County Research Guide

Morrow County, Ohio

Formed March 1, 1848 from Knox, Delaware, Marion & Richland counties · county seat Mount Gilead. Repository addresses, online record links, and a free printable record checklist below.

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Morrow County, Ohio Genealogy & History

Short episodes that walk through Morrow 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

Morrow County Probate Court

48 E. High St., Mount Gilead, OH 43338 · (419) 947-5575

morrowcountyohio.gov — Probate Court

Estate administration, guardianships, wills, and marriage licenses. Also historically held births and deaths for 1867–Dec. 19, 1908, before the state vital-records system took over.

Morrow County Recorder

48 E. High St., Suite 8, Mount Gilead, OH 43338 · (419) 947-3060

morrowcountyohio.gov — Recorder

Deeds, mortgages, liens, and other real-property records. Online record search available.

Morrow County Clerk of Courts (Court of Common Pleas)

48 E. High Street, Mount Gilead, OH 43338 · (419) 947-2085 ext. 2224

morrowcountyohio.gov

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

Morrow County Auditor

48 E. High Street, Room 7, Mount Gilead, OH 43338 · (419) 946-4060

auditor.co.morrow.oh.us

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

Mount Gilead Public Library — Genealogy Department

35 E. High St., Mount Gilead, OH 43338 · (419) 947-5866

mglibrary.org/genealogy

Thousands of microfiche family records, county histories (1880, 1911, 1989), historical atlases, full cemetery surveys, yearbooks since 1922, published birth/marriage/death compilations, and free in-library Ancestry access.

Morrow County Genealogical Society (OGS Chapter)

PO Box 401, Mount Gilead, OH 43338 · meets at the library, 35 E. High St.

morrowcountygenealogy.org

Chartered as an OGS chapter in 1977. Meets 4th Saturday of the month, 2pm, at the Mount Gilead Public Library. Effectively runs the genealogy collection at the library above.

Morrow County Historical Society — History Center

17 W. High St., Mount Gilead, OH 43338 · (419) 560-9014

morrowcountyhistoricalsociety.com · Sundays 1:30–4pm, April–November

A separate organization from the Genealogical Society above — a museum/history center in the former First-Knox National Bank building, focused on artifacts and exhibits rather than genealogy records.

Morrow County Health District — Vital Statistics

480 Douglas St., Mount Gilead, OH 43338 · (419) 947-1545

morrowcountyhealth.org — Vital Records

Certified births anywhere in Ohio from 1908 forward, and Morrow County deaths 1908–present. Records from 1867–Dec. 19, 1908 are held at Probate Court instead.

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

Before Morrow County existed

Morrow County was formed in 1848 from Knox, Delaware, Marion, and Richland Counties. For records made before then, search the parent counties:

Land: U.S. Military District

Part of Morrow County lies in the U.S. Military District, federal land set aside to pay Continental Army veterans of the Revolutionary War with bounty land warrants.

Other parts of the county were federal Congress Lands or smaller special tracts. Where land was sold by the federal government, the first purchase appears as a federal patent.

More for Morrow County

Newspapers of Morrow County

Titles that covered Morrow 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
The Whig Sentinel (Mount Gilead)1848-1857Chronicling America (Library of Congress)
Mount Gilead/Morrow Sentinel1857-presentChronicling America (1860s-1920s); microfilm/current — Morrow County District Library
The Union Register (Mount Gilead)1861-1900sChronicling America (Library of Congress)
The Morrow County Republican (Mount Gilead)1905-1919Chronicling America (1910-1919 digitized)
Cardington Independent1872-1971Ohio Memory; microfilm only — Morrow County District Library
Cardington Reveille / Cardington Republican1865-1900sMicrofilm only — Morrow County District Library
Morrow County Independent / Tri-County Star1905-presentGenealogyBank; microfilm/current — Morrow County District Library

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 · Morrow County, Ohio

Vital & Probate

Birth record (Health Dept. 1908+, or Probate earlier)
Death record (Health Dept. 1908+, 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 (Morrow County Sentinel)
Surname family file (Mount Gilead Public Library Genealogy Dept.)
Cemetery record / headstone photo
Museum artifact record (Morrow County History Center)
Census record

Addresses and links last checked October 2026.

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