Cuyahoga County, Ohio Genealogy

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

United StatesOhio Cuyahoga County

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Geauga County 10 February 1808.
 * County Seat: Cleveland
 * Neighboring Counties: residents may also have records in Medina (south)·Geauga (east)·Summit (southeast)·Lorain (west)

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Cuyahoga County boundary changes.

Resources
Cuyahoga County Resources

Bible Records
Bible Records Index

Biography
Biographical Sketch Name Index

Cemeteries

 * Cleveland City Cemetery Burials -- online burial index from the East Cuyahoga County Genealogical Society of all the city-owned cemeteries. Contains more than 350,000 names.
 * Greater Cleveland Cemeteries - online database of more than 200,000 names from area cemeteries. Last updated in 2004.
 * Alger, Brookmere, and Denison Cemeteries Index
 * Butternut Ridge Cemetery (North Olmsted)
 * Calvary Cemetery Search Engine
 * Calvary Cemetery, Garfield Heights BillionGraves, has photos of headstones and searchable database.
 * Cemeteries in Cuyahoga County by Lawrence A. Boyle - a listing of cemetery addresses, photos of the front gates and more.
 * Cemetery and Church Records by MattsonWorks Genealogy Preservers
 * Strongsville Cemetery
 * St. Adelbert's (Polish) Cemetery
 * Cuyahoga County Cemeteries
 * Erie Street Cemetery Burials (before 1841)
 * Find-A-Grave
 * Harvard Grove Cemetery, Cleveland BillionGraves
 * Holy Cross Cemetery
 * Lutheran Cemetery Records
 * Mapleshade Cemetery (Independence)
 * Monroe Street Cemetery Foundation
 * East Cleveland Twp. Cemetery
 * Scranton Road Cemetery
 * Lakeview Cemetery Web Cemeteries site.
 * Lakeview Cemetery BillionGraves
 * River Road Cemetery
 * Riverside Cemetery
 * St. Lawrence Cemetery (Independence)
 * St. Mary's Cemetery (Cuyahoga Heights)
 * St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery (Berea)
 * The Tombstone Transcription Project
 * Woodland Cemetery Foundation

Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.

See Ohio Cemeteries for more information.

Census
1930 Cuyahoga Census Abstract(partial)

General
Cleveland Ohio Pastors and Their Churches by Laura Hine.

Cleveland Church Histories

Cleveland Clergy to 1942 by Don O'Malley

Cleveland Jewish History

Lakewood Church Histories

St. Colman Church History

Catholic

 * 1796–2004 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. This collection includes images of parish registers recording the events of baptism, first communion, confirmation, marriage, and death in the Diocese of Toledo (Ohio), Roman Catholic Church. These records are accessed by browsing the images by county. In addition to traditional parish registers, this collection includes miscellaneous cemetery records, Books of the Elect, Professions of Faith, Sick Call registers, etc.

LDS Ward and Branch Records

 * Cleveland

City Directories

 * Fold3 ($) has Cleveland City Directories 1861, 1864-1923 (5 yrs. missing) available online.

Get free access to Fold 3 by signing on through the Cuyahoga County Public Librarysite. Click "Research" then "Electronic Resources A-Z" then "Genealogy" then "Fold 3" (entering your Cuyahoga County Public Library card number when asked for) Once on the Fold 3 site, click browse, then "City Directories" then "City Directories Cleveland"


 * 1834-35 Ohio City Directories
 * 1837 City Directory
 * 1900 Cleveland City Directory
 * 1834, 1845, 1846, 1848, 1850 Ohio City Directories
 * U.S. City Directories

Court Records
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Civil and Criminal Index

Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups
Archives, Libraries, and Museums Biographies Church Records Cemetery Records Court Records Histories Immigration/emigration/migration Maps Newspapers Societies

Gazetteers
1906--Cleveland Street Name Changes

History
Cuyahoga County is located along the shores of Lake Erie in Northeast Ohio. Its largest city, Cleveland, was founded at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River in 1796 when the first of the Connecticut Land Company arrived to survey the Connecticut Western Reserve. The area grew rapidly during the Industrial Revolution as a transportation and manufacturing hub, drawing people of diverse backgrounds from around the world.

