Cuyahoga County, Ohio Genealogy

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

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Geauga County 10 February 1808.
 * County Seat: Cleveland

Description
The county was named after the Iroquoian word Cuyahoga, which means 'crooked river'. The name is also assigned to the Cuyahoga River, which bisects the county. It's county seat is Cleveland and was founded Founded June 7, 1807. It is located in the North-Central area of the state.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. Hometown Locator The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in Cuyahoga County:

Neighboring Counties
Lorain County •  Medina County  •  Summit County  •  Portage County  •  Geauga County  •  Lake County

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Ohio county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Ohio County Boundary Maps" (1788-1888) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Resources

 * Cuyahoga County Resources

Bible Records

 * Bible Records Index


 * Ohio Bible Records.

Biography

 * Biographical Sketch Name Index

Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.


 * Butternut Ridge Cemetery (North Olmsted)
 * Calvary Cemetery Search Engine
 * Calvary Cemetery, Garfield Heights Wikipedia article
 * Cemetery and Church Records by MattsonWorks Genealogy
 * Monroe Street Cemetery Foundation
 * Lakeview Cemetery Web Cemeteries site.
 * Riverside Cemetery (home page)
 * St. Lawrence Cemetery (Independence)
 * St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery (Berea)
 * Woodland Cemetery Foundation

Census
1930 Cuyahoga Census Abstract(partial)

General
Cleveland Ohio Pastors and Their Churches by Laura Hine.


 * Cleveland Church Histories


 * Cleveland Clergy to 1942 by Don O'Malley


 * Cleveland Jewish History


 * Lakewood Church Histories


 * St. Colman Church History


 * Trinity Lutheran Churchmicrofilmed records (West 30th and Lorain)

Catholic

 * 1796–2004 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. This collection includes images of parish registers recording the events of baptism, first communion, confirmation, marriage, and death in the Diocese of Toledo (Ohio), Roman Catholic Church. These records are accessed by browsing the images by county. In addition to traditional parish registers, this collection includes miscellaneous cemetery records, Books of the Elect, Professions of Faith, Sick Call registers, etc.

LDS Ward and Branch Records

 * Cleveland

City Directories

 * 1861, 1864-1923 - ($) Cleveland City Directories Fold 3 5 yrs. missing; available online. Get free access to Fold 3 by signing on through the Cuyahoga County Public Librarysite. Click "Research" then "Electronic Resources A-Z" then "Genealogy" then "Fold 3" (entering your Cuyahoga County Public Library card number when asked for) Once on the Fold 3 site, click browse, then "City Directories" then "City Directories Cleveland"
 * 1834-35, 1863-64- 1834-35 Ohio City Directories
 * 1837 - City Directory
 * 1900 - Cleveland City Directory
 * 1834, 1845, 1846, 1848, 1850 - Ohio City Directories
 * 1881-1882, 1889-1890, 1890, 1894, 1906-1907, 1911, 1914-1915, 1917, 1921, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1936, 1938, 1942, 1943 - Cleveland City Directories
 * various years - U.S. City Directories

Court Records

 * Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Civil and Criminal Index

Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups
African American

Davis, Russell H. Black Americans in Cleveland from George Peake to Carl B Stokes, 1796-1969 - Washington : Associated Publishers, [c1972] - 525p. F499.C69 N32

Davis, Russell H. Memorable Negroes in Cleveland's Past. - Cleveland: Western Reserve Historical Society, 1969. 58 p. FHL 977.1 A1 no. 91 

Archives, Libraries, and Museums Biographies Church Records Cemetery Records Court Records Histories Immigration/emigration/migration Maps Newspapers Societies

Gazetteers

 * 1906 - Cleveland Street Name Changes

History

 * Cuyahoga County is located along the shores of Lake Erie in Northeast Ohio. Its largest city, Cleveland, was founded at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River in 1796 when the first of the Connecticut Land Company arrived to survey the Connecticut Western Reserve. The area grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution as a transportation and manufacturing hub, drawing people of diverse backgrounds from around the world.

