Ohio Vital Records: Difference between revisions

''[[United States|United States]] > [[United States Vital Records|United States Vital Records]] > [[Ohio|Ohio]] > Ohio Vital Records''  

== Introduction to Vital Records  ==

Civil governments have created records of births, marriages, and deaths. Records containing this information are commonly called “vital records,” because they refer to critical events in a person's life. These are the most important documents for genealogical research, but the births, marriages, and deaths of many people have never been recorded by civil authorities.  

Each state eventually developed its own laws and created a statewide registration system. Unfortunately, these records do not exist until the early 1900's in most states. Local offices did not always comply immediately with the registration laws. Within 20 years after registration laws were enacted, most states were recording at least 90 percent of the births and deaths.  

==== Birth and Death Records  ====

County-level registrations of births and deaths began in 1867 and were kept by the probate court; however, they are incomplete. A few counties have records dating from the 1840s. These records include the names of the parents and their place of residence. The obligatory recording on a state level of births and deaths in Ohio began 20 December 1908.<br>Birth and death records prior to 20 December 1908 are available from the probate court of the county where the event occurred. For more information see the [[Ohio County Birth Records|Ohio County Birth Records]] and [[Ohio County Death Records|Ohio County Death Records]] pages.  

These records are in the county or city health departments. The state-level birth records usually contain a child's name, place and date of birth, sex, race, name and birthplace of father, and maiden name and birthplace of mother. The state-level death records usually include a child's name, place and date of death, sex, age at death, marital state, place of birth, parents, occupation, cause of death, and last residence.  

Delayed and corrected registrations of births are also available for many counties at the Family History Library. Another source for vital statistics is the large collection of family Bible and cemetery records compiled by the [http://www.ohiodar.org/ Daughters of the American Revolution] also (see the "[[Ohio Genealogy|Genealogy]]" page).  

==== Adoption Records  ====

Many early marriage records are published in:  

For the southwestern region of the state, the Hamilton County, Ohio, marriage records often include the names of couples who lived in the Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky Counties along the Ohio River. A published marriage index for 1817 to 1840 is available at the Family History Library in:  

The marriages of those living in the northeastern area of Ohio may be found in:  

The Family History Library has a number of compact discs with vital records information from many states in the Automated Resource Center (ARC). For Ohio, the following may be helpful:  

=== Divorce Records  ===

Certified copies of divorce records after 1949 are not available from the Ohio Department of Health. Certified copies of earlier divorce records may be available from the Court of Common Pleas where the divorce was granted. The Family History Library has few of these files. One significant publication is:  

Many '''eloping couples '''went to Cincinnati, Hamilton County, or Aberdeen, Brown County, Ohio to be married and to avoid the waiting period between the time of issuing a license and the performance of the marriage.  

*Death records from 1908 to 1953 can be searched on [http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=2;t=searchable;c=1307272 FamilySearch]. The site will let you view and save the actual death record.  

*The Ohio Department of Health <ref name="Ohio Department of Health" />in Columbus has death records for Ohio residents who died between January 1945 to the present. They can be contacted for copies of records.  

*[http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/death// Deaths that occurred between 1913 and December 1944] are available at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus, copies are available for a small fee.  

*'''Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953''' Free name indexes and images at [http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=collectionDetails;t=searchable;c=1307272 FamilySearch – Pilot]. Records include such information as birth date of deceased, city, county, and state of death, name of spouse if married, names of parents, maiden name of mother, name of informant, if deceased was single, married, windowed or divorced, occupation of deceased<br>

*[[Ohio Church Records|Ohio Church Records]]  

*[[Ohio Census|Ohio Census]]  

*[[Ohio Newspapers and Obituaries|Ohio Newspapers]]  

=== Analyzing Records  ===

*[[Ohio Archives and Libraries|Ohio Archives and Libraries]]  

=== Family History Library  ===

*[http://ohgen.net/usa/states/ohio/vital-record-batch-numbers-by-county/index.html Ohio Vital Record Batch Numbers by County; OHGen.net]  

*[http://www.genealogybranches.com/ohio.html Ohio Vital Records Indexes]

== References  ==