Every Ohio courthouse splits its old records among several offices. Know which door to knock on before you make the trip.
Ohio's 1851 constitution created a separate Probate Court in every county, starting in 1852. Before that, wills, estates, guardianships, and marriages were handled by the Court of Common Pleas. If your ancestor died before 1852, ask the Clerk of Courts as well as the Probate Court.
Ohio created separate probate courts in 1852. For estates before 1852, look in the Court of Common Pleas records. Adoption files are sealed.
Partition suits often name every heir, their spouses, and where they lived. They are one of the best and least used family records in Ohio.
Follow a family's land forward and backward. A deed from several heirs can prove a family group.
Older tax duplicates are often at the Ohio History Connection or on FamilySearch rather than at the courthouse. Early tax lists help replace Ohio's lost 1800 and 1810 censuses.
Ohio death certificates from December 20, 1908 through 1970 are at the Ohio History Connection. Later deaths are at the Ohio Department of Health or the local health department.
Many old county home and commissioners' records have moved to the county archives, the library, or the Ohio History Connection. Ask where they went.
| Record | Start with |
|---|---|
| A will or estate before 1852 | Court of Common Pleas (Clerk of Courts) |
| A will or estate after 1852 | Probate Court |
| A marriage | Probate Court (statewide marriage registration began in 1949) |
| A birth or death, 1867 to 1908 | Probate Court registers |
| A birth or death after December 20, 1908 | Health Department, Ohio Department of Health, or the Ohio History Connection (deaths through 1970) |
| A divorce | Clerk of Courts |
| A naturalization | Court of Common Pleas or Probate Court; after 1906, also federal court and USCIS |
| A deed or mortgage | County Recorder |
| A tax list | County Auditor, Ohio History Connection, or FamilySearch |
| Heirs dividing land | Partition suits, Clerk of Courts |
| A guardian for minor children | Probate Court |
Before your trip, check whether the records you need have moved. Many Ohio counties have sent older books to a county archives, the public library, or the Ohio History Connection, and many are on FamilySearch. Records made before your county formed are in the parent county: see its formation date in the County Index.
Every county research guide lists that county's offices with addresses and phone numbers.
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