Ohio, County Births - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Vital Records Ohio  Ohio Vital Records  Ohio County Birth Records

Style Guide
For guidelines to use in creating wiki articles that describe collections of images and indexes produced by FamilySearch, see: FamilySearch Wiki: Guidelines for FamilySearch Collections pages

Collection Time Period
County birth records were kept from 1867 to December 1908, though later in some counties.

How to Use the Records
Prior to 1908, county birth records are the best source for birth information. Use the family residence at the time of birth to find other records about the family. Use the parents’ names to search for information about them and earlier generations.

Record Description
County birth records were entered into register books. The pages of these books were preprinted, the entries were handwritten, and there were multiple entries to a page. Birth records are generally well preserved, though some may have been lost because of fire or other disasters. Also, some records may have been sent to the Ohio Historical Society.

Record Content
Birth entries include the following genealogical information:


 * Child’s birth date
 * Sex
 * Township, county, and state of the birth
 * Child’s name
 * Parents’ names, including the mother’s maiden name
 * Name of the person reporting the birth
 * Residence of the parents

Record History
Ohio counties generally began keeping birth records in 1867, when Ohio passed a law requiring this. Physicians or county assessors in cities and townships created the birth records and then sent them to the country probate court. On December 20, 1908, a new state law required the county to send the birth records to the state. Most births that occurred in a county were probably recorded because of the legal requirement for registration.

Why This Collection Was Created?
The state required counties to begin recording births both to document the births and to track public health issues. A delayed registration allowed an individual whose birth had not been recorded to obtain a birth certificate, which was usually needed to receive certain government benefits.

Record Reliability
The information on birth records is generally reliable, but there is always the possibility of misinformation.

Related Web Sites
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Related Wiki Articles
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Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections

Please add sample citations to this article following the format guidelines in the wiki article listed above. Examples of citations:


 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023

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Style Guide
For guidelines to use in creating wiki articles that describe collections of images and indexes produced by FamilySearch, see: FamilySearch Wiki: Guidelines for FamilySearch Collections pages

Sources of Information for This Collection:
Ohio, Probate County [County Name]. Birth records, [date range]. From URL, date accessed or downloaded. Digital reference number, name of person, event place (if any), birth date. Example: Ohio, Probate County (Washington County). Birth records, 1867-1941. From FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org), February 9, 2007. Geo. Heinrich Schramm, born 24 Aug 1867. Ohio, Probate County [County Name]. Birth records [date range]. Salt Lake City: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, [filming date]. Microform number, page number, entry number (if any), name of person, event place (if any), birth date.

The format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections, including how to cite individual archives is found in the following link: How to Create Source Citations for FamilySearch Historical Records Collections