Local Histories

 * Johnson, Crisfield, History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio: in three parts, general history of the county, history of Cleveland, history of the townships, with portraits and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers (Cleveland, Ohio: D.W. Ensign &amp; Co, Leader Print. Co., 1879) Digital version at Internet Archives; ; on microfilm at.

A Book of Clevelanders

A History of Cleveland: Its Settlement, Rise, and Progress, 1796-1896 

Cuyahoga County American History and Genealogy Project


 * CWRU Digital Books

Encyclopedia of Cleveland History


 * Tremont History Project


 * Virtual Jewish History

Land and Property

 * various years - Cuyahoga County Recorder's Office Deeds images
 * various years - community contributed deeds Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives
 * various years - Cuyahoga County Auditor's Office

Maps



 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)
 * 1874 Atlas of Cuyahoga County
 * CSU Cleveland Maps
 * Converting pre 1906 addresses to post 1906 addresses in Cleveland

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument

Civil War
Civil War service men from Cuyahuga 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 Cuyahoga County.


 * 1st Regiment, Ohio Light Artillery, Batteries B, E, and G
 * 1st Regiment, Ohio Infantry
 * Company E, also known as the Cleveland Grays
 * Company F, also known as the Hibernian Guards
 * 41st Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies A, D, E, H, I, and K
 * 54th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company H
 * 107th Regiment, Ohio Infantry - many men in this regiment were immigrant Germans from Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. Companies B and E were raised in Cuyahoga County.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Cuyahoga County Naturalizations

Naturalization Petitions for the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division, Cleveland 1907-1946 at Fold 3 (paid site) (the old Footnote) Get free access to Fold 3 by signing on through the Cuyahoga County Public Library site. Click "Research" then "Electronic Resources A-Z" then "Genealogy" then "Fold 3" (entering your Cuyahoga County Public Library card number when asked for) Once on the Fold 3 site, click browse at the top and then Naturalizations then Documents then Naturalizations Ohio Northern

INDEX TO CUYAHOGA COUNTY PROBATE COURT NATURALIZATION RECORDS, 1859-1901

Cuyahoga County Index

This index, arranged alphabetically by surname, and dating from 1859-1901, provides access to the naturalization records preserved by the Cuyahoga County Probate Court in three sets of volumes: Declaration of Aliens (DOA) (16 volumes); Declaration of Alien Minors (DOAM) (8 volumes); and the Naturalization Book (NB) (26 volumes). Those interested in additional information regarding the naturalization process, particularly as administered during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the United States, should request from the Cuyahoga County Archives a copy of the information sheet "Tracing an Immigrant Ancestor through the Naturalization Records in the Cuyahoga County Archives."

The index contains eleven columns or data fields that include the name of the volume indexed, the volume number and page number, the surname, first name, middle name, country of origin, the date of arrival, the date of declaration (date that the declaration or "first paper" was filed), and the date of naturalization. The database also includes a "Record Problem" column that many contain additional information useful to the researcher. Spelling variations for a first name are listed here, while surname spelling variations are noted with a "see also" reference. Records that are incomplete or that have been identified as void are so marked. For naturalizations recorded in the NATURALIZATION BOOK (NB) volumes 25 or 26, a reference to a petition number may be listed. In a few cases this column may provide a clarification or correction to the data that was recorded in the original records. Finally, missing pages are noted in this column. Researchers should be aware that not all immigrants made application for citizenship in the Probate Court, as some sought naturalization in the Court of Common Pleas and in the U.S. District Court. The County Archives preserves the Common Pleas naturaliz- ation records and you should contact the Archives for a search of available indexes to those documents. The records from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio are pres- erved by the National Archives and Records Service-Great Lakes Region in Chicago, Illinois.

