Wayne County, Ohio Genealogy

Guide to Wayne County, Ohio ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Wayne County, Ohio Record Dates

 * Parent Counties: Formed from non-county area in 1808 (1812).
 * County Seat: Wooster

Description
The county was named in honor of General Anthony Wayne, the victor at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. It's county seat is Wooster and was founded January 4, 1812. It is located in the Northeast 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
Medina County •  Summit County  •  Stark County  •  Holmes County  •  Ashland County

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Ohio county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Ohio County Boundary Maps" (1788-1940) 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.

History

 * Douglass, Benjamin, History of Wayne County, Ohio: From the Days of the Pioneers and First Settlers to the Present Time, (Indianapolis, Indiana: R. Douglas, 1878). Digital copy at Google Books Internet Archive Ancestry ($)(Indexed)


 * Bowen, B.F., History of Wayne County, Ohio, (Indianapolis, Indiana: B.F. Bowen &amp; Co., 1910). Digital copy at Google Books


 * Howe, Henry, History of Wayne County, Ohio: 1796-1889, (Knightstown, Indiana : Bookmark, 1997), Reprint, 1898.


 * Hauenstein, Edward Harry, A History of Wayne County in the World War and in the Wars of the Past, (Wayne County History Co., 1919). Digital copy at Google Books Internet Archive


 * Wayne County History Book Committee, A History of Wayne County, Ohio, (Dallas, Texas: Taylor Pub. Co., 1987).


 * Wayne County Historical Landmark Committee, Historic Heritage of Wayne County, Ohio, (Wooster, Ohio: Wayne County Historical Society, 1976.

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War
Servicemen from Wayne 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 Wayne County.


 * - 4th Regiment, Ohio Infantry (3 months, 1861), Company E (also known as Given Guards) with many men from Wooster.
 * - 41st Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company C
 * - 102nd Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies F, H , and I
 * - 107th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company C, especially from the town of Wooster
 * - 166th Regiment, Ohio Infantry (National Guard), Company G

World War I

 * 1914-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1914-1918 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
Online Newspapers Online Newspaper Abstracts 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.

Repositories
Wayne County Courthouse 107 W Liberty Street; PO Box 407 Wooster, OH 44691-4850 Phone: 330.287.5590 Probate Court  has birth and death records 1867-1908, marriage records from 1813 and probate records from 1812; Board of Health  has birth and death records from 1908; Common Pleas Court Clerk  has divorce and court records from 1812; County Recorder  has land records from 1812.

Family History Centers

 * Wooster Ohio Family History Center

For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the FHC directory. Put your town name in the top search box.

Libraries
Orrville Public Library 230 N. Main St. Orrville, Ohio 44667 phone: 330.683.1065

Wayne County Public Library Genealogy and Local History Department 220 W. Liberty St. Wooster, OH 44691 phone: 330.262.0916, ext. 4670 email: genealogy@wcpl.info

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.

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

 * 1800-1950 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records
 * 1841-2003 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * 1789-2013 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1800-1958 - at FamilySearch — free; Index.
 * 1800-1942 - at FamilySearch — index

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1840-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1908-1953 - Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953. Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch. 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.

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Websites

 * Wayne County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Wayne County OH Genealogy
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.