Ohio Cuyahoga County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
This collection includes records for the years 1880 to 1908.

Record Description
The collection consists of the following types of records from the Cuyahoga County courthouse in Cleveland:


 * Birth affidavits (1860 -1908)
 * Delayed birth registrations and corrections (1873 -1908)
 * Voter Registration/List of Electors (1890 -1900)

County officials, usually the county clerk, began keeping records from the time the county was formed. This collection is being published as images become available.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Information about creating source citations for FamilySearch Historical Collections is listed in the wiki article Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.

Digital images of originals housed at various municipal archives throughout Ohio.

Record Content
The Birth Affidavits and the Delayed Birth Registrations and Corrections both vary in content from a simple form or court statement to detailed letters. They were used to add given names, correct spellings or dates, or correct names that had been changed in court. Some simply state that the child has turned 15 and graduated from 6th or 8th grade for a work permit or to quit school. Some are given to provide proof of citizenship for children who returned to Europe with their parents.

The Delayed Birth Registrations and Corrections relate to the Cleveland City Birth Records. The corrections should appear on the City Records themselves, but the documentation for the changes were filed separately as Delayed Birth Registrations and Corrections.

The biographical information that might be found in the delayed birth records and the Birth Affidavits can be:


 * Child’s name
 * Birth date
 * Birth place
 * Child’s gender
 * Parents' names
 * Parents' residence
 * Parents' birth place
 * Parents’ age
 * Father’s occupation
 * Number of children of mother

The Voter Registrations/List of Electors is a listing of those eligible to vote by alphabetical order with wards and precincts. The biographical information found in the List of Electors is:


 * Name of voter
 * Address
 * used as proof of American citizenship

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * The place where the birth occurred
 * The approximate date the event occurred
 * The name of the individual or individuals such as the names of the infant or the parent.

Identify the record to be searched
From the Record Description list, identify the kind of record you would like to search (births) and click on the title link to select it.

Find the image
Start searching individual images or pages that you have listed. Compare the information in the records to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors. The following examples show ways you can use the information:


 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of parents' to search for their birth records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate census, church, and land records.
 * Use the occupations listed to find other types of records such as employment or military records.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of the officiator at the event may be a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county.
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the infant; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been born, married, or died in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800s.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

Why the Record Was Created
Each type of record within the county was created for a different purpose.

Delayed birth records were created to formalize a birth record where none previously existed or to change information on an existing birth record.

Voter registrations/ List of Electors were created to track those were eligible to vote and to ensure their right to vote.

Record Reliability
The birth and marriage records are usually reliable depending upon the reliability of the informant. Voter records are usually reliable however, there have been cases of fictitious names included in the registers.

Related Websites

 * Cuyahoga County Ohio Offices
 * Cleveland District Round Table

Related Wiki Articles

 * Ohio
 * Ohio History
 * Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"Ohio, Cuyahoga County Records" digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 21 March 2012). Wilbur Eugene Allgire, January 22, 1908; citing County Records; Cuyahoga County Archives, Cleveland Ohio, United States.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.