Vital records, as their name suggests, are connected with central life events: birth, marriage, and death. Maintained by civil authorities, they are prime sources of genealogical information; but, unfortunately, official vital records are available only for relatively recent periods. These records, despite their recent creation in the United States, are critically important in genealogical research, often supplying details on family members well back into the nineteenth century. The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, by Loretto Szucs and Sandra Luebking.
Birth Records from Ohio
Birth records between 1867 through 1908 are publicly available. The Ohio History Connection holds probate court records from several Ohio counties. If the county’s birth records are held in their archives, research can be done at their Archives/Library’s Research Rooms. To determine if they have a certain county’s probate court records, do a Keyword General Search in the Manuscripts, Audio/visual and State Archives database of the Online Collections Catalog. For example search: Knox County Probate Court Birth*. For probate court birth records not held by the Ohio History Connection, you may wish to contact the probate court or clerk of courts directly. The probate court may still hold the records or tell you if they transferred their court records elsewhere. For birth records not in their collections, check the Library and Newspapers database of the Online Collections Catalog for indexes done by county genealogical and historical societies.
- Ohio, Births and Christenings, 1821-1962
Name index to birth, baptism and christening records from the state of Ohio. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and FamilySearch Centers. Due to privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records. A few records may be earlier or later. - Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003
Name index and images of county birth records in Ohio. The time period and type of record varies by county. The collection includes a name index and images of county birth records in Ohio. The time period and type of record varies by county. The records are usually handwritten on pre-printed pages, bound into books. The books are in register style with multiple entries to a page. The records are generally well preserved, though some may have been lost because of fire or other disasters. Some of the records have been sent to the Ohio Historical Society. Some of the birth records may be delayed, and created from other types of records. The collection covers the years 1841 to 2003. - Ohio, Births and Christenings, Index, 1800-1962 $
This database is an index extracted from more than 4 million birth, baptism, and christening records from Ohio. Volunteers extracted the birth, baptism, and christening details in this index from microfilmed copies of church, civil, family, and other records from Ohio. Note that the number of available records can vary widely by county, and this database does not necessarily represent a comprehensive set of birth, baptism, and christening records for the state during this time. - Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964 $
This database contains an index of Ohio births for the years 1908–1964. This index contains no images and is meant to be used to assist in finding the birth date and birthplace of your ancestors. Information found in this database may be used to assist in finding additional records. - Cincinnati Birth and Death Records, 1865-1912
A collection of over one-half million index cards digitally reproduced and provided for free on the University of Cincinnati website. The original index cards were created by the Cincinnati Health Department and as such are considered “official and legal” records of births and deaths for the years of 1865-1912. In actuality, some of the records show a date prior to 1865. It is believed that these early records reflect the “restoration” of vital documents by citizens after the 1884 Hamilton County Courthouse fire, and were eventually sent to the City of Cincinnati Health Department for recording. The original cards are housed in the Archives and Rare Books Library, University of Cincinnati Libraries, University of Cincinnati. - OH: Butler Co: Kimbles – Birth Records of Butler Co. Ohio – 1856-1901
- OH: Clermont Co: Birth records 1869-70
- OH: Columbiana Co: Leetonia, Births 1904-1908
- OH: Lawrence Co: Lawrence County, Ohio Births 1867 (which includes some 1868 and earlier)
- OH: Lawrence Co: Lawrence County, Ohio Births 1867 (which includes some 1868 and earlier)
Death records from Ohio
Death records are publicly available. The Ohio History Connection holds probate court death records for several Ohio counties between 1867-1908. Copies of Ohio Department of Health death certificates from December 20, 1908-December 31, 1963 are available through the Archives/Library’s Research Rooms at the Ohio History Center. To determine if they have a certain county’s probate court records, do a Keyword General Search in the Manuscripts, Audio/visual and State Archives database of the Online Collections Catalog. For example search: Knox County Probate Court Death*. For probate court death records not held by the Ohio History Connection, you may wish to contact the probate court or clerk of courts directly. The probate court may still hold the records or tell you if they transferred their court records elsewhere. For death records not in their collections, check the Online Collections Catalog for indexes done by county genealogical and historical societies.
