Fayette County, Ohio Genealogy

Guide to Fayette 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 Highland and Ross Counties 19 February 1810.
 * County Seat: Washington Court House

Description
The county was named for the Marquis de Lafayette, a Frenchman who was an officer in the American Army in the Revolution. It's county seat is Washington Court House and was founded March 1, 1810. It is located in the Midsouth-central 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
Madison County •  Pickaway County  •  Ross County  •  Highland County  •  Clinton County  •  Greene 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
1828  A courthouse fire may have damaged or destroyed some records.

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.

Lutheran

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

Court Records
Click for the Fayette County Government Information Center.

History


The county is named after Revolutionary War hero, the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834).

Local History

 * Allen, Frank M., History of Fayette County, Ohio: her people, industries and institutions… (Indianapolis, Indiana : B.F. Bowen, 1914) Digital version at Google Books; Internet Archives; available on microfilm at.
 * Dills, R.S., History of Fayette County together with historic notes on the Northwest, and the state of Ohio… (Dayton, Ohio : Odell &amp; Mayer, 1881) Digital version at Google Books; Internet Archives; available on microfilm at.
 * Putnam, Rufus Pioneer record and reminiscences of the early settlers and settlement of Fayette County, Ohio (Cincinnati, Ohio : Applegate, Pounsford &amp; Co., 1872) Digital version at Google Books; ]; available on microfilm at.

Land and Property
Fayette County was in the Virginia Military District an area of land in what is now the state of Ohio that was reserved by Virginia to use as payment in lieu of cash for its veterans of the American Revolutionary War. Surveys were done using the metes and bounds method used in Virginia, rather than the Public Land Survey System established by the Land Ordinance of 1785 used for most of the Northwest Territory.

Maps



 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

War of 1812
Gettys, Rober Clay, Fayette County Militia on the Ohio Frontier : War of 1812 (Belfast Northern Ireland, Gettys, 1985) pages 12 FHL Book 977.A1

Civil War
Civil War service men from Fayette 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 Fayette County.

- 54th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies A, C, and I

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
Online Newspapers


 * various years - community contributed newspaper articles Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

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.
 * 1828-1878 - Chancery and Commons Pleas Court Records, Fayette County, Ohio: 1828-1878 at Ancestry.com ($) Original data
 * various years - community contributed wills Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

Courthouse
Fayette County Courthouse 110 E Court Street Washington Court House, OH 43160-1355 Phone: 614.335.5910 Clerk Court has divorce records from 1853 and court records from 1828; Probate Judge has probate records; County recorder has land records

Family History Centers
Wilmington 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.

Libraries

 * Carnegie Public Library

Societies
Fayette County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 342, Washington Court House, Ohio 43160. Publishes quarterly newsletter.

Fayette County Historical Society, 517 Columbus Avenue, Washington Court House, Ohio 43160.

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


 * 1909-1999 - Fayette County death index searchable online index. Courtesy OhioGenWeb
 * various years - Fayette County Births Courtesy OhioGenWeb
 * various years - community contributed birth records Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records Original Marriage Records on Microfilm


 * 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
 * various years - community contributed marriage records Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1840-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1867-1908 - Fayette County Archive 1867-1908 Death Index Compiled by staff of the Carnegie Public Library, this index provides Book # and Page number information searchable by name.
 * 1908-1953 - Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953 Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch.org from the Ohio Department of Health via the Ohio Historical Society. 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.
 * various years - St. Colman Church Death Records Patron-donated index of of the St. Colman Church. Searchable index. Search results include the name, address (city and state), date of death and burial, name of cemetery, name of minister.
 * various years - Fayette County death records Courtesy OhioGenWeb

Online Death Indexes and Records

Websites

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