When requesting a copy of a Probate Court naturalization document from the Archives you should provide the following information: the person's name, date of declaration and/or date of natural- ization, and the reference to the relevant volume, by name, e.g. DOA, DOAM, NB, and to the appro- priate volume and page numbers. Persons can communicate with the Archives by mail, or visit in person, at 2905 Franklin Blvd. N.W. Cleveland, Ohio 44113; or they can make a request by tele- phone (216) 443-7250, fax communication (216) 443-3636, or by e-mail, countyarchives@nls.net.

Newspapers
Online Newspapers


 * 1882-1908 - Berea Advertiser - full-text of more than 1,200 issues spanning 1882-1908 freely available in Google Newspaper Archive;
 * 1993-present - Cleveland Magazine
 * Oct 1990-present - Ohio Magazine

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * 1976-present - Index to articles 1983 to present and obituaries 1976 to current
 * 1833-1975 - The Cleveland Necrology File Obituaries
 * The Plain Dealer Obituaries (past six months)
 * Cleveland Plain Dealer Searchable Archive (for those with a CPL library card)
 * various years - community contributed news articles Courtesy OhioGenWeb

Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

Obituaries

 * 1850-1975 - Cleveland Necrology File online at the Cleveland Public Library website. Cleveland Plain Dealer (1850-1975), Cleveland Herald (1833, 1847-8, 1876, 1878-9), and Cleveland Press (1941-1975), cemetery records and other death records covering some of the years between 1850 and 1975.


 * Online Cleveland &amp; Cuyahoga County, Ohio Death Records &amp; Indexes


 * The Cleveland News Index 1976-Present

Periodicals

 * Ohio -- Cuyahoga County Periodicals - Internet Archive


 * Genealogy


 * Annals of the Early Settlers Association of Cuyahoga County (1880)

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.
 * 1813–1917 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. The collection consists of case files of the Probate Dockets from the Cuyahoga County courthouse in Cleveland. The files are arranged by docket number and case number. The earliest records are designated Common Plea (before the formation of the Probate Court). The Probate Dockets began alphabetically, A through P, and changed to numeric listing beginning with 17 (replacing Q, the 17th letter). This collection is being published as images become available. Currently, (September 2012) this collection is only searchable by browsing the images.
 * various years - community contributed wills Courtesy OhioGenWeb
 * Cuyahoga County Wills and Estates Index (with directions and link to Family Search where you can see actual images of the documents)

Wiki articles describing collections are found at:
 * Ohio Cuyahoga County Probate Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Ohio Deaths and Burials (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Ohio Deaths (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Public Records

 * The Official Website of Ohio's Cuyahoga County

Courthouse

 * Cuyahoga County Courthouse 1200 Ontario Street Cleveland, OH 44113 Phone: 216.443.7950 Probate Court has birth records 1859-1901 and death records 1868-1908; Western Reserve Historical Society has marriage records 1810-1941 and tax revenues 1819-1869; Marriage License Bureau has marriage records from 1810; County Courthouse has naturalization records 1818-1906 and probate records from 1810; Clerk Court has divorce records 1837-1925; County Administration Building has land records from 1810

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Ohio Cuyahoga County Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Family History Centers

 * Solon 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

 * Cuyahoga County Archives


 * Western Reserve Historical Society Library


 * Cleveland Public Library


 * Cuyahoga County Public Library Genealogy Site

Museums

 * African-American Museum


 * Maltz Museum of Jewish History


 * Ukrainian Museum-Archives

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.

Other Societies


 * Berea Historical Society


 * Cleveland Heights Historical Society


 * Greater Cleveland Genealogical Society


 * Lakewood Historical Society


 * North Olmsted Historical Society


 * Ohio History Connection


 * Shaker Heights Historical Society


 * Slavic Village Historical Society


 * South Euclid/Lyndhurst Historical Society


 * Westlake Historical Society

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

School Records
Courtesy of the Cleveland Public Library:


 * Cleveland High School Yearbooks and Student Newspapers
 * Additional Schools Publications

