Ohio Church Records

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Historical Background
By 1900 the prominent denominations in Ohio were Roman Catholic, Methodist, and Presbyterian. There were also groups of Baptists, Lutherans, and Society of Friends.

Information Found in the Records
To effectively use church records, become familiar with their content. Click on these links to learn about a specific record type:

Look for online records.
'''Ancestry.com, FindMyPast.com, and MyHeritage.com can be searched free of charge at your local family history center or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

FamilySearch Indexes

 * 1762-2008 - Ohio, Church Records, 1762-2008 - Index and images. Incomplete.
 * Index only.
 * — index and images
 * Index only.
 * Index only.

Ancestry.com Indexes

 * Ohio, Births and Christenings, Index, 1800-1962 ($)
 * Ohio Marriages, 1789-1898 ($)
 * Ohio, Marriages Extracted from the Old Northwest Genealogical Quarterly, 1789-1898 ($)
 * Ohio Marriages, 1803-1900 ($)

FindMyPast
Catholic Heritage Archive

Dutch Reformed

 * 1856-1970 - U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Vital Records, 1856-1970, index and images, incomplete.($)
 * 1856-1970 - U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Membership Records, 1856-1970, index and images, incomplete.($)

Lutheran

 * 1800-1947 - U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Swedish American Church Records, 1800-1947, index and images, incomplete.($)

Presbyterian

 * 1701-1970 - U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970, index and images, incomplete.($)

Quakers (Society of Friends)

 * Shaker membership card index
 * U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935, index and images, ($).
 * Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. IV: (Ohio Monthly Meetings) ($)
 * Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. V: (Ohio Monthly Meetings) ($)

Look for digital copies of church records listed in the FamilySearch Catalog.

 * The Family History Library (FHL) has a substantial collection of original church records and transcripts on microfilm for churches in the United States.
 * Online church records can be listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under the state, county, or town.
 * If you find a record that has not yet been digitized, see How do I request that a microfilm be digitized?
 * Some records might have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a Family History Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations.
 * To find records:
 * a. Click on the records of United States, Ohio.
 * b. Click on Places within United States, Ohio and a list of counties will appear.
 * c. Click on your county if it appears.
 * d. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * e. Click on Places within United States, Ohio [COUNTY] and a list of towns will appear.
 * f. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
 * g. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * h. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the record is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the records.

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Consult available finding aids.
These aids generally provide lists of records that are known to exist and information on their location.


 * Data Abstracted from the Laws of Ohio, 1803-1900 Lists of Incorporated churches before 1850

Non-Denominational
Ruth E. Browning abstracted names and events from The Christian Messenger and created an every name index. The Christian Messenger was a religious newspaper during the 1800's which included "letters with information about the churches, obituaries, death notices, names of subscribers, letters from preachers, etc." The information abstracted from this newspaper came from several counties in Ohio. Ohio Historical Society Western Reserve Historical Society The Family History Library has film copies of the manuscript collection in the Western Reserve Historical Society. See A Guide to Manuscripts at the Ohio Historical Society, described in Ohio Archives and Libraries.

Baptist
North American Baptist General Conference 7308 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130


 * You can learn more about Baptist records in The Records of American Baptists in Ohio, and Related Organizations.

Lutheran
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) 8765 West Higgins Road Chicago, IL 60631-4198 Phone: 773-380-2818

Trinity Lutheran Church Church Records from 1884 to 1978 Kent, OH


 * If a church is still active, the church will be able to help locate the records. The records of churches in the United States that have been disbanded are located at the ELCA Archives in Chicago. The archives has records of many congregations, and those on microfilm may be borrowed for a small fee. A partial list of church records in its collection is listed in: ALC Archives These are arranged by the state and city in which the congregation resides. Family History Library fiche includes Ohio. The ALC (American Lutheran Church) Archives are now part of the ELCA Archives.

Methodist
Methodist Historical Commission L.A. Beeghly Library Ohio Wesleyan University 43 Rowland Avenue Delaware, OH 43015 Phone: (740) 368-3285

Methodist General Commission on Archives &amp; History The United Methodist Church 36 Madison Avenue Madison, NJ 07940

United Methodist Church 601 W. Riverview Avenue Dayton, OH 45406-5543 North District Phone: (888) 227-9490 South District Phone: (937) 227-9475


 * In Guide to the Manuscript Collection of Early Ohio Methodism: United Methodist Church of Ohio you will find additional help in locating Methodist records.


 * Information on Methodist ministers in Ohio can be found in United Methodist Archives (Ohio). Methodist Ministers Card Index: All Ohio Conferences, 1797-1981". ; 

Moravian
The Moravian Archives 41 West Locust Street Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18018 United States of America Phone: (610) 866-3255 Fax: (610) 866-9210

For information concerning missions to the American Indians visit Moravian Missions Among American Indians. For a map and list of missions visit Early Moravian Missions in Eastern Pennsylvania and Surrounding Areas 1740-1773.

