Ohio Historical Societies

This directory lists 46 historical societies, museums, and archives in Ohio, most of them county societies such as the Stark County Historical Society in Canton, the Summit County Historical Society of Akron, and the Union County Historical Society in Marysville. Ohio's county societies are unusually strong because the county, not the town, has always been the record-keeping unit here, and many societies run their own research libraries.

Ohio was carved from the Northwest Territory and became a state on March 1, 1803; it has 88 counties. It was the first state laid out under the 1785 rectangular survey, but large tracts (the Virginia Military District, the Connecticut Western Reserve and others) were surveyed under their own systems, so a legal description tells you which land records to search. Births and deaths were recorded by county probate courts from 1867 and by the state from December 20, 1908; the 1810 federal census for Ohio was lost, and the state never took a census of its own.

Featured Historical Societies

Ohio's major research repositories

• Ohio History Connection Archives and Library (State Archives of Ohio), Ohio History Center, 800 E. 17th Avenue, Columbus. Holds the state archives plus the central newspaper microfilm collection, county records, military rolls and the Ohio death certificates for 1908-1970, with an online death index covering 1913-1944 and 1954-1970. The reading room is open limited days (Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., by appointment), so book through the library's scheduling page and search the WorldCat catalog in advance. ohiohistory.org/research/archives-library
• State Library of Ohio, Columbus. Partner with Ohio History Connection in Ohio Memory, the statewide digital collection of documents, photographs and newspapers contributed by libraries and societies across the state. ohiomemory.org
• Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland History Center. Its research library is one of the leading genealogical centers in the country, with funeral home indexes, family bibles, family histories and the manuscript collections of northeastern Ohio. Call (216) 721-5722 for library hours, which differ from museum hours. wrhs.org/research
• Ohio Genealogical Society, Bellville. The statewide genealogical society maintains its own library and chapters in most counties; chapter publications (cemetery, marriage and probate abstracts) are often the only index to a county's early records. ogs.org

Birth, death, marriage, and divorce records

Ohio has two registration layers. From 1867 county probate courts kept birth and death registers, which vary in completeness and are usually available on FamilySearch microfilm images or at the county. From December 20, 1908 counties sent birth and death certificates to the state.

• Deaths 1908-1953: certificate images are online free at FamilySearch, and the originals are at Ohio History Connection, which also holds certificates through 1970. Use its online Ohio death index (1913-1944 and 1954-1970) to find the certificate number.
• Deaths after 1970 and all births from 1908: order from the Ohio Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, or from the local health department in the city or county where the event occurred.
• Marriages: the county Probate Court holds marriage records from the county's formation. Beginning in 1949 probate courts forwarded copies to the state, so the Department of Health has only marriage abstracts from 1949 onward.
• Divorces: filed in the county Court of Common Pleas; the state holds abstracts from 1949 forward, not the case file.

Contact numbers listed by FamilySearch: Ohio Department of Health 614-466-2531; Ohio History Connection 614-297-2510.

Land, deed, and property records: Ohio's survey systems

Ohio is a public-land state, but its land was distributed through several separate systems, and the survey system in a deed's legal description determines where the first-title record lives.

• Virginia Military District (between the Scioto and Little Miami rivers): surveyed from 1787 by metes and bounds, not sections. Land was claimed with Virginia bounty-land warrants for Revolutionary War and French and Indian War service, so the warrant and survey entry name the veteran.
• Connecticut Western Reserve (northeast Ohio): sold to the Connecticut Land Company in 1795 and divided into shares in 1798; the Firelands at its western end were partitioned in 1808 among residents of nine Connecticut towns burned by the British.
• Seven Ranges, Ohio Company Purchase, Symmes Purchase, U.S. Military District, Refugee Tract and Congress Lands: the remaining tracts, mostly under the township-range-section grid first applied in Ohio under the Land Ordinance of 1785.
• Where to look: federal patents for Congress Lands are in the BLM General Land Office Records (glorecords.blm.gov). The Ohio Auditor of State's land office records contain plats of distribution with the names of original owners for the state-administered tracts. Every later deed, mortgage and lease is recorded by the County Recorder of each of the 88 counties, with grantor and grantee indexes from the county's organization.

Newspapers and city directories

• Ohio Memory newspapers: Ohio History Connection and the State Library of Ohio publish digitized Ohio newspapers at ohiomemory.org, free and keyword searchable.
• Chronicling America: Ohio titles digitized through the National Digital Newspaper Program are searchable by state at the Library of Congress site; the earliest Ohio paper, the Centinel of the North-Western Territory (Cincinnati, 1793-1796), is also online.
• Microfilm: Ohio History Connection holds the centralized newspaper collection assembled by the State Library, Ohio State University and the Historical Records Survey, covering most towns that ever had a paper.
• City directories: Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo, Dayton and Akron directories run back into the 1830s-1850s and are held by those cities' public libraries and by Western Reserve Historical Society; FamilySearch has digitized many Ohio directories. See using old city directories.

