Ohio Bible Records

Online Records

 * The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) has an index of over 40,000 digitized family Bible records and each day more records are digitized and added to the Index.
 * Index to Early Bible Records provides a free index to over 17,000 online and offline pre-1830 Bible records.


 * Start with the free Index to Early Bible Records (pre-1830; 17,000 entries).


 * The State Library of Ohio has a collection of Bible records transcribed by the Ohio Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Many of these are included in the Genealogical Collection, described in the Ohio Genealogy page of this wiki. Some transcripts of DAR Bible records are in:


 * Many periodicals publish family data from Bible records. These are referenced in the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), described in the Ohio Periodicals page of this wiki.


 * The Ohio Genealogical Society maintains an every-name card index to all Bible record transcripts in their possession.


 * The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center has a Family Bible Collection of over 100 Bibles donated by families in the Sandusky County and Northwestern Ohio area.


 * Short, Mrs. Don R. and Mrs. Denver Eller. Ohio Bible Records. Two Volumes. 1971. Reprint, (Fort Wayne, Indiana: Allen County Public Library, 1983.)


 * Copies, or abstracts of old family Bibles that are no longer known to exist, may survive in Revolutionary War Pension application files at NARA, Washington, D.C., which are available online at three commercial websites: Ancestry, Fold3, and Heritage Quest Online.


 * Transcriptions of Bible records may be accessed through the FamilySearch Catalog, by using the Place-name Search for:


 * United States, Ohio - BIBLE RECORDS
 * United States, Ohio, [COUNTY] - BIBLE RECORDS
 * OHIO, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - BIBLE RECORDS

Ohio Bible Records
A Bible was often given by relatives to a bride as a wedding gift, where she recorded information about her immediate family and close relatives. Relationships were seldom stated but were often implied. Names of parents, children, and their spouses, including maiden names, were frequently given along with dates of birth, marriage, and death. Sometimes the age of a person was given at the time of death. Many families kept Bible records from the 1700s (and sometimes earlier) to more recent times, although few have survived. Some have been donated to local libraries or societies.

A family Bible is a designation given to a Bible which has family information recorded on pages within the book. This has been a tradition among many families and is a good source of information about immediate family members and relatives, including names of parents, children, their spouses as well as their dates of birth, marriage and death. This is a valuable resource because, if the information is recorded as the event occurs, the information is regarded as being reliable. Also, for some families, Bible records may have the only recorded vital statistics information. Generally, family Bibles are passed down to succeeding generations, but those that are no longer in possession of the family may be at a historical or genealogical society.

Start with the free Index to Early Bible Records (pre-1830; 17,000 entries).