Local Histories
A Book of Clevelanders

A History of Cleveland: Its Settelment, Rise, and Progress, 1796-1896 

Cuyahoga County American History and Genealogy Project

Cuyahoga County - The First 200 Years by Dr. Judith Cetina

CWRU Digital Books

Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Google Books (free older books, previews of others)

The Pioneer Families of Cleveland 1796-1840 by Gertrude Van Rensselaer Wickham

Tremont History Project

Virtual Jewish History

World Vital Records (paid site) has the following histories: (click on Ohio)

History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio (1879) History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio (1881) Ohio Wills &amp; Estates to 1850 by Carol Wilsey Bell Early Ohio Tax Records by Esther Weygand Powell - Cuyahoga Co. 1810, 1811, 1814 and 1819. Maps

1874 Atlas of Cuyahoga County

CSU Cleveland Maps

Converting pre 1906 addresses to post 1906 addresses in Cleveland

Land and Property
Cuyahoga County Recorder's Office Deed Images

Cuyahoga County Auditor's Office

Military

 * Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument

Civil War
Civil War service men from Cuyahuga 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 Cuyahoga County.


 * 1st Regiment, Ohio Light Artillery, Batteries B, E, and G
 * 1st Regiment, Ohio Infantry
 * Company E, also known as the Cleveland Grays
 * Company F, also known as the Hibernian Guards
 * 41st Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies A, D, E, H, I, and K
 * 107th Regiment, Ohio Infantry - many men in this regiment were immigrant Germans from Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. Companies B and E were raised in Cuyahoga County.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Cuyahoga County Naturalizations

Naturalization Petitions for the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division, Cleveland 1907-1946 at Fold 3 (paid site) (the old Footnote) Get free access to Fold 3 by signing on through the Cuyahoga County Public Library site. Click "Research" then "Electronic Resources A-Z" then "Genealogy" then "Fold 3" (entering your Cuyahoga County Public Library card number when asked for) Once on the Fold 3 site, click browse at the top and then Naturalizations then Documents then Naturalizations Ohio Northern

Newspapers
Online Newspapers Online Newspaper Abstracts *The Cleveland News Index (index to articles 1983 to current and obituaries 1976 to current)
 * Cleveland Magazine(1983- present)
 * Ohio Magazine(Oct 1990-present)


 * Berea Advertiser - full-text of more than 1,200 issues spanning 1882-1908 freely available in Google Newspaper Archive


 * The Cleveland Necrology File (Obits from 1833-1975)


 * The Plain Dealer-- Obituaries (past six months)
 * Cleveland Plain Dealer Searchable Archive (for those with a CPL library card)

Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

Probate

 * 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.
 * 1813–1917 - at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. The collection consists of case files of the Probate Dockets from the Cuyahoga County courthouse in Cleveland. The files are arranged by docket number and case number. The earliest records are designated Common Plea (before the formation of the Probate Court). The Probate Dockets began alphabetically, A through P, and changed to numeric listing beginning with 17 (replacing Q, the 17th letter). This collection is being published as images become available. Currently, (September 2012) this collection is only searchable by browsing the images.

Cuyahoga County Wills and Estates Index (with directions and link to Family Search where you can see actual images of the documents)

Wiki articles describing collections are found at:


 * Ohio Cuyahoga County Probate Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Ohio Deaths and Burials (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Ohio Deaths (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Courthouse
Cuyahoga County Courthouse 1200 Ontario Street Cleveland, OH 44113 Phone: 216.443.7950 Probate Court has birth records 1859-1901 and death records 1868-1908; Western Reserve Historical Society has marriage records 1810-1941 and tax revenues 1819-1869; Marriage License Bureau has marriage records from 1810; County Courthouse has naturalization records 1818-1906 and probate records from 1810; Clerk Court has divorce records 1837-1925; County Administration Building  has land records from 1810

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Ohio Cuyahoga County Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Solon Ohio Family History Center
 * Westlake Ohio Family History Center

Libraries

 * Cuyahoga County Archives


 * Western Reserve Historical Society Library


 * Cleveland Public Library


 * Cuyahoga County Public Library Genealogy Site

Societies

 * Berea Historical Society


 * Cleveland Heights Historical Society


 * Greater Cleveland Genealogical Society


 * Lakewood Historical Society


 * North Olmsted Historical Society


 * Ohio Historical Society


 * Shaker Heights Historical Society


 * Slavic Village Historical Society


 * South Euclid/Lyndhurst Historical Society


 * Westlake Historical Society

School Records
Courtesy of the Cleveland Public Library:


