Hamilton County, Ohio Genealogy

Guide to Hamilton County Ohio genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Hamilton County, Ohio
Map
Location of Ohio in the U.S.
Courthouse
Address	Hamilton County Courthouse 1000 Main Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County Website

United States Ohio  Hamilton County 

 

Quick Dates

Births and deaths were recorded at the local, county and state level in various time periods.  Some births and deaths were recorded in multiple locations and the information in those records varies.  Hamilton County's civil records start in the following years:

Locality	Birth	Marriage	Death	Census	Land	Probate
Ohio (State Recording)	1908		1908	--	--	--
Hamilton County	1875	1817	1891	1820	1794	1791
Anderson Twp	1898		1907
Cincinnati	1874		1865	--	--	--
Norwood	1908		1908	--	--	--
St. Bernard	1889		1889	--	--	--

Boundary Changes

For animated maps illustrating Ohio county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Ohio County Boundary Maps" (1788-1888) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss

For a list of record loss in Ohio counties see: Ohio Counties with Burned Courthouses

Governmental Repositories

County Courthouses

County Clerk of Courts

Hamilton County Courthouse
1000 Main St.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Phone:513-946-5656 

Probate Judge has marriage, burial and probate records;
County Health Department has death records; Clerk Court
has divorce and court records from 1900; County Recorder
has land records

Directions and Parking

Online index to Divorces (1994-present), Civil and Criminal Cases (1989-present), Common Pleas (1997-present).

Court of Common Pleas

(513) 946-5800

Hours

Municipal Court

(513) 946-5700

Hours

Probate Court

William Howard Taft Center
230 E. Ninth St.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Hours and Location

Many records are now available online.  Archival Records: Estates 1791 - 1984; Wills 1791 - 1973; Trusts1791 - 1984; Guardianships 1791 - 1984: Marriages 1808 - 1983; Minister's License 1963 - 1975; Birth Records 1863 - 1908; Birth Registrations and Corrections 1941 - 1994; Death Records 1881 - 1908; Naturalizations 1856 - 1906; Probate Court Journal Entries 1791 - 1837; Physician Certificates 1919 - 1987.  Records are incomplete due to courthouse fires. 

First District Court of Appeals

William Howard Taft Center
230 E. Ninth St.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

(513) 946-3500

Directions

Federal Courts in Hamilton County

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
Office of the Clerk
Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse, Room 103
100 East Fifth Street
Cincinnati, Ohio  45202

Directions and Hours 

District Court for Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Highland, Lawrence, Scioto and Warren counties in Ohio.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse
100 East Fifth St.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
513-564-7000

U.S. Courts Library

(513) 564-7321[1]

Hours

Directions

• U.S. Court of Appeals for Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.
  
• U.S. Courts Library serves the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, District Courts, and Bankruptcy Courts.  The library is a repository for the Federal Depository Library Program.
  

County Recorder and Auditor

Hamilton County Administration Building
138 E. Court St.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-1236

Recorder's Office

(513) 946-4573

Land records 1794-present, maps, Veteran's Grave Registrations.  "Easy Reference List of Documents Recorded in the Recorder's Office" gives a complete list available records.

Auditor's Office

(513) 946-4000

Plats 1939-present.  Property search is availabe on their website by name or address. 

County Health Department

Hamilton County Public Health Department
250 William Howard Taft, 2nd Floor
Cincinnati, Ohio 45219
(513) 946-7800
Directions, Genealogical Research

Hamilton County births 1875-present, deaths 1891-present, Reading Health Department records.

Historical Facts

Parent Jurisdictions

Hamilton County was created 2 Jan 1790 as an original county in the Northwest Territory.  In 1803, Ohio became a state with Hamilton County as one of the original counties.

County seat: Cincinnati

Record Loss

• 1814, 1849, 1884 - courthouse fires 
• 1810, 1890 - no census
  
• Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
  
• blogs Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle.
  

Boundary Changes

See an interactive map of Hamilton County boundary changes.

