 — free; Index.
 * 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 ($)

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm


 * 1846-1916 - Marriage Records; Marriage Licenses, 1852-1861 - index 1852-1920
 * 1846-1865 - Marriages, 1846-1865, Marriage Applications, 1853-1864, Births and Deaths, 1857, of Mahoning County, Ohio; Cemetery Records of Mahoning County
 * 1857 - Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1840-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1850-1885 - U.S. Federal Mortality Schedules at Ancestry.com ($)
 * 1854–1997 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. Name index to death and burial records from the state of Ohio. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. This set contains 2,535,556 records. Due to privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records. A few records may be earlier or later.
 * 1908–1953 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – Free. Name index and images of Ohio statewide death certificates. Records include such information as birth date of deceased, city, county, and state of death, name of spouse if married, names of parents, maiden name of mother, name of informant, if deceased was single, married, windowed or divorced, occupation of deceased.
 * 1908–1932, 1938–1944, and 1958–2007: at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. Index of deaths from the Ohio Department of Health in Columbus. Index provided by Ancestry.com.
 * 1908-2007 - Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007 at Ancestry.com ($)
 * 1913–1944 - Ohio Death Certificate Index 1913-1944 - Free

Original Death Records on Microfilm


 * 1857 - Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths
 * 1864-1908 - Birth and Death Records

Divorce

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

Web Sites

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