- Select Ohio Public Records Index
This database indexes Death Certificates of persons that died in Ohio in the above years, useful for determining date of death and certificate number. Using the index information, a researcher can later obtain a copy of the certificate itself, which holds further information. The index comes from the following records:- Ohio Department of Health Death Certificates, 1913-1944
- Ohio Department of Health Death Certificates, 1954-1963
- Ohio Department of Health Stillborn Death Certificates, 1913-1935
- Ohio Department of Health Stillborn Death Certificates,1942-1949
- Columbus Board of Health Death Certificates, 1904-1908
- Ohio Girls Industrial School, 1869-1943
- Ohio Boys Industrial School, 1858-1944
- Ohio Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997
Name index to death and burial records from the state of Ohio. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. This set contains 2,535,556 records. Due to privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records. A few records may be earlier or later. - Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001
Index and images of death records from county courthouses. In some instances we did not have rights to publish images of records included in the index. Most of the records in this collection are death registers created before statewide death certificates in 1908. Death certificates issued by the state are published in the collection called Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953. - Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953
Name index and images of Ohio statewide death certificates. - Ohio, Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007
Index of deaths from the Ohio Department of Health in Columbus - Ohio, Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-2007 $
This database, with over 5.3 million names, lists those who died between 1908 and 2007 in the state of Ohio. Within that range the coverage is incomplete or missing for 1933-1937 and 1952-1955. - United States Social Security Death Index
Name index to deaths recorded by the Social Security Administration beginning in 1962. - U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 $
This database picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off by providing more details than those included in the SSDI. It includes information filed with the Social Security Administration through the application or claims process, including valuable details such as birth date, birth place, and parents’ names. While you will not find everybody who is listed in the SSDI in this database, data has been extracted for more than 49 million people. - Cincinnati Birth and Death Records, 1865-1912
A collection of over one-half million index cards digitally reproduced and provided for free on the University of Cincinnati website. The original index cards were created by the Cincinnati Health Department and as such are considered “official and legal” records of births and deaths for the years of 1865-1912. In actuality, some of the records show a date prior to 1865. It is believed that these early records reflect the “restoration” of vital documents by citizens after the 1884 Hamilton County Courthouse fire, and were eventually sent to the City of Cincinnati Health Department for recording. The original cards are housed in the Archives and Rare Books Library, University of Cincinnati Libraries, University of Cincinnati. - OH: Butler Co: Kimble (surname) – Death Records – 1869-1903
- OH: Central Ohio Death Certificates (selected surnames) 1909-1998
- OH: Columbiana Co: Leetonia Deaths 1893-1908
- OH: Greene Co: Baptist Church Records, Greene County, Ohio
- OH: Greene Co: Baptist Church Records, Greene County, Ohio
Marriage Records from Ohio
The Office of Vital Statistics does not issue marriage licenses (they are issued by the probate court or clerk of courts). The Office of Vital Statistics maintains the index of marriages that occurred in Ohio from January 1, 1950 to present. Some records may be held at the OHS. If not, they may be found at the probate court in the county where the event occurred or at the Ohio Network of American History Research Centers.
- Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013
Name index and images of county marriage records acquired from local courthouses. This collection is being published as images and records become available. - Ohio, Marriages, 1800-1958
Name index to marriage records from the state of Ohio. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and FamilySearch Centers. Due to privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records. A few records may be earlier or later. - Ohio Marriages, 1789-1898 $
Fifteen volumes of The ‘Old Northwest’ Genealogical Quarterly were published from 1898 through 1912 by The ‘Old Northwest’ Genealogical Society. The contents of these volumes included genealogies, cemetery inscriptions, church records, court records, and other information mostly for the state of Ohio. The Ohio marriages from these fifteen volumes have been extracted and reprinted in this book. Each bride and groom has two entries, one for the groom’s surname and the other for the bride’s maiden name. All the marriages are in one alphabetical sequence. Duplications in the original volume were discarded with any varying information so noted. - Ohio Marriages, 1803-1900 $
This database contains records of marriages that took place in Ohio between 1803 and 1900. Each record provides the names of both bride and groom, along with the marriage date. Records from the following counties may be found in this database: Allen, Ashland, Athens, Auglaize, Belmont, Columbiana, Coshocton, Clark, Crawford, Darke, Defiance, Fairfield, Franklin, Gallia, Hancock, Henry, Highland, Hocking, Holmes, Huron, Paulding, Jackson, Lawrence, Mahoning, Muskingum, Ottawa, Preble, Putnam, Richland, Ross, Sandusky, Scioto, Seneca, Shelby, and Wayne Counties. - Ohio Marriage Index, 1970, 1972-2007 $
The more than 3 million marriages that took place in Ohio between 1970 and 2007 are contained in this database. Unfortunately, the information in this database doesn’t include marriages during 1971 because it wasn’t available from the Ohio Office of Vital Statistics. This index isn’t a database of marriage certificates. It contains abstracts that were created with limited information for filing purposes. The abstracts can be used to find the actual marriage certificates in the individual county probate courts that issued the marriage certificate in Ohio. - OH: Ashtabula Co. Marriages
- OH: Monroe Co: Monroe County, Ohio Marriages, 1918-1924
- OH: Monroe Co: Monroe County, Ohio Marriages, 1925-1931
- OH: Monroe Co: Monroe County, Ohio Marriages, 1932-1950
- OH: Portage Co: Marriage Records 1805-1865, ‘E’ surnames
Divorce Records from Ohio
The Office of Vital Statistics does not issue divorce decrees (they are issued by the probate court or clerk of courts). The Office of Vital Statistics maintains the index of divorces that occurred in Ohio from January 1, 1954 to present.
- Ohio Divorce Index, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007 $
This database contains abstracts of divorce records for the state of Ohio. Beginning in 1962 and extending to 2007, this collection has information regarding the parties involved, and can provide information needed to request copies of divorce decrees, which are available through individual county courts in Ohio.