Geauga County, Ohio Genealogy

Guide to Geauga 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 Trumbull County 31 December 1805.
 * County Seat: Chardon

Description
The county was named for a Native American word meaning "raccoon". It's county seat is Chardon and was founded March 1, 1806. It is located in the North-eastern 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
Lake County •  Ashtabula County  •  Trumbull County  •  Portage County  •  Summit County  •  Cuyahoga 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.

Bible Records
For an extensive list of resources for Bible Records see Ohio Bible Records.

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

Local History

 * Pioneer and general history of Geauga County: with sketches of some of the pioneers and prominent men ([S.I.] : Historical Society of Geauga County, 1880) Digital version at Google Books; also available on microfilm at.
 * Riddle, Albert Gallation, History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio: with illustrations and biographical sketches of its pioneers and most prominent men (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Williams Bros., 1878) Digital version at Google Books; also available on microfilm at.

Land and Property

 * various years - Community contributed deeds Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War
Civil War service men from Geauga 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 Geauga County.


 * - 1st Regiment, Ohio Light Artillery, Batteries B and C
 * - 11th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company E
 * - 41st Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies B and G
 * - 105th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies B, C, E, F, and I

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
Online Newspapers

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * July 1906 - newspaper extracts from the Painsville Telegraph Courtesy OhioGenWeb
 * December 1914 - newspaper extracts from the Geauga Republican Courtesy OhioGenWeb
 * 8 September 1886 - Geauga County Pioneers list of pioneers printed in the Geauga Republican Courtesy OhioGenWeb

Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

Obituaries
The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center has an Ohio Obituary Index which includes from Geauga County newspapers.

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.
 * through 1917 - Probate index from microfilm records Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives
 * various years - Community contributed wills Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives
 * various years - will index and transcripts Courtesy OhioGenWeb

Repositories
Geauga County Courthouse 231 Main Street Chardon, OH 44024-1243 Phone: 216.285.2222 Probate  Judge has birth, marriage, death and probate records; County Health Department has burial records; Clerk Court has divorce and court records from 1806; County Recorder has land records

Family History Centers

 * Kirtland 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.

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

 * 1835 - Huntsburg Township personal property tax list Courtesy OhioGenWeb
 * 1833 - Newbury (Scroll down) Township personal property tax list Courtesy OhioGenWeb

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1867-1907 - Geauga County birth records Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives
 * 1850-1851 - vital records from the Geauga Republic Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * 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
 * 1806-1919 - Geauga County marriages and licenses Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives
 * 1823-1874 - list of marriages solomized by Noah Barrell Courtesy OhioGenWeb
 * 1850-1851 - vital records from the Geauga Republic Courtesy OhioGenWeb
 * July through December 1863 Vital records from the Jeffersonian Democrat Courtesy OhioGenWeb

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1840-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1850-1851 - vital records from the Geauga Republic Courtesy OhioGenWeb
 * July through December 1863 - Vital records from the Jeffersonian Democrat Courtesy OhioGenWeb
 * 1867-1907 - Geauga County death records Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives
 * 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

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