Places

Populated Places

A Gazetteer of Hamilton Co., Ohio 1784-1986 can be found in Guide to Genealogical Resources in Cincinnati & Hamilton Co., Ohio, 6th Edition.  [Hereafter referred to as The Guide.]

Board on Geographic Names (BGN) can be searched for the names of populated places in Hamilton County.  Search for Hamilton County, Ohio with 'Populated Places' selected as the "Feature Class."

Townships

Anderson, Cincinnati, Colerain, Columbia, Crosby, Delhi, Green, Harrison, Miami, Millcreek (defunct), Spencer, Springfield, Storrs (defunct), Sycamore, Symmes, Whitewater

Neighboring Counties

• Boone County, Kentucky
• Butler County, Ohio
• Campbell County, Kentucky
• Clermont County, Ohio
• Dearborn County, Indiana
• Kenton County, Kentucky
• Warren County, Ohio
  

Family History Library

Addyston, Anderson Twp, Bevis, Bridgetown, Camp Dennison, Carthage, Cincinnati, Colerain Township, College Hill, Columbia Township, Crosby Township, Cumminsville, Delhi Township, Elmwood Place, Fairfield, Fernbank, Glendale, Green Township, Harrison, Lockland, Madisonville, Miami Heights, Monfort Heights, Montgomery, New Haven, North Bend, Norwood, Reading, Sayler Park, Springdale, Springfield Township, St. Bernard, Sycamore Township, The Village of Indian Hill, White Oak, Whitewater.  More may now be available.  If the community you are interested is not yet listed here, check the Family History Library Catalog.

FamilySearch Wiki/Online

Cincinnati

Terrace Park, Ohio Building Survey contains history of every building in the village with stories, photos, census and a deed index. The site also includes genealogy records for former residents.

Resources

For all Resources, please follow the link above. Specific topics:

Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups

Dabne, Wendell Phillips. Cincinnati's Colored Citizens: Historical Sociological and Biographical - Cincinnati, Ohio: Dabney Pub. Co., C 1926 FHL 977.178 F2d

Genealogy

Local histories are available for Hamilton County, Ohio Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Ohio Local Histories.

Local histories are available for Hamilton County, Ohio Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Ohio Local Histories.

History

Local histories are available for Hamilton County, Ohio Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Ohio Local Histories.

Land and Property

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Ohio Land and Property for additional information about early Ohio land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Maps

Military

Civil War

• Civil War service men from Hamilton County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Hamilton County.
  

- 11th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company K (Union Rifles)

Probate Records

From 1797 or the creation of the county, probate records were held by the Court of Common Pleas. After 1852, records are held by the {{{1}}} County Probate Court. See Ohio Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.

• 1790–1967 - Ohio, Probate Records, 1790-1967 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. This collection consists of probate records and estate files from county courthouses in Ohio. The content and time period varies by county, with more records being added as they become available. This Collection will include records from 1789 to 1996. Currently, (September 2012) the collection is only searchable by browsing the images. A list of Fires that have destroyed records in the courthouses of several counties are listed on the Record Description page.
  

Vital Records

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Marriages were usually recorded from the formation of the county and are held at the office of the County Probate Court. Divorce records are located with the county Clerk of Courts.

Any existing birth and death records from 1867 through December 19, 1908 are located at the County Probate Court. The Ohio Department of Health has birth records filed after December 20, 1908 and death records filed after January 1, 1954, while the Ohio History Connection houses death records from December 20, 1908 through December 31, 1953.

Societies and Libraries

Societies

Hamilton County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society

Hamilton County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society Blog

P. O. Box 15865
Cincinnati, OH 45215-0865
(513) 956-7078

Cincinnati Newspaper Death Notice and Hamilton County Marriage Indexes are available on their website. HCGS has numerous publications including the "The Tracer" (journal) and "The Gazette" (newsletter).  HCGS sponsors or co-sponsors numerous genealogical events.

