Ohio Genealogical Society

United States

Ohio

Archives and Libraries

Ohio Genealogical Society

Ohio Genealogical Society
Motto	The premier Ohio family heritage resource
Established	15 August 1959
Contact Info
Address	611 State Route 97 West Bellville OH 44813-8813
Telephone	419-886-1903
Fax	419-886-0092
Email	ogs@ogs.org
Website	www.ogs.org
Facebook	Follow us on Facebook
Twitter	@OhioGenSoc
Society Officers
President	Margaret Cheney, Elyria
Cost of Membership	basic single member $35/year
Affiliations

Purpose of the Society

Ohio Genealogical Society Mission

The Ohio Genealogical Society is the largest state genealogical society in the United States. Its mission is to meet the educational needs of its members and the general public through the acquisition, preservation, and dissemination of genealogical and historical information.

OGS is a non-profit organization, incorporated under Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3) whose purposes are:

• Fostering an interest in all of the peoples who contributed in any way to the establishment and perpetuation of the state of Ohio.
• Searching for the reasons and forces behind the migration of early settlers into this state.
• Preserving and safeguarding manuscripts, books, and memorabilia relating to the early settlers of Ohio.
• Securing and holding copyrights, master copies and plates of books, periodicals, tracts, and pamphlets of genealogical and historical interest to the people of Ohio.
• Publishing, printing, buying, selling and circulating literature regarding the purposes, records, acquisitions and discoveries of the Society.
• Aiding others in the publication and dissemination of materials pertaining to Ohio, including biography and family and local history.
• Receiving and holding gifts and bequests from any source for the benefit of the Society, disposing of such gifts and bequests not needed and using funds derived therefrom solely for the purposes of the Society.
• Doing all things incidental to the perpetuation of the purposes of the Society, and exercising the powers legally and properly requisite thereto.

Membership Benefits

Single Membership $40.00;  Joint Membership $45.00;  Click here to join.

The Ohio Genealogical Society gives its members valuable benefits including:

• Award-winning Ohio Genealogy News
  
• Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly
  
• Members-only section of the OGS website
  
• Use of the OGS Library at no charge
  
• OGS Lending Library
  
• Discounts on OGS Publications and Conferences
  
• OGS Lineage Societies
  
• Knowledgeable staff and volunteers

Your membership in The Ohio Genealogical Society will help you further your research goals and will also help OGS in its important work of collecting and preserving Ohio's family history and heritage.

Events

OGS Events Calendar by Date

Chapters

OGS Chapters alphabetical by county name. Many counties in Ohio have a chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society.

Members ONLY Databases

These databases are available only to members. They are NOT public databases:

• Heritage Pursuit (includes multiple county histories from 88 Ohio counties - searchable)
• 11 databases for MEMBERS ONLY from the Ohio Civil War Center
• hundreds of Ohio County databases
• Statewide Databases such as:
  • African-Americans Migrating to Ohio, 1861-1863
    
  • 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Reunion, 1883
    
  • Roster of the 60th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 1906
    
  • Ohio State Medical Society, 1899
    
  • Virginia Military District School Land Sales, 1814-1815
    
  • Ohio Birth Index, 1940-1998
    
  • Ohio Marriage Index, 1789-1830
    
  • Ohio Marriage Index, 1970-1990
    
  • Ohio Divorce Index, 1962-1996
    
  • 1812 Ohio Tax List Index, A-Gibbs
    

Library Services and Resources

The Ohio Genealogical Society has the best collection of family folders in Ohio. They also have county record guides, biographies, genealogies and unique indexes to various Ohio records.

Library Services:  copy service, lending library, meeting rooms, researchers list, scanning and photocopy services, speakers bureau, and tours.

Library Resources.  The OGS Library is an indispensable resource for Ohio genealogy.

• Over 40,000 books alphabetically by state/county/subject
• Ohio published histories and genealogical references
• Large family history section
• 250,000 ancestor cards alphabetical by surname
• 4,000 Family Bible records, indexed
• Century Families of Ohio files
• First Families of Ohio files, with over 10,000 pre-1821 Ohio settlers
• Settlers and Builders of Ohio files
• Society of Civil War Families of Ohio files
• Various Ohio county court records on microfilm
• Ancestor Charts filed by member surname
• Eight cabinets of family files
• Complete set of Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly (formerly The Report ), OGS Genealogy News, Ohio Records and Pioneer Families, Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal, Gateway to the West and other periodicals
• Ohio Cadastral Map Collection (Land owners)
• Ohio census 1820-1940 and indexes
• Newsletters from 100 OGS Chapters
• Original 1880 Census volumes
• 1000 CD ROM titles, computer stations, Internet access
• County and City Directories for Ohio
• Yearbooks
• Over 300 manuscript collections
• FamilySearch: Historical Records, Family Tree, International Genealogical Index, and Ancestral File for the World

Internet sites and FREE databases:

• Samuel D. Isaly Library hours, admission, contact, resources, and policies.
• OGS Library Catalog by "Anywhere," Author, Subject, Title.
• OGS Library Manuscripts 326 manuscripts by file number.

