Montgomery County, Ohio Genealogy

Guide to Montgomery 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 Hamilton and Wayne Counties 24 March 1803.
 * County Seat: Dayton

Description
The county was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture Quebec City, Canada. It's county seat is Dayton and was founded May 1, 1803. It is located in the West 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
Darke County • Miami County • Clark County • Greene County • Warren County • Butler County • Preble County

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.

Biography
Centennial Portrait and Biographical Rcord of The City of Dayton and of Mongomery County, Ohio, Frank Conover, A.W. Bowen &amp; Co., 1897. Search inside this book at Google Books.

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

Census
1820 Census of Montgomery County. Many early residents of Montgomery County migrated north to Miami County.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Dayton

Lutheran

 * Records of Hope Lutheran Church, Dayton, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Directories
Montgomery County, Ohio Online Historical Directories - identifies historical city, county, business and other directories available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.

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 Montgomery County.

Local Histories

 * Brown, Ashley, The History of Montgomery County, Ohio: Containing a History of the County; Its' Townships, Cities, Towns, Schools, Churches, etc. (Chicago, Illinois: W.H. Beers and Co., 1882). Digital copy at


 * Drury, Augustus Waldo, History of the City of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, (Chicago, Illinois: S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1909). Digital copy at Google Books Internet Archive

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War
Civil War service men from Montgomery 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 Montgomery County.


 * - 1st Independent Battery, Ohio Light Artillery, a battery is like a company in an artillery regiment.
 * - 4th Regiment, Ohio Cavalry, Company H
 * - 113th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company I

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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

Obituaries
Online Indexes


 * Dayton Obituaries Index - currently covers the years 1850-1890, 1903-1913, 1920-1931, 1951-1957, 1985-present. Copies of the original obituaries can be obtained from the Dayton Metro Library.

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.
 * 1807-1850 - Probate records of Montgomery County 1803-1850 at Ancestry.com $ original data
 * 1850–1900 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. Images of probate estate files from the Montgomery County Records Center and Archive in Dayton, Ohio. Usually the files are chronological and have a case file number. This collection is being published as images become available.

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at: Ohio, Montgomery County Probate Estate Files (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Courthouse
Montgomery County Courthouse 41 North Perry Dayton, OH 45422-0002 Phone: 937.225.6118 Clerk Court has divorce and court records; Probate Judge has birth, marriage, death and probate records; County Recorder has land records

Family History Centers

 * Dayton 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

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

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