Ohio Research Tips and Strategies

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Research Tips and Strategies

Purpose of Research Tips and Strategies Wiki Page
The Ohio Research Tips and Strategies page consists of links to specific research strategies for Ohio. It also contains general tips and other resources for finding your ancestors in this locality.

Ohio Research Strategies[edit | edit source]

Below are links to different research strategy pages to help you locate your ancestors in Ohio:

Ohio Research Tips[edit | edit source]

These tips will help you as you research your ancestors in Ohio.

Birth information: Birth records in Ohio start on the county level in 1867 - although not all counties complied with the law. A helpful substitute record to find birth information is a death record. However, date and place of birth on a death record is considered secondary information, as it was not recorded at the time of the birth event. The birth information should be corroborated with other substitute records to improve accuracy.
Finding Parents: The State of Ohio began recording deaths in 1908. They often will list the parents of the deceased and their birth information. Search Ohio death records
Look in all censuses: Always look for your ancestor in every possible census. There are clues regarding immigration, naturalization, and occupation that can lead to other records. Sometimes parents can be found living with their children later in life. Search U.S. Censuses.
Missing census records: To help supplement missing 1800 and 1810 census records for Ohio, use tax lists in the county your ancestor may be living in: Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850

Ohio Record Finder[edit | edit source]

This brief Record Finder is designed to help you determine the best record to search for the type of information you are looking for. It is most helpful for post-1850 research. For a more complete Record Finder, covering additional research needs, see Ohio Record Finder.

1. What you are looking for:	2. Try these records first:	3. Other useful records
Birth information	Birth records Death records Obituaries Church records	Cemeteries Naturalization and Citizenship (after 1906) Bible records Military records
Marriage information	Marriage records Obituaries Bible records	Church records Probate records Military records
Death information	Death Records Cemeteries Obituaries	Probate Records Church Records Bible Records
Parents	Birth records Death records Obituaries Census Church records	Biography Genealogy
Maiden name	Marriage Records Obituaries Probate records	Church Records Military Records
Immigration date	Emigration and Immigration Naturalization and Citizenship (after 1906) Census	Obituaries Biography History
Naturalization	Naturalization and Citizenship (after 1906) Census Court Records	Voting Records Biography Periodicals
Physical description	Military Records Naturalization and Citizenship (after 1906) (after 1906)	Biography History

Further Ohio Research[edit | edit source]

Remember, for a more complete Record Finder, covering additional research needs, see Ohio Record Finder.
For online record collections, go to Ohio Online Genealogy Records.
For more research on Ohio, including research at the county level, visit the Ohio page on the Research Wiki.
Search all of the Ohio record collections at FamilySearch.