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Research in Ohio Court Records
Ohio Court records cover a wide variety of genealogy subjects that can help you in your research, this includes land ownership, courts, taxes, and naturalizations. Due to the fact Ohio court records cover a wide variety of subjects, they can help you in many various ways. Such as, they will often allow you to find ancestors' residences, identify occupations, discover financial information, identify citizenship status, or clear up relationships between people. The whole thing depends on the type of court records that your ancestors" names appear in. For Definitions of all court trems see the Genealogy Encyclopedia.
Ohio County records differ widely from county to county in both level of quality and volume. There are many types of court records that are most likely to possess information useful to your genealogical research.
Ohio Court Records - Almost all courts in America tend to be courts of record that is they are required by law to maintain a record of their proceedings. Ohio courts are no different. Even nowadays very few people escape mention within a court room records at some time during his or her everyday life as witnesses, litigants, jurors, appointees to office or as petition signatories. Even so Americans of a few of generations ago also expected to show up at local court proceedings should they were in session. It was a civic duty and then they could possibly be fined if they failed to attend. Ohio court files mirror U.S. history. Tucked away in courthouses in addition to archives pretty much everywhere are the dreams and worries of lots of citizens. The odds are great that your particular ancestors have left a concise record of at least some areas of life in a court room records. From 1787 to 1802 there were 3 judges who tried cases in Ohio Territory. However, most of those records no longer exist. After Ohio gained its statehood, in 1803, Chillicothe became home to a district court. The court system and its records have been reorganized, transferred, and divided multiple times since.
County court records in Ohio can also contain a lot of other useful information, including naturalization records, vital records, pension applications and other files. Until 1851 many of those records were located in the county seat at the county court of common please. After that time the records were transferred to the state supreme court offices. Some court records can also be found in miscellaneous volumes or along with deeds and land records.
The court record holdings at each county seat are listed in Bell's Ohio Guide to Genealogical Sources. The FHL and the Ohio Historical Society also have many of those records available on microfilm. The Ohio Network of American History Research Centers also holds several court records.
The National Archives Great Lakes Region holds some records from the Ohio circuit court. Those records from the northern division include: Cleveland: 1855 to 1962, Toledo: 1869 to 1962.
Records from the southern division include: Cincinnati: 1803 to 1962, Columbus: 1877 to 1962, Dayton: 1915 to 1962.
- See Also Research In Court Records
- Ohio Court Record Books (amazon.com)
Ohio Tax Records - As early as 1800 tax records started to be kept in what was then Ohio Territory. The Ohio Historical Society's archives holds a collection of original state auditor's office tax lists. Included in that collection are records from the time of county creation to 1838. Records are generally organized according to county and then township. There is no index available for those records. Many uninventoried tax records can be found in various Ohio county courthouses. Those records mat also be found in the county records manager's office or the county auditor's office.
All known Ohio tax records from 1800 to 1838 have been placed on microfilm by the FHL. Many Ohio federal tax records can be found at the National Archives Great Lakes Region. Included in those records are assessment books from the years of 1867 to 1873. District 10-Toledo and District 11-Columbus personal and corporate records are also available at the FHL.
Tax records are available at the county courthouses and in the Ohio History Commission. Where county records were lost, the state auditor’s copies are especially valuable. Some Personal property tax records have been published for some counties.
- See Also Research In Tax Records
- Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 (familysearch.org)
- Ohio Tax Record Books (amazon.com)
