Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy

United States

Ohio

Belmont County

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

Belmont County, Ohio
Map
Location of Ohio in the U.S.
Courthouse
Address	Belmont County Courthouse 101 Main St. St. Clairsville, Ohio 43950 Belmont County Website Phone: 740.699.2139

Historical Facts

Beginning dates for major county records
Birth	Marriage	Death	Tax	Land	Probate
1867	1803	1867		1800	1804
*For earlier dates, try... Church | Obituaries | Cemeteries

• Parent Counties: Formed from Jefferson and Washington counties 7 September 1801.
• County Seat: St. Clairsville

Description

The county was named for rom the French for "beautiful mountain" and refers to the scenery. It's county seat is St. Clairsville and was founded September 7, 1801. It is located in the Eastern Central area of the state.

Neighboring Counties

Jefferson County  • Harrison County  • Guernsey County  • Noble County  • Monroe County  • Marshall County Ohio County

Boundary Changes

For animated maps illustrating Ohio county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Ohio County Boundary Maps" (1788-1888) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss

1980 A courthouse fire may have damaged records.

For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

• Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.
• Arlene Eakle, When the Records are Gone in the Tennessee Genealogy Blog.
• Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle.

Resources

Bible Records

For an extensive list of resources for Bible Records see Ohio Bible Records.

Cemeteries

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

Online Grave Transcripts	Published Grave Transcripts	County Cemetery Directories
Findagrave.com	Family History Library	Findagrave.com
Interment.net	WorldCat	Names in Stone
USGW Tombstones		Billion Graves
Billion Graves		Epodunk
Ohio Gravestones
See Ohio Cemeteries for more information

Census

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1810	11,097		—
1820	20,329		83.2%
1830	28,627		40.8%
1840	30,901		7.9%
1850	34,600		12.0%
1860	36,398		5.2%
1870	39,714		9.1%
1880	49,638		25.0%
1890	57,413		15.7%
1900	60,875		6.0%
1910	76,856		26.3%
1920	93,193		21.3%
1930	94,719		1.6%
1940	95,614		0.9%
1950	87,740		−8.2%
1960	83,864		−4.4%
1970	80,917		−3.5%
1980	82,569		2.0%
1990	71,074		−13.9%
2000	70,226		−1.2%
2010	70,400		0.2%

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Ohio denominations, view the Ohio Church Records wiki page.

• various years - community contributed church records Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Finding More Church Records

Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy Church Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
  

Court Records

Belmont became part of the State of Ohio on 1 Mar 1803, having formerly been part of the Northwest Territory. It was served by the Ohio District Court from 1803 until 10 Feb 1855, when the court was divided into Northern and Southern districts. Belmont was part of the Southern District. On 3 Mar 1911, the court was further divided and was subsequently part of the Southern Eastern District. See Ohio District Court Jurisdictions for a chart of the Ohio counties and the district courts that served them. District and Circuit Courts had the same jurisdictions.

History

Local History

Local histories are available for Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Ohio Local Histories.

• McKelvey, A.T. Centennial history of Belmont County, Ohio and representative citizens (Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co. 1903) Digital version at Google Books; FamilySearch Books Online. Indexed in “Index to McKelvey’s centennial history of Belmont County, Ohio, 1801-1901” (St. Clairsville, Ohio : Cumberland Trail Genealogical Society, 2001) FHL book 977.193 H22i..
• Poorman, Christian L., History of the Upper Ohio Valley: with family history and biographical sketches; a statement of its resources, industrial growth and commercial advantages, Vol. 2 (Madison, Wisconsin : Brant & Fuller, c1890) Digital version at FamilySearch Books Online; FHL book 973 H2hu v. 2.
• Caldwell J. A., History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio (Wheeling, West Virginia : Historical Pub. Co., 1880) Digital version at FamilySearch Books Online;FHL microfilm 896779, Item 1.

Land and Property

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Ohio Land and Property for additional information about early Ohio land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

• 1790-1907 - Bureau of Land Management database some deeds, Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Finding More Land Records

Additional land records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy Land and Property Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog(For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

• The Trumbull County Archives/Microfilm department has online maps and deed indexes
  

Maps

• Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military

• 1888-1919 - Ohio Soldier Home Records, 1888-1919 at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War

Civil War service men from Belmont 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 Belmont County.

- 98th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies B and E

Naturalization and Citizenship

• 1800-1977 - Ohio, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy newspapers may contain genealogical value including obituaries, births, marriages, deaths, anniversaries, family gatherings, family travel, achievements, business notices, engagement information, and probate court proceedings.