Taxation

 * 1811 - tax lists 1811 Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1800-1962 - Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1908-1964 - Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964 at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1871-1908 - Fold 3 Cuyahoga County Birth Returns($) Get free access to Fold 3 by signing on through the Cuyahoga County Public Library Click "Research" then "Electronic Resources A-Z" then "Genealogy" then "Fold 3" (entering your Cuyahoga County Public Library card number when asked) Once on the Fold 3 site, click browse at the top and then vital records and choose "Cuyahoga County Birth Returns"
 * 1860-1896;1873-1897 - Cuyahoga County Births Affidavits (1860-1897) Corrections (1873-1908) Index only
 * 1821-1962 - Births and Christenings Searchable Index but no images
 * 1898-1908 - Birth Affidavits images included
 * various years - archive records Contributed by Cuyahoga County Archives and their volunteers. Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * Marriage Index Years Covered
 * Cuyahoga County Marriage Transcriptions
 * 1789-2013 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1800-1958 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. Name index to marriage records from the state of Ohio. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and some FamilySearch Centers. 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.
 * 1800-1942 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1810-1973 - Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records and Indexes at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1810-present - Historical Marriage License Index
 * 1837-1934 - Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Jewish Marriage Record Extracts at
 * 1971-2007 - Ohio Marriage Index by Ancestry
 * various years - archive records Contributed by Cuyahoga County Archives and their volunteers. Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1833-1900 - Coroner Case Files
 * 1840-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1854-1997 - Ohio Deaths Index only
 * 1908-1953 - Ohio Deaths 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.
 * 1954-present - Ohio Death Certificates how to obtain them
 * 1964-2007 - The Cleveland Jewish News Obituary Index at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1850-1975 - Cleveland Necrology File online at the Cleveland Public Library website. Various newspaper notices, cemetery records and other death records covering some of the years between 1850 and 1975.
 * various years - archive records Contributed by Cuyahoga County Archives and their volunteers. Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Miscellaneous


 * Cleveland Health Network Birth and Death Records
 * University Hospital birth and death records

Divorce

 * Ohio Divorce Index 1962-1996 by OGS

Voter Registration

 * 1893-1899 Cleveland Voter Registration


 * 1907 Cleveland Voter Registration

Websites

 * Castle Garden Passenger Lists
 * Cuyahoga County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Cleveland Digital Library(from Cleveland State University books and links to books)
 * Cleveland Police Museum
 * Clew Bay to Cleveland (Irish History)
 * Cuyahoga County OHGenWeb
 * Cuyahoga County Research FAQs
 * Cuyahoga County History
 * Cuyahoga County Cities in 1896
 * Cuyahoga County OH Genealogy
 * Cuyahoga County Old Photos
 * Cuyahoga County Photos by Wikimedia
 * Cuyahoga County Schools
 * Case Western Reserve University Digital Book Collection
 * Cleveland State University Digital Library
 * Cleveland State University Memory Project
 * Cleveland's German Businesses
 * Cyndi's List for Cuyahoga County
 * Ellis Island Passenger Lists
 * Genealogy and Family Tree Search Engine by Mocavo
 * Genforum Message Board
 * German Heritage in Cleveland
 * Germans In Cleveland
 * German Immigrants to Cleveland
 * Greater Cleveland Genealogical Research Websites
 * Harm's Way (site about Germans to Cleveland)
 * Heritage Pursuit (paid site)
 * Lakewood Public Library History Site
 * Linkpendium
 * National Archive
 * Ohio Genealogy Express
 * Ohio History Central
 * Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN)
 * Ohio and Erie Canal
 * Fold3
 * Cleveland District Round Table Regional Activities
 * Cleveland Public Library Genealogy Databases
 * Polka Hall of Fame Cleveland Style
 * Rootsweb Mailing Lists
 * Rootsweb's Worldconnect
 * Rootsweb Resources for Cuyahoga County
 * Social Security Death Index - Free at Fold3
 * Steven Morse Site for searching Immigration and Census Records
 * Western Reserve Historical Society Searchable Databases
 * WorldCat
 * WorldCat