County Research Guide

Montgomery County, Ohio

Formed March 24, 1803 from Hamilton and Ross counties — named for Revolutionary War General Richard Montgomery · county seat Dayton. Repository addresses, online record links, and a free printable record checklist below.

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Montgomery County, Ohio Genealogy & History

Short episodes that walk through Montgomery County's records, one record type at a time.

Formation · Settlers & Migration · Probate · Land · Tax · Churches · Newspapers · Where to Look

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Where the records are

Montgomery County Probate Court

41 N. Perry St., 2nd Floor, Dayton, OH 45422 · (937) 225-4640

mcohio.org/1209/Probate-Court

Estates, trusts, guardianships, adoptions, marriage licenses (937-225-4400), name changes, and mental-health commitments.

Montgomery County Recorder

451 W. Third St., Dayton, OH 45422 · (937) 225-4275

mcohio.org/1210/Recorder

Deeds, mortgages, and liens, with an online record-search portal (RISS).

Montgomery County Clerk of Courts (Court of Common Pleas)

41 N. Perry Street, Dayton, OH 45422 · (937) 496-7623

mcclerkofcourts.org

Divorces, civil suits (including partition suits that divide land among heirs), and Common Pleas journals. Before 1852, this court also handled wills and estates.

Montgomery County Auditor

451 W. Third Street, Dayton, OH 45422 · (937) 225-6024

mcauditor.org

Current tax lists and property transfer records. Early tax duplicates are on FamilySearch and at the Ohio History Connection.

Dayton Metro Library — The Dayton Room

215 E. Third St., 2nd Floor, Dayton, OH 45402 · (937) 463-2665

daytonmetrolibrary.org/history

Over 200 years of Dayton/Montgomery County/Miami Valley material: books, photos, maps, manuscripts; in-library Ancestry, Fold3, HeritageQuest, and Dayton Daily News archives (1898–1922 and 1990–present); the Dayton Obituary and Genealogy Database; and the "Dayton Remembers" digitized image collection.

Montgomery County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society (MCC-OGS)

PO Box 1584, Dayton, OH 45401 · meets at Dayton Metro Library, Community Room 2-B

mcc-ogs.org

Active for over 50 years — monthly meetings, in-person and via Zoom, free and open to the public. Maintains its own Cemetery Information resource page.

Dayton History (Carillon Historical Park)

1000 Carillon Blvd., Dayton, OH 45409 · (937) 293-2841

daytonhistory.org · Mon–Sat 9:30am–5pm, Sun 12–5pm

The county's historical society today — formed in 2005 when Carillon Historical Park merged with the former Montgomery County Historical Society. A separate organization from MCC-OGS above, with no direct organizational relationship.

Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County — Vital Statistics

Reibold Building, 117 S. Main St., Dayton, OH 45422 · (937) 496-3114

phdmc.org — Vital Statistics

Can issue any Ohio birth certificate, 1908–present. Deaths in Montgomery County, 1909–present. For deaths 1867–1908, contact the Probate Court; for deaths in the City of Dayton 1867–1908, contact the City directly.

Cemetery records

Interment.net — Montgomery County and OhioGravestones.org, plus MCC-OGS's own Cemetery Information page.

Not sure which office has what? See Which County Office Holds What.

Before Montgomery County existed

Montgomery County was formed in 1803 from Hamilton and Wayne Counties. For records made before then, search the parent counties:

Land: Congress Lands

Most of Montgomery County's land was federal Congress Lands, surveyed in townships and sections and first sold through U.S. land offices. The first buyer of each tract received a federal patent.

More for Montgomery County

Newspapers of Montgomery County

Titles that covered Montgomery County, historic and current, with where to search each one. Not every historic title has been digitized — several survive only on microfilm.

TitleYearsWhere to Search
Weekly Empire / Dayton Daily Empire1844-1867Chronicling America (Library of Congress)
Dayton Daily Herald1879-1890Chronicling America (Library of Congress)
Dayton Times1890-1898Chronicling America (Library of Congress)
Dayton Forum1918-1946Chronicling America (Library of Congress)
Dayton Daily News1898-presentDigitized 1898-1922 Dayton Metro Library; Newspapers.com/GenealogyBank for later
Journal Herald1949-1986Microfilm only — Dayton Metro Library (Dayton Room); Wright State archives

Download the Newspaper Research Log (PDF)

Printable Record Checklist

Fill in what you're looking for, print it, and take it with you to the courthouse or library.

Brick Walls & Buckeyes emblem Brick Walls & Buckeyes brickwallsbuckeyes.com · Montgomery County, Ohio

Vital & Probate

Birth record (Health Dept. 1908+, or Probate earlier)
Death record (Health Dept. 1909+, or Probate earlier)
Marriage record (Probate Court)
Will / estate administration file
Guardianship record
Divorce or court case (Clerk of Courts)

Land & Property

Deed / land transfer (Recorder's Office)
Mortgage record
Lien record
Tax duplicate (Auditor, FamilySearch)
First land purchase or patent (BLM GLO or county deeds)

Community & Print

Newspaper mention (Dayton Daily News)
Surname family file (The Dayton Room)
Cemetery record / headstone photo
Museum artifact record (Dayton History)
Census record

Addresses and links last checked October 2026.

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