Ohio Cultural Groups

United States Ohio  Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups

For a brief discussion of the many minorities who immigrated to Ohio, see the Ohio Emigration and Immigration page.

African Americans
African Americans make up a rich part of Ohio's History. The Ohio Constitution of 1803, outlawed slavery, this was in accordance to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Run away slaves would hide among the friendly Native American tribes, many in a village of Wyandot Indians in the Upper Sandusky.

Records can be found at:


 * Special Enumeration of Blacks Immigrating to Ohio, 1861-1863 Contains indexes by immigrants' names, previous residences, counties in which the lived, and questionable names. It also includes original returns by county.
 * Ohio African American Genealogy has sources to assist you in your search for your ancestors.
 * African American Cemeteries online
 * An Act to Regulate Black and Mulatto persons

American Indians
See Indians of Ohio.

Germans in Ohio

 * Smith, Clifford Neal. Early Nineteenth-Century German Settlers in Ohio (Mainly Cincinnati and Environs), Kentucky, and Other States. McNeal, Arizona: Westland Publications, 1984. ; . Indexes and abstracts membership records, obituaries, and articles published in Der Deutsche Pioniere . . ., a monthly magazine published by the Deutsche Pioniereverien (Union of German Pioneers).
 * Tolzmann, Don Heinrich. Ohio Valley German Biographical Index. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1992. ; . Includes information on individuals from Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

Societies
The Ohio Historical Society, the Western Reserve Historical Society, and many university libraries maintain collections of records for ethnic, racial, and religious groups in Ohio. See Ohio Archives and Libraries for more information.

Jewish Genealogy Society of Cleveland 996 Eastlawn Drive Highland Heights, OH 44143-3126 Telephone: (440)449-2326 E-Mail: [mailto:br1595@aol.com br1595@aol.com] Internet: Jewish Genealogy Society of Cleveland

Fabela Lozano Solis Villanueva Genealogy Record 7747 Wildwood Road Findlay, OH 45840-9538 Telephone: (419) 424-1199

Afro-American Genealogical Society, Cleveland P.O. Box 201476 Cleveland, OH 44120-9998 Internet: Afro-American Genealogical Society, Cleveland

Afro-American Family History Association 8716 Harkness Road Cleveland, OH 44106

Ohio State University Black Studies Library 1858 Neil Avenue Mall, Rm 226 Columbus, OH 43210-1286 Phone: (614) 688-8676 Fax: (614) 292-7859 E-Mail: [mailto:pillow.2@osu.edu pillow.2@osu.edu] Internet: Ohio State University

Family History Library
Other records and histories of ethnic, racial, and religious groups in Ohio are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:


 * OHIO - MINORITIES
 * OHIO - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

The name of the minority, such as:


 * BLACKS
 * AFRO-AMERICANS
 * JEWS
 * AMERICAN LOYALISTS
 * ITALIANS
 * QUAKERS - OHIO.

Handbooks on how to research specific groups (such as Czech, German, Hispanic, Indian, Irish, Polish, etc.). For example under the heading POLES - UNITED STATES, you can find a book called Polish Genealogy Heraldry.