Census, military, and statewide indexes

• No state census: Ohio never took one. The 1800 Northwest Territory census survives only for Washington County, and the 1810 schedules were lost. Federal schedules exist from 1820 through 1950, with some counties incomplete in 1820, 1830, 1890 (nationwide loss) and 1930.
• Quadrennial enumerations: Ohio's best census substitute. Counties counted adult males aged 21 and over every four years from 1803 to 1911, later adding address, race, occupation and land ownership. Many survive at county auditors' offices, Ohio History Connection, or on FamilySearch.
• Death index: Ohio History Connection's searchable index for 1913-1944 and 1954-1970, paired with FamilySearch images for 1908-1953.
• Military: Ohio adjutant general rolls (Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I) at the State Archives, and county soldiers' discharge records at the County Recorder.
• Tax lists: county duplicates from the 1810s onward fill the gap left by the lost 1810 census and show land ownership by section.

Researching a house or building in Ohio

The State Historic Preservation Office has been part of Ohio History Connection since 1967 and works from the Ohio History Center at 800 E. 17th Avenue, Columbus. It runs the National Register program for Ohio, the Ohio Historic Inventory (survey forms on individual buildings), federal and state rehabilitation tax credits, and the Section 106 review process. ohiohistory.org/preserving-ohio

• Ask SHPO whether an Ohio Historic Inventory form exists for the address; it will contain a style description, estimated date and sometimes a deed summary.
• Historical markers: the Ohio Historical Markers program is catalogued county by county at Remarkable Ohio, with marker text, photographs and locations. remarkableohio.org
• Trace ownership at the County Recorder (deeds) and County Auditor (tax duplicates and transfer books), then work back to the survey system described above; see tracing a property deed history.
• Date the building with Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress online, and Ohio Memory and large public libraries for additional sheets), county atlases of the 1870s-1890s, and city directories, following when was my house built.

Working with Ohio historical societies

Ohio's county historical societies are often the owners of the county's research library, not just a museum, and several (Stark, Summit, Licking, Ross, Greene among them) employ archivists. Before contacting one, check whether the county also has an Ohio Genealogical Society chapter, because the chapter usually holds the published abstracts and the society holds the manuscripts and photographs. Township-level societies exist in the Western Reserve and in heavily German southwestern counties, where church records are the key to pre-1867 births. Many societies keep obituary files clipped from local papers that were never microfilmed; for a burial, ask them first and then use the approach in finding where someone is buried. Most research rooms open two to four days a week and close for part of the winter.

Additional Ohio History Resources

• Ohio History Connection Archives and Library - State Archives of Ohio in Columbus; death certificates 1908-1970, newspapers, county records
• Ohio Memory - Statewide digital collection including Ohio newspapers
• Ohio State Historic Preservation Office - National Register, Ohio Historic Inventory, tax credits
• Remarkable Ohio - Ohio Historical Markers database by county
• Western Reserve Historical Society Research Library - Major genealogy and manuscript library in Cleveland
• Ohio Genealogical Society - Statewide society with library in Bellville and county chapters
• BLM General Land Office Records - Federal patents for Ohio Congress Lands
• FamilySearch Wiki: Ohio Land and Property - Guide to Ohio's survey districts and land records
• FamilySearch Wiki: Ohio Vital Records - Dates and locations for Ohio births, deaths, marriages, divorces

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I get an Ohio death certificate from before 1970?

Ohio History Connection in Columbus holds the state death certificates from December 20, 1908 through 1970. Images for 1908-1953 are free on FamilySearch, and OHC's online index covers 1913-1944 and 1954-1970. Deaths after 1970 are ordered from the Ohio Department of Health or a local health department.

Did Ohio ever take a state census?

No. Ohio took no state censuses, and the 1810 federal census for Ohio was lost. Use the quadrennial enumerations of adult men (taken every four years by the counties from 1803 to 1911), county tax duplicates, and the surviving federal schedules from 1820 onward.

What is the Virginia Military District and why does it matter for my deed?

It is the tract between the Scioto and Little Miami rivers that Virginia reserved to pay its Revolutionary War veterans with bounty land. It was surveyed by metes and bounds from 1787, so deeds there cite survey numbers rather than sections, and the original entry names the veteran whose warrant was used.

Where are Ohio marriage records kept?

The Probate Court of the county where the license was issued holds marriages from the county's formation. The state only began receiving copies in 1949, so the Ohio Department of Health has marriage and divorce abstracts from 1949 forward; divorce files themselves are at the county Court of Common Pleas.