Ohio Vital Records

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. 

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.

The Family History Library has microfilms of the vital records of many counties to at least 1908 and some counties to the 1970s. These are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under OHIO, [COUNTY] - VITAL RECORDS. Vital records at the state level are listed under OHIO - VITAL RECORDS.

Among other records, the Family History Library has:

Certificates of Death, 1908-1944; Index, 1908-1911. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio Historical Society. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1983, 1994-1995. (On 962 FHL films beginning with 929253.)

Ohio Historical Society, comp. Death Index, 1908- 1944. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1983, 1992, 1995. (On 21 FHL films beginning with 2023798.)

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 Daughters of the American Revolution (see the "Genealogy" section of this outline).

The Ohio Department of Health in Columbus has birth records since 20 December 1908 and death records for Ohio residents who died between January 1945 to the present. To obtain copies of these records, write to:

Division of Vital Statistics
Ohio Department of Health
P. O. Box 15098
Columbus, OH 43215-0098
Telephone: 614-466-2531
Internet: http://www.odh.ohio.gov/vitalstatistics/vitalstats.aspx

Death records from 1908 to 1953 can be searched online at
Internet: http://search.labs.familysearch.org

Birth and death records prior to 20 December 1908 are available from the probate court of the county where the event occurred.

Deaths that occurred between 20 December 1908 and December 1944 are available at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus.

The current fees for obtaining copies of the state's records are listed at:

http://www.vitalrec.com

Marriage and Divorce Records

The statewide registration of marriages began 7 September 1949. Records after that date can be obtained from the Division of Vital Statistics. The original marriage records, however, are filed with the probate judge in each county. A statewide index to marriages since 1949 is at the Division of Vital Statistics (address above).

Before statewide registration, individual counties recorded marriages, generally from the date the county was created. These include marriage records, marriage returns, marriage consents of minors by parents, and ministers' license records. Marriage records are considered one of Ohio's most valuable genealogical sources because of their early beginnings and completeness. Marriage records show the names of the bride and groom, the date of the marriage, the county in which the marriage occurred, and the officiating individual. Sometimes there is information about the ages and residences of the bride and groom. Parents are not usually named in records dated before 1900. Each county maintains a marriage index.

For each county in Ohio, the Family History Library has microfilmed the marriage records up to 1910 and some to 1970. Many existing county records of marriages before 1876 have been indexed in the International Genealogical Index, available at the Family History Library and at Family History Centers. However, since 25 counties have large information gaps or are not included in this index.

Many early marriage records are published in:

Smith, Marjorie, ed. Ohio Marriages Extracted from the Old Northwest Genealogical Quarterly. Thomson, Illinois: Heritage House, 1977-80. (FHL book 977.1 V25s; film 928183 item 3; fiche 6051390.)

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:

Hughes, Lois E. Hamilton County, Ohio, Marriage Index. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Book, c. 1994. (FHL book 977.177 V22h.)

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

Caccamo, James F. Marriage Notices from the Ohio Observer Series, 1827-1855. Apollo, Pennsylvania: Closson Press, 1994. (FHL book 977.1 V2c.)

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:

Marriage Records. CD/Automated Archives, numbers 2-5. Orem, Utah: Automated Archives, 1994. (FHL compact disc number 9, pt. 2-5; disc does not circulate to Family History Centers.) This file was acquired from the "Hunting for Bears" collection. Marriage information for Ohio is listed in part two. At the beginning of the list, unknown county records are given. (The introduction to this file gives information regarding the dates listed and the extraction methods used. It is not a complete index of all Ohio marriage records.)

Marriage Index. Family Tree Maker's Family Archives, Number 400. Orem, Utah: Brøderbund, 1996. (FHL compact disc number 9, part 400; disc does not circulate to Family History Centers.) The Ohio marriage data was acquired from Liahona, Inc. This CD uses the Soundex code for quick access to surnames and gives references to the FHL film number for each entry. The CD lists marriages by county and gives the dates covered.

Divorce proceedings were usually recorded by the state supreme court before 1852, but petitions were filed in the county court. Since then all records have been kept in the court of common pleas in each county. Records of divorce granted before 7 September 1949 may be recorded in the County Clerk of Courts Office of the county where the divorce was granted. Divorce records since 7 September 1949 are recorded at the Ohio Department of Health in Columbus.

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:

Bell, Carol Willsey. Ohio Divorces: The Early Years. Boardman, Ohio: Bell Books, 1994. (FHL book 977.1 V2b.)

Birth, marriage, and death records are listed in the Family History Library Place Search under:

OHIO - VITAL RECORDS

OHIO, [COUNTY] - VITAL RECORDS

OHIO, [COUNTY], [CITY] - VITAL RECORDS

Divorce records are listed in the Family History Library Locality Search under:

OHIO - DIVORCE RECORDS

OHIO, [COUNTY] - DIVORCE RECORDS

Web Sites

These websites contain many, many links to deaths, obituaries and other Ohio records.

http://www.deathindexes.com/ohio/

http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohgenweb/

http://www.genealogybranches.com/ohio.html

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

International Genealogical Index (FamilySearch) - free