Ashland County, Ohio Genealogy

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


 * This article is about the north central Ohio county. For other uses, see Ashland.

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Huron, Lorain, Richland and Wayne Counties 24 February 1846.
 * County Seat: Ashland

Description
The county was named for the home of Senator Henry Clay near Lexington, Kentucky. It's county seat is Ashland and was organized in 1846. It is located in the North Cental 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 this county:

Neighboring Counties
Lorain County •  Huron County  •  Richland County  •  Knox County  •  Holmes County  •  Wayne County  •  Medina 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.

LDS Cemetery Records Vol. 1 page 97 - Cemetery on Highway 224 near Sullivan

Genealogy
Fry Family of Ashland County, Ohio

Local Histories

 * Hill, George William, History of Ashland County, Ohio : with illustrations and biographical sketches (Cleveland, Ohio : Williams Bros., 1880) Digital version at Google Books; ; also available on microfilm at.
 * Baughman, Abraham J., History of Ashland County, Ohio : with biographical sketches of prominent citizens of the county (Chicago: S.J. Clarke, 1909) Digital version at Google Books; ; also available on microfilm at.

Land and Property

 * 1790-1907 - Original purchasers of land from the Federal government Bureau of Land Management Database

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images


 * Civil War Civil War service men from Ashland 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 Ashland County.
 * 1st Regiment, Ohio Light Artillery, Batteries C and D
 * 102nd Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies B and K
 * 105th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company I


 * Roster - Ashland County Ohio –OHGenWeb Project- Known Ashland county Veterans of the Civil War

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * various years - Ashland County newspapers Courtesy of OhioGenWeb

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

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.
 * 1879 - probate notes Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
 * various years - Wills Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Courthouse
Ashland County Courthouse 110 W 2nd Street Ashland, OH 44805 Phone: 419.289.000


 * Clerk of the Courts has divorces and court records.
 * Probate Court has marriages and probate records.
 * County Recorder has land records.

Family History Centers
Mansfield Ohio Family History Center. For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the FHC directory.


 * Wooster Ohio Family History Center

Libraries

 * Ashland Public Library 224 Claremont Avenue Ashland, Ohio 44805 Phone: 419-289-8188

The Ashland County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS) maintains a Genealogy and Local History Room located on the first floor of the Ashland Public Library.


 * Ashland University Library 401 College Ave Ashland, OH 44805 Telephone(419) 289-4142

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


 * Ashland County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society
 * Ashland County Historical Society 420 Center St. Ashland, OH 44805 phone Phone: (419) 289-3111

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

 * 1825, 1828 - Tax Records Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
 * 1880 - Delinquent tax sale Courtesy of OhioGenWeb

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1800-1962 - Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1821–1962 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. This is an incomplete index of extractions of original records and of patron-submitted records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. Information may have been previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.
 * 1856–1909 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. The collection includes a name index and images of county birth records in Ohio. The time period and type of record varies by county.
 * 1908-1964 - Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964 at ancestry.com ($)

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * 1789-2013 - at FamilySearch — index and images. Name index and images of county marriage records acquired from local courthouses.
 * 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
 * 1803-1900 - Ohio Marriages, 1803-1900 at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1898-1912 - Ohio Marriages at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1970-2007 - Ohio Marriage Index, 1970, 1972-2007 at ancestry.com ($)
 * various years - Ashland County marriages extracted from Ashland County newspapers courtesy of OhioGenWeb

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1840-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1854–1997 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. Name index to death and burial records from the state of Ohio. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. This set contains 2,535,556 records. 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.
 * 1908–1953 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. Name index and images of Ohio statewide death certificates.
 * 1908–1932, 1938–1944, and 1958–2007 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. Index of deaths from the Ohio Department of Health in Columbus. Index provided by Ancestry.com.
 * various years -  Ashland County death records extracted for the Mansfield News Journal courtesy of OhioGenWeb and Amy E. Armstrong

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

 * 1962-2007 - Ohio Divorce Index, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007 at ancestry.com ($)

Websites

 * Ashland County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Ashland County OH Genealogy