 * Cleveland High School Yearbooks and Student Newspapers
 * Additional Schools Publications

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1800-1962 - Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 at ancestry.com ($)


 * 1800-1962 - Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 at ancestry.com ($)
 * 1908-1964 - Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964 at ancestry.com ($)


 * 1908-1964 - Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964 at ancestry.com ($)


 * Cuyahoga County Birth Returns 1871-1908 - located at Fold 3 (paid site) (the old Footnote)


 * Get free access to Fold 3 by signing on through the Cuyahoga County Public Library site Click "Research" then "Electronic Resources A-Z" then "Genealogy" then "Fold 3" (entering your Cuyahoga County Public Library card number when asked for) Once on the Fold 3 site, click browse at the top and then vital records and choose "Cuyahoga County Birth Returns"


 * Cuyahoga County Birth Affidavits (1860-1897) and Corrections (1873-1908) (Index only)


 * Ohio Births &amp; Christenings 1821-1962 (Searchable Index but no images)


 * Birth Affidavits 1898-1908 (images)

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * Marriage Index Years Covered
 * Cuyahoga County Marriages (from Cuyahoga County Archive)
 * Cuyahoga County Marriage Transcriptions
 * Ohio County Marriages at Family Search 1790-1950 Index and Images
 * Ohio Marriages at FamilySearch 1800-1958 Index and Images
 * Historical Marriage License Index--1810-present 
 * Ohio Divorce Index 1962-1996 by OGS
 * Ohio Marriage Index by Ancestry 1970; 1972-2007

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * Coroner Case Files--1833-1900
 * Ohio Deaths 1854-1997 (Index only)
 * Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953 Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch. Records include such information as birth date of deceased, city, county, and state of death, name of spouse if married, names of parents, maiden name of mother, name of informant, if deceased was single, married, windowed or divorced, occupation of deceased.
 * Ohio Death Certificates 1954-present (how to obtain them)

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Miscellaneous


 * Hospitals and related Health Departments for Vital Records

Voter Registration
1893-1899 Cleveland Voter Registration

1907 Cleveland Voter Registration

Web Sites

 * Castle Garden Passenger Lists
 * Cleveland Digital Library(from Cleveland State University books and links to books)
 * Cleveland Police Museum
 * Clew Bay to Cleveland (Irish History)
 * Cuyahoga County Ohio Genealogy and History
 * Cuyahoga County OHGenWeb
 * Cuyahoga County Research FAQs
 * Cuyahoga County History
 * Cuyahoga County Cities in 1896
 * Cuyahoga County Old Photos
 * Cuyahoga County Photos by Wikimedia
 * Cuyahoga County Schools
 * Case Western Reserve University Digital Book Collection
 * Cleveland State University Digital Library
 * Cleveland State University Memory Project
 * Cleveland's German Businesses
 * Cyndi's List for Cuyahoga County
 * Ellis Island Passenger Lists
 * Genealogy and Family Tree Search Engine by Mocavo
 * Genforum Message Board
 * German Heritage in Cleveland
 * Germans In Cleveland
 * German Immigrants to Cleveland
 * Greater Cleveland Genealogical Research Websites
 * Harm's Way (site about Germans to Cleveland)
 * Heritage Pursuit (paid site)
 * Lakewood Public Library History Site
 * Linkpendium
 * National Archive
 * Ohio Genealogy Express
 * Ohio History Central
 * Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN)
 * Ohio and Erie Canal
 * Footnote.com
 * Cleveland District Round Table Regional Activities
 * Cleveland Public Library Genealogy Databases
 * Polka Hall of Fame Cleveland Style
 * Rootsweb, Rootsweb Mailing Lists and Worldconnect
 * Rootsweb Resources for Cuyahoga County
 * Social Security Death Index
 * Steven Morse Site for searching Immigration and Census Records
 * Western Reserve Historical Society Searchable Databases
 * Western Reserve Historical Society Catalog
 * WorldCat
 * WorldCat

Townships

 * Chagrin Falls Township
 * Olmsted Township