• FREE databases from the Ohio Civil War Center:
  • Names of Union Soldiers with Civil War Service in Ohio Units
  • Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal Subject Index
  • Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal Surname Index
  • Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal - TOC Index
  • OH Records and Pioneer Families  and OH Gen Quarterly  Civil War Subject Index
  • Society of Civil War Families of Ohio Roster

• Lineage Societies
  • Century Families of Ohio
  • First Families of Ohio Roster
  • Ohio Mayflower Society Index
  • Roster of Society Of Civil War Families of Ohio (SCWFO)
  • Settlers and Builders of Ohio Roster

• Military
  • Ohio's Revolutionary War Veterans Index
  • World War I 83rd Division Personal Information Cards Index

• OGS Databases
  • OGS Bible Records Index
  • Ohio Cemetery Locations Index
  • Ohio Obituary Index
  • Whissemore Photograph Collection

Ohio Civil War Center

The Ohio Civil War Center  provides online databases and resources relating to Ohio’s participation in the Civil War.

Current OGS Publications

For past and present publications of the Ohio Genealogical Society, click here. Current Ohio Genealogical Society publications include:

• Ohio Genealogy News
• Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly

• Eric Eugene Johnson, Ohio's Black Soldiers Who Served in the Civil War, 312 pages.
• E. Paul Morehouse, and Eric E. Johnson, Grave Marking Ceremonies: Planning and Conducting an Event, 8 pages.

Alternate Repositories

If you cannot visit or find a source at the Ohio Genealogical Society, a similar source may be available at one of the following.

Overlapping Collections

• National Archives I, Washington DC, census, pre-WWI military service & pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, federal bounty land, homesteads, bankruptcy, ethnic sources, prisons, and federal employees. Includes Northwest Territory (Ohio) papers.
• National Archives at Chicago old federal court and agency records for Ohio, U.S. federal censuses 1790–1940; military service and pension indexes, passenger lists, naturalizations, Ancestry.com, HeritageQuest, Fold3.
• Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana, premier periodical collection, including Ohio genealogies, local histories, databases, military, censuses, directories, and passenger lists.
• Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, a large repository with genealogies, local histories, censuses, military, land, indexes, vital records, court, and tax records mostly from the Mississippi Valley, eastern seaboard, Canada, and the British Isles.
• Ohio History Connection, Columbus, serves as a state archives. Excellent manuscript collection of government, land, and military records. Also, biographies, genealogies, and vital records.
• State Library of Ohio, Columbus, has good records of Ohio, and of states like Pennsylvania, New York, and the states of New England which all contributed early immigrants to Ohio.

Similar Collections

• Franklin County Genealogical and Historical Society, Grove City, research services, obituaries, and pioneer families.

Neighboring Collections

• Richland County Public Health Office of Vital Statistics, Mansfield, births and deaths since 1909.
  
• Richland County Clerk of the Courts, civil, and criminal cases.
• Richland County Recorder land records, DD-214 military discharges, veterans graves.
• Richland County Coroner suspicious or unusual deaths.
• Richland County Probate Court adoptions, birth, guardianships, mental commitments, name changes, probates and wills.
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, Cleveland, recent civil and criminal cases.
• Repositories in surrounding counties: in Ohio: Ashland, Crawford, Huron, Knox, and Morrow.
• Archives of Ohio United Methodists, Delaware, history of Methodism in Ohio and generally, manuscripts, photos, local church histories, church records, ministers, newspapers, and personal papers.
• Bowling Green State University Jerome Library local government records, and newspapers.
• Columbus Metropolitan Library Internet history and genealogy, Sanborn maps, newspaper indexes, Columbus Historical Society, and images. Genealogy section moved until Aug 2016.
• Dayton Metro Library, the Dayton Room  has one of Ohio's best genealogical collections including books, periodicals, indexes, genealogies, and biographies.
• Erie Lackawanna Historical Society, Cleveland, history of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, Erie Railroad, Erie Lackawanna Railway, and related lines. No employee records.
• Ohio University Alden Library, Athens, their excellent manuscript collection includes church records, and business records. They also have county histories, biographies, and newspapers. It is like a second state archives.
• Palatines to America German Genealogy Society Resource Center, Columbus, has an extensive collection of German immigrant ancestor files. Their books are at the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
• Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, a top genealogy and local history collection of early Ohio sources. This includes the Inland Rivers Library  of the Ohio River and its tributaries (riverboat traffic between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Louisville, Kentucky) in Special Collections.
• Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, a good solid genealogy collection with oral histories, state and county histories, biographies, and genealogies. Youngstown was a portal for immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England entering Ohio.
• Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, Fremont, is strong on Ohio history and genealogy, as well as Sandusky River and Great Lakes history, U.S. history and Black studies.
• Toledo‑Lucas County Public Library, this is the place to come if you are looking for early Ohio settlers who entered Ohio via the Great Lakes and Toledo. Has Great Lakes traffic records.
• University of Akron Libraries Polsky Building one of six regional centers of Ohio records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
• University of Cincinnati Blegen Library one of six regional history centers of Ohio for records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
• Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, The Western Reserve was a large part of Ohio settled by Connecticut Revolutionary War refugees. This important collection includes original land records, as well as many genealogies, biographies, histories, and Bibles of Pennsylvania and New England.
• Wright State University Dunbar Library, Dayton, one of six regional centers of Ohio records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
• Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor one of six regional history centers of Ohio for records such as newspapers, printed materials, and local government records.
• Repositories in surrounding states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia; and in Canada: Ontario.
• Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, millions of books, newspapers, periodicals, and photos about genealogy and family history, biographies, censuses, citizenship, immigration to and from Ohio and the USA, settlement, births, marriages, deaths, and divorces.

References