Monroe County, Ohio Genealogy

Guide to Monroe 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 Belmont, Guernsey and Washington Counties in 29 January 1813.
 * County Seat: Woodsfield

Description
The county was named for James Monroe. It's county seat is Woodsfield and was founded January 29, 1813. It is located in the South-East 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
Belmont County •  Noble County  •  Washington County  •  Pleasants County, West Virginia  •  Tyler County, West Virginia  •  Wetzel County, West Virginia  •  Marshall County, West Virginia

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
1840, 1867 Courthouse fires may have damaged or destroyed some records.

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

Court Records
Monroe County was initially served by the Ohio District Court from the county's creation in 29 Jan 1813. On 10 Feb 1855, the court was divided into Northern and Southern districts, and Monroe became part of the Southern District. On 3 Mar 1911, the court was further divided and Monroe was subsequently part of the Southern Eastern District. District and Circuit Courts had the same jurisdictions. See Ohio District Court Jurisdictions for a chart of the Ohio counties and the district courts that served them.

Ohio District and Circuit Court Records from 1803-1961 are held at the National Archives at Chicago.

Local Histories

 * Monroe County Historical Society, History of the Early Communities of Monroe County, Ohio, (Monroe County Historical Society, Ohio).


 * Maienknecht, Theresa A., and Stanley B., Monroe County, Ohio: A History, (Mt. Vernon, Indiana: Windmill Publications, 1989).


 * Combined History of Monroe County, Ohio, from H.H. Hardesty and Caldwell's Atlas of Monroe County, (Chicago, Illinois: H. H. Hardesty, 1882) and (Mount Vernon, Ohio: Atlas Publishing Co., 1898).


 * Howe, Henry, Monroe County, Ohio: Chapter 2 from Historical Collections of Ohio, (Woodsfield, Ohio: Monroe County Historical Society, 1983).


 * Wolf, Carolyn Zogg, Nine Communities of Monroe County, Ohio: A History, (Woodsfield, Ohio: Monroe County Historical Society, 1984).

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)
 * Family Maps of (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War

 * - Civil War service men from Monroe 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 Monroe County.


 * - 116th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies A, C, D, E, and F

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
Online Newspapers Online Newspaper Abstracts Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

The Spirit of Democracy newspaper was published in Woodville, Monroe, Ohio. Issues from 1844-1887 are available online at the Library of Congress through the Chronicling America website.

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
Monroe County Courthouse 101 N Main Street Woodsfield, OH 43793 Phone: 740.472.0761 Clerk Court has divorce and court records from early 1800’s Probate Judge has marriage and probate records; Count Recorder has land records

Family History Centers

 * New Martinsville West Virginia 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

 * 1800–1850 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. Name index of tax records as recorded with the County Auditor of each county. Entries are recorded in voucher books, one person per page. The majority of the tax records in this collection are for the years 1816 through 1838. Currently (September 2012) this collection is 17% complete. Additional records will be added as they are completed.

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage

 * 1789-2013 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1800-1958 - at FamilySearch — free; Index.
 * 1800-1942 - at FamilySearch — index

Online Marriage Indexes and Records Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1840-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 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

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