Mercer County, Ohio Genealogy

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

Ohio Online Genealogy Records

Mercer County, Ohio Record Dates

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Darke County 12 February 1820.
 * County Seat: Celina

Description
The county was named Hugh Mercer, an officer in the American Revolutionary War. It's county seat is Celina and was founded April 1, 1820. It is located in the West-Central 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
Van Wert County  • Auglaize County  • Shelby County  • Darke County  • Randolph County, Indiana  • Jay County, Indiana  • Adams County, Indiana

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.

Church Records
Finding Church Records at Other Repositories

Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Mercer County, Ohio Church Records in online catalogs like:


 * WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).

Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups
Archives, Libraries, and Museums Biographies Church Records Cemetery Records Court Records Histories Immigration/emigration/migration Maps Newspapers Societies

Genealogy
Miami Valley Genealogy Index is an Index to more than a half million pointers to records all over Miami Valley including Mercer County.

Local Histories

 * Scranton, S.S., History of Mercer County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, (Chicago, Illinois: Biographical Pub. Co., 1907). Digital copy at Google Books


 * Gilberg, Bronsart H., History of Mercer County, Ohio, (Fort Wayne, Indiana: Allen County Public Library, 1989).


 * Alig, Jocye L., Mercer County, Ohio, History (Celina, Ohio: Mercer County Historical Society, 1980).

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)
 * Township and Plat Maps
 * Surrounding County Map (1868-1872)

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War I

 * 1914-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1914-1918 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1916-1920 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
Online Newspapers Coldwater Public Library Community History Archive Minster Historical Society Newspaper Archive
 * Celina Advocate (1905-1907)
 * Coldwater Chronicle (1907-1936)
 * St. Henry Advocate (1907-1909)
 * Mercer County Chronicle (1936-2011)
 * Mercer County Chronicle Journal (1958-1959)
 * Minster Homelight (1888-1890)
 * Minster Volksfreund (1894-1895)
 * The Minster Post (1896-1964)
 * The Community Post (1964-present)

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.

Courthouse
Mercer County Courthouse 101 North Main Street PO Box 28; Celina, OH 45822 Phone: 419.586.6461 Probate Judge has birth and death records 1867-1908, marriage records from 1830 and probate records from 1829; Clerk Court has court records from 1824; County Recorder has land records)

Family History Centers

 * St Marys 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.

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


 * 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.


 * 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. Name index and images of county marriage records acquired from local courthouses.
 * 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


 * 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.


 * 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.

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Websites

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