Adams County, Ohio Genealogy

Guide to Adams County, Ohio ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The county was named after John Adams, the second President of the United States. It is located in the Southwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Adams County Courthouse 110 W Main St West Union, Ohio 45693-1347 Phone: 937-544-2011 Adams County Website

Probate Court has births and deaths 1888-1893, marriages 1803-1853 and from 1910, probate records 1849-1860 and from 1910. Court Clerk has divorces court records from 1910. County Recorder has land records from 1797. Board of Health has births and deaths from 1908.

Populated Places
Populated Places For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Biographies

 * Adams County Biographies at Internet Archive Wayback Machine

Cemeteries

 * Adams County Cemeteries at Internet Archive Wayback Machine
 * The Adams County Genealogical Society Cemetery Inscriptions at GenealogyTrails

Census Records

 * Adams County, OH Census Online at Census Online
 * at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection

FamilySearch Wiki pages:
 * United States Census 1850; has links to both FamilySearch and Ancestry
 * United States Census 1860; has links to both FamilySearch and Ancestry
 * United States Census 1870; has links to both FamilySearch and Ancestry
 * United States Census 1880 (Index only); has links to both FamilySearch and Ancestry
 * United States Census 1900; has links to both FamilySearch and Ancestry
 * United States Census 1920; has links to both FamilySearch and Ancestry
 * United States Census 1930; has links to both FamilySearch and Ancestry

Church Records

 * Adams County, Ohio Churches at OH HomeTownLocator

Court Records

 * Adams County Ohio Court Directory at Court Reference. Links for online court records and other free court resources.

Funeral Homes

 * Funeral Homes Near Adams County, Ohio at Google Maps

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1797-1837 Adams County Deed Indexes at USGenWeb Archives

Local Histories

 * Ohio Indexes at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county.


 * Evans, Nelson Wiley, A history of Adams County, Ohio from its earliest settlement to the present time: including character sketches of the prominent persons… (West Union, Ohio: E.B. Stivers, 1900) Digital version at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Internet Archives.


 * Thompson, Carl N., Thompson's Historical Collections of Adams County, Ohio (West Union, Ohio Adams County Historical Society (Ohio), c1991).

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940) at MapofUS.org
 * Adams County, Ohio Map at Wikipedia.org
 * Category: Maps of Adams County, Ohio at Wikipedia.org
 * Adams County Ohio Topographic Maps at Topozone

Military Records

 * 1888-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
 * Adams County Military History at Internet Archive

Revolutionary War
 * Revolutionary War Soldiers at Genealogy Trails
 * Revolutionary Veterans living in Adams County Ohio at Internet Archive

War of 1812
 * Roster of Ohio Soldiers in the War of 1812 at Ohio Genealogy Express

Civil War
 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System at National Park Service
 * Ohio Civil War Veterans Grave Regitration at Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

World War I
 * 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1914-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1916-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.

World War II
 * at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1800-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

 * 1793-late 1900's at History Connection —  Select county to Browse.
 * Early to late-1900's Newspapers at Ohio Memory — sort by County, City, Time Period, and more.
 * The People's Defender; West Union, Ohio.
 * Newspaper Articles at OhGenWeb

Obituaries

 * Obituaries and Death Notices at Internet Archive

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1786-1998 Ohio Wills and Probate Records 1786-1998 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
 * 1789-1996 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * Early to 1910 Adams County Ohio Will Index prior to 1910 at Ohio Trails to the Past
 * 1883-1924 Wills at Ohio GenWeb Archives

School Records

 * 1900-1912 School Recordsat Rootsweb.com
 * Adams County Schools at Old Ohio Schools

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records
 * 1800-1850 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1800-1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at MyHeritage ($); index
 * 1810 Index to Tax List at Genealogy Trails History Group

Vital Records

 * 1803-1999 Adams County, Ohio Vital Records at USGenWeb Archives

Birth
The Adams County, OH Courthouse was destroyed by fire on February 25, 1910. All official Probate Court Birth Records were destroyed. Births may be found in the "Adams County, OH Probate Court Assessor Books," (1879 thru 1895) and the "Restored Adams County, OH Board of Health Birth Records," (1857 to 1909).
 * 1800-1962 Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1821-1962 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1841-2003 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1856-1893 Township birth records at OHGenWeb
 * 1856; 1889-1893 Recordings of Births at Rootsweb.com
 * 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry ($); index

Marriage

 * 1774-1993 Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993 at Ancestry ($) — Index and images.
 * 1789-2013 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1797-1857 Marriages of Adams County, Ohio at Rootsweb.com
 * 1800-1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1800-1945 Marriage Data - Adams County Ohio 1800-1945 at Internet Archive
 * 1800-1958 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1803-1900 Ohio, Compiled Marriage Index, 1803-1900 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1896 1896 Marriage License Issues at Internet Archive
 * 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage ($); Index
 * 1970-2007 Ohio, Marriage Abstracts, 1970, 1972-2007 at Ancestry ($)

Death

 * 1833-1967 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1840-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1889 The Adult Dead of 1889 at Internet Archive
 * 1908–1953 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
 * 1908-1932, 1938-2018 Ohio, Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018 at Ancestry ($); Index and images
 * 1909 Adams County Deaths 1909 at Genealogy Trails
 * 1913-1937 Death Index 1913-1937 at Ohio History
 * 1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($); Index

Family History Centers

 * Adams Ohio Family History Center
 * Clermont County Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Garnet A. Wilson Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Portsmouth Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Adams County Public Library 157 High St Peebles, OH 45660 937-587-2085 Website

Societies
The Adams County Historical Society 507 N Cherry St West Union, Ohio 45693 937-544-8522 Website Adams County Genealogical Society The Adams County Heritage Center PO Box 231 West Union, Ohio 45693 Website Ohio History Connection formerly the Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Center 800 E 17th Ave Columbus, Ohio 43211 614-297-2300 or 800-686-6124 Website

Websites

 * Local Gov't Records by County at Ohio History Connection — Browse their list; records are not online.
 * Custom Browse of Historical Collections at Ohio Memory — Use map or alpha bar to select county or place, then browse search options in left sidebar.
 * Ohio Genealogical Society ($) - online databases
 * Adams County OHGenWeb
 * Ohio Digital Collections statewide database links
 * Adams County OH Genealogy at LDS Genealogy
 * USGenWeb Archives - Adams County
 * Genealogy Trails, Adams County, Ohio
 * Ohio Genealogy Express
 * Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War; Department of Ohio
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.