Mission records are also available in the. The records are indexed in the Book 970.1 F642i.

Presbyterian
Presbyterian Historical Society 425 Lombard Street Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516 Phone: (215) 627-1852

The Family History Library has numerous records of local churches in Ohio. They were microfilmed at the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The collection includes papers of some Ohio Presbyterian churches and ministers.


 * Inventory of the Church Archives of Ohio Presbyterian Churches has inventories of Presbyterian churches and their records


 * Inventories are arranged alphabetically by county. Volume one includes indexes by place names, church names, and date of organization. Information was collected about the records, history, buildings, and clergymen. There is another source that may contain information that is not included in the previous inventory. Records are listed alphabetically by counties.

Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Cincinnati Chancery Office 100 E. Eighth Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: (513) 421-3131 Fax: (513) 421-6225 E-mail: [mailto:commdir@archdiocese-cinti.org commdir@archdiocese-cinti.org]

The dioces includes the counties of: Adams, Auglaize, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Darke, Greene, Hamilton, Highland, Logan, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby, Warren.

Diocese of Columbus 198 E. Gay St. Columbus, OH 43215 Phone: (614) 228-2457

The diocese includes the counties of: Coshocton, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Hardin, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Knox, Licking, Madison, Marion, Morrow, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Tuscarawas, Union, Vinton, Washington.

The Diocese of Columbus created the Catholic Record Society, a group that has published a monthly journal since 1975 called The Barquilla. This journal contains articles as well as transcriptions of records (e.g. baptisms, marriages, burial records). There is a subject index that allows users to identify which journal contains desired information, and anissues listing, which provides links to issues of the journal from 1975 on. Anything located in Volumes I-XXIV (1975-1999) can be accessed for free. Articles of interest in issues after 1999 can be ordered for $1 each. Further inquires can be sent to the Catholic Record Society by following these directions.

Diocese of Cleveland 1404 East 9th St. Cleveland, OH 44114 Phone: (216) 696-6525 (800) 869-6525 (Ohio only) Fax: (216) 621-7332

The diocese includes the counties of: Ashland, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Summit and Wayne.

Diocese of Steubenville 422 Washington Street P.O. Box 969 Steubenville, OH 43952 Phone: (740) 282-3631 Fax: (740) 282-3327

The diocese includes the counties of: Athens, Belmont, Carroll, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble and Washington.

Diocese of Toledo Chancery Office 1933 Spielbusch Avenue P.O. Box 985 Toledo, OH 43697-0985 Phone: (419) 244-6711 Fax: (419) 244-4791

The diocese includes the counties of: Allen, Crawford, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood and Wyandot.

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Ohio, Diocese of Toledo, Catholic Parish Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Diocese of Youngstown Chancery Office 144 West Wood Street Youngstown, OH 44503 Phone: (330) 744-8451 Fax: (330) 742-6448 E-mail: [mailto:doychancery@impresso.com doychancery@impresso.com]

The diocese includes the counties of: Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage, Stark and Trumbull.

Shakers

 * The Shakers of Ohio became virtually extinct by 1900 due mainly to the lack of converts. They moved to Shaker communities in other states.
 * Shaker Membership Card Index. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1974. (Family History Library films .)

Society of Friends (Quakers)
Ohio Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends Olney Friends School 61830 Sandy Ridge Road Barnesville, OH 43713 Phone: (740) 425-3168

Evangelical Friends Church, Eastern Division 5350 Broadmoor Circle, N.W. Canton, OH 44709 Phone: (330) 493-1660 Fax: (330) 493-0852

Wilmington College S. Arthur Watson Library Pyle Center Box 1227 251 Ludovic Street Wilmington, Ohio 45177 Phone: (937) 382-6661, ext. 345 | 1 (800) 341-9318 | Fax: (937) 383-8571


 * The Family History Library has microfilm copies of the Quaker records from Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio and from the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

Published abstracts:


 * Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. 6 Vols. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Edwards Brothers, 1936-1950. Volumes IV and V covers Ohio Monthly Meetings. FHL Collection digital version at Ancestry ($). To locate copies nearest you, use WorldCat.

Websites for Quaker Genealogy Helps:


 * American Friend Obituary Index
 * Swathmore Friends Historical Library
 * The Quaker Corner

Websites

There are different websites that list churches in Ohio.


 * Flock Finder
 * Ohio Churches
 * Ohio Church Directory

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:


 * Ohio Toledo Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Ohio Births and Christenings - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Ohio Deaths and Bruials - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Ohio Tax Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Resources

Periodicals have published records of many Ohio churches. These are referenced in the PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) described in the "Periodicals" page.