Seneca County, Ohio Genealogy

United States Ohio  Seneca County

Parent County
1820--Seneca County was created 12 February 1820 from Huron County. County seat: Tiffin

Populated Places
“Marywood” - People often refer to a place called Marywood for a residence and/or marriages in Seneca County. There is no city called Marywood. In the “old times” when the local people spoke of Marywood they were referring to the area around the 3 churches named Reed Assumption (which is in Reedtown); Saint Michaels (which has a Bellevue* address) and Saint Sebastian (which also has a Bellevue* address). Presently (2009) when people speak of Marywood they generally are referring to Saint Michaels and/or a shrine called the Sorrowful Mother Shrine you can find more by going to the web at

www.sorrowfulmothershrine.com

The physical address of the Sorrowful Mother Shrine shown on the internet is 4106 State Route 269 Bellevue, Ohio 44811 419-483-3435


 * Bellevue is a city that spans 4 counties: Erie, Huron, Sandusky, and Seneca

Neighboring Counties

 * Crawford
 * Hancock
 * Huron
 * Sandusky
 * Wood
 * Wyandot

Church
EXPLAINATION ABOUT THE 3 CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN SENECA

Reed Assumption church is sometimes mentioned as being in Reedtown but it is really in the nearby country west of Reedtown which is called the Reed area. There was a church, school and cemetery that were called Reed Assumption until they closed the parish a few years ago (2005). The cemetery is still called Reed Assumption. The church building is still there, but not the school. There are no other buildings left, except the church and maybe the rectory. The frame school was torn down in the 1960's (when a new school was built to serve the area and parishes of St. Sebastian, Reed Assumption and Marywood St. Michaels - it was a public school system known as Seneca-Huron since St. Sebastian, Bismark was in Huron County and Assumption, Reed and St. Michael, Franks were in Seneca County. The public school system was formed earlier (late 1940's?) for financial reasons, but all the teachers were Catholic nuns and they had Mass and religion classes everyday and the convent house was moved a mile or so away and is used as a private home.  It is a few miles west of Reedtown.  Reedtown is on a state highway and is a very small unincorporated village.  The only remaining business is Reedtown Tavern and maybe a car/machine repair shop.  However there are still quite a few homes there.

A couple miles away in the country is a place called Frank's Corner. This area is also known as Marywood. In the earliest times it was called Thompson (Township). The church and cemetery there were called St. Michael's. The cemetery is still known by that name, but when they closed the Reed and Marywood parishes, along with Bismark St. Sebastian, a few years ago, these three were consolidated into a new parish and the church and parish are now known as St. Gaspar del Bufalo (yes, that is the way it is spelled) That parish uses the 1800's Gothic style church that was formerly St. Michael's.  There are still quite a few homes located there.

These settlements and parishes are adjacent to each other and separated by only a few miles. Both of these parishes, as well as the adjacent St. Sebastian parish to the east, in Bismark, were very "tight knit" German settlements and remain such today with many of the same family names since the mid 1800's.

Military

 * Civil War service men from Seneca 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 Seneca County.


 * -8th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company A
 * -123rd Regiment, Ohio Infantry
 * Company D
 * Company I
 * Company K

Vital Records
Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953 Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch – Pilot. 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.

Societies and Libraries
Seneca County Chapter Ohio Genealogical Society P. O. Box 157 Tiffin, OH 44883-0841 http://www.senecasearchers.org

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.