Libraries

Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

800 Vine Street
Cincinnati, Ohio
45202-2009
(513) 369-6900

PLCH is one of the largest genealogical libraries in the country.  Very extensive Hamilton County history, genealogy and manuscript sources including a personal name card index to many local histories and manuscript materials.  Online resources include: Catalog, Virtual Library, Newsdex.

Cincinnati History Library and Archives

1301 Western Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45203
(513) 287-7030

Large collection of manuscript and microfilm materials including deeds, photographs, directories, census, local histories and military rosters.  They have a vital record card index to some of their newspaper and manuscript materials (incomplete coverage).  Online resources include:  Name Index to Local Histories, Digital Journals, Catalog (incomplete)and Archive and Manuscript Registers (incomplete).

University of Cincinnati Archives & Rare Books Library

8th Floor Blegen Library
P.O. Box 210113
2602 McMicken Circle
Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0113
(513) 556-1959
Location and Hours

The University of Cincinnati is the Ohio Network Of American History Research Center for Hamilton County.  They are the designated repository for government records of Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland and Warren Counties in Ohio.  The UC Archives has numerous records including the following online indexes:  Hamilton County Ohio Citizenship Records 1837-1916, Hamilton County Ohio Wills 1791-1901 and Deaths 1865-1912 (image and index, in progress).

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
  
• Cincinnati Ohio Family History Center
• Cincinnati Ohio East Family History Center (Montgomery)
  
• Hamilton Ohio Family History Center

Web Sites

• Hamilton County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
• Hamilton County, Ohio GenWeb
• Greater Cincinnati Memory Project
• Virtual Library for Cincinnati and Hamilton County
• Family History Library Catalog

Upcoming Events

This calendar displays events that may be of interest to local genealogists. Not all of the events are sponsored by the Hamilton County Genealogical Society. Clicking on the link will bring up additional details. Please contact the sponsoring agency for further information and confirmation. If you have an event you would like included on the calendar, please contact hcgsohio@gmail.com. Thanks!

Calendar of Events

The Calendar of Events can also be viewed on the Hamilton County, Ohio Genealogical Society blog.

Sources Consulted

The following sources were consulted in creating the Hamilton County, Ohio Wiki and its subpages:

The Handybook of Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002.

Archives and Rare Books Department, University of Cincinnati. Inventory of Government Documents for Eight Counties of Southwest Ohio, Revised Edition. Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati, 1993.

Bell, Carol Willsey. Ohio Guide to Genealogical Sources. [Baltimore]: Genealogical Pub. Co., Inc., 1988.

Cyprych, Deb. "Hamilton County, Ohio, Probate Court Records: Online at Last!." The Tracer 31 (February 2010): 1, 6-9.

Cyprych, Deb. "Hamilton County, Ohio, Vital Records." The Tracer 27 (March 2006): 1, 9-15.

Dempsey, Jim. "TRACER, Article Index, 1979-2008." County Genealogical Society accessed 26 February 2011.

Graver, Bill and Deb Cyprych. "Cincinnati and Hamilton County Directories," The Tracer 27 (September 2006): 65, 71-74.

Graver, William H. Hamilton County, Ohio Guide to Recorder's Indexes and Documents 1794-1988. Milford, Ohio: Little Miami Pub. Co., 2003.

Ohio. Supreme court. Ohio Supreme Court Reports of Cases Argued and Decided in the Supreme Court of Ohio, Vol. 1, 1852-1853. Columbus: Osgood and Blake, 1853.

Sperry, Kim. Genealogical Research in Ohio, 2nd Edition. [Baltimore]: Genealogical Pub. Co., Inc., 2003.

Stratton, Liz. "Probate Court Records Update - Indexes to Vital Records." The Tracer 31 (November 2010): 102.

Terheiden, Connie Stunkel and Kenny R. Burck. Guide to Genealogical Resources in Cincinnati; Hamilton Co., Ohio, 6th Edition. Milford: Little Miami Pub. Co., 2009.

Wikipedia.  "Northwest Territory."  Wikipedia. accessed 26 February 2011.

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)