Ohio Genealogy Records: Start Here

Ohio records are split among county offices, state agencies, and private archives, and the split changes by date. Find your ancestor's record type in the table, then follow the link for your county.

Quick finder: what you need and where to look first

Record	Where to start
Births and deaths, 1867–Dec. 19, 1908	County Probate Court. There is no statewide index for these years, so you search county by county.
Births, Dec. 20, 1908 to today	Ohio Department of Health, Vital Statistics, or the local health department.
Deaths, Dec. 20, 1908–1970	Ohio History Connection (state death certificates). Indexes are on FamilySearch (1908–1953) and at the Ohio History Connection. How to read and order one.
Deaths, 1971 to today	Ohio Department of Health, or the local health department. Certified copies of any year come from the county health department.
Marriages	County Probate Court. Marriage records are also indexed on FamilySearch.
Wills and estates	County Probate Court after 1852. Before 1852, the Court of Common Pleas handled them.
Deeds and mortgages	County Recorder. First purchases from the federal government are in the BLM General Land Office records.
Divorces and civil suits	Clerk of Courts (Court of Common Pleas).
Property tax records	County Auditor, the Ohio History Connection, and FamilySearch.
Census	FamilySearch, Ancestry, and other census indexes (see the census notes below).
Newspapers	Ohio Memory, Chronicling America, and your county's library. Each county guide lists local titles.

Not sure which office is which? Read Which County Office Holds What, then open your county in the County Index.

Key dates every Ohio researcher should know

• 1803: Ohio became a state. Earlier records fall under the Northwest Territory (from 1787) and, for some areas, Virginia or Connecticut land claims.
• 1852: Under the new state constitution, Probate Courts took over wills, estates, guardianships, and marriage licenses. Earlier estates may be in Common Pleas or Orphans' Court records.
• 1867: County probate courts began recording births and deaths. Compliance was uneven, so a missing entry does not prove a birth or death didn't happen.
• December 20, 1908: Statewide birth and death certificates began. Cities and counties may hold their own earlier registers.

Because county boundaries changed through the 1800s, your ancestor's county may not have existed when the record was made. Check each county guide's "Before this county existed" box for parent counties.

Census notes for Ohio

• The federal census starts in 1790, but Ohio was not yet a state. The earliest Ohio schedules are fragmentary, and many early schedules are lost, so do not assume an ancestor is missing because you can't find them.
• Most of the 1890 federal census was destroyed in a 1921 fire. For that decade, look to city directories, tax lists, and the surviving 1890 veterans' schedules.
• Tax lists, land records, and church records often fill the gaps. Our county guides explain which ones survive.

Land records: why Ohio is different

Ohio land was divided into many survey systems: Congress Lands, the Virginia Military District, the Connecticut Western Reserve, the Ohio Company Purchase, and others. Which system your ancestor's land falls under decides where the first purchase record sits. Start with our Ohio Land Survey Districts map and guide, then search the BLM General Land Office Records for original federal patents.

State-level repositories

Free online starting points

Next steps

• Open your county in the County Index for addresses, online links, and a printable checklist.
• Need an Ohio death certificate (1908–1970)? Read how to read and order one, or request a search for $10. You pay only if I find it.
• Did your family come from Pennsylvania? See the Pennsylvania county guides.
• Hit a dead end? Visit Brick Walls for strategies.
• Watch the video series for walkthroughs of each record type.