To access newspapers, contact public libraries, Ohio Genealogical Society chapters, college or university libraries, the Library of Congress, Google News, or the Ohio Historical Society. The Ohio Genealogical Society Obituary Database is another source of newspaper information.

For more Ohio newspaper information see the Newspaper Guides on the wiki page Ohio Newspapers. Online Newspapers
Online Newspaper Abstracts

• 1855-1906 - Belmont County Newspapers death and marriages notices, Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives
• 20th century - Obituary Index Courtesy of OhioGenWeb

Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

Finding More Ohio Newspapers

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Belmont County Ohio newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Do a Belmont County, Ohio Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Probate

Probate records created after 1852 are held by the Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy Probate Court. From 1797 or the creation of the county, probate records were held by the Court of Common Pleas. Most counties transferred all records to the Probate Court, but in some circumstances, Court of Common Pleas records should be searched for records prior to 1852. Most records are housed at the Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy Courthouse. Some records are on microfilm at the Ohio Genealogical Society and the Family History Library. For more complete information about the location of county probate records see:

• Carol Willsey Bell, Ohio Wills and Estates to 1850: An Index (1981).  FamilySearch Books Online - Free online copy.
  

See the wiki page Ohio Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.

Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, marriage, adoption, and birth and death records (1867-1908 only).

Online Probate Records

• 1786 - 1998 Ohio Wills and Probate Records 1786-1998 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
• 1789 - 1996 Ohio Probate Records 1789-1996 at FamilySearch.org — images
• 1790–1967 - Ohio, Probate Records, 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.
  
• various years - community contributed wills Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
• various years - community contributes wills Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

Finding More Probate Records

Additional probate records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy Probate Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Repositories

County Courthouse

Belmont County Courthouse
100 W Main Street
Saint Clairsville, OH 43950-1225
Phone: 740.699.2139 

Court Clerk has divorce and court records from 1820.
County Health Department has burial records.
Probate Court has birth, marriage, death and probate records.

Family Search Centers

Family history centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.

For additional nearby FamilySearch Centers, search online in the FHC directory.

• Belmont Public Library

Libraries

• Belmont County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society

Societies

Belmont County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society
Barnesville Hutton Memorial Library
308 East Main Street
Barnesville OH 43713
P O Box 285, Barnesville, OH 43713-0285
Phone: 740-425-1651
Website

Ohio Genealogical Society
611 State Route 97 West
Bellville, OH 44813-8813
Phone: (419) 886-1903
Email: ogs@ogs.org
Website

Taxation

Ohio tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses before 1820 or to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned taxable property were listed, many residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. For more information see the wiki page Ohio Taxation.

• 1800–1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. Name index of tax records as recorded with the County Auditor of each county. Entries are recorded in voucher books, one person per page. The majority of the tax records in this collection are for the years 1816 through 1838. Currently (September 2012) this collection is 17% complete. Additional records will be added as they are completed.
  

Finding More Tax Records

Additional tax records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy Tax Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Vital Records

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Although Ohio enacted a statute in 1856 -1857 requiring registration of births, deaths and marriages, many counties did not comply. A second law was written in 1867 but, again, was not always followed. By 1908, the law was more clearly defined and kept. Any existing birth and death records from 1867 through December 19, 1908 are located at the Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy Probate Court. The Ohio Department of Health has birth records filed after December 20, 1908 and death records filed after January 1, 1954 while the Ohio Historical Society houses death records from December 20, 1908 through December 31, 1953.

Original marriage records are held at the office of the Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy Probate Court with divorce records located with the Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy Clerk of Courts.

See also How to order Ohio Vital Records or order vital records electronically online.

Birth

Online Birth Indexes and Records

• 1821–1962 - Ohio, Births and Christenings, 1821-1962 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. This is an incomplete index of extractions of original records and of patron-submitted records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. Information may have been previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.
• 1856–1909 - Ohio, County Births, 1856-1909 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. The collection includes a name index and images of county birth records in Ohio. The time period and type of record varies by county.
• 1867-8 - Birth Records transcribed from probate court records, Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
• 1856 - some births Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
• various years - community contributed births courtesy of OhioGenWeb

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage

Online Marriage Indexes and Records

• 1789-2013 - Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 at FamilySearch — index and images. Name index and images of county marriage records acquired from local courthouses.
• 1800-1958 - Ohio, Marriages, 1800-1958 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. Name index to marriage records from the state of Ohio. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and some FamilySearch Centers. Due to privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records. A few records may be earlier or later.
• 1800-1942 Ohio, Marriages, 1800-1942 at FamilySearch — index
• 1803-1900 - Ohio Marriages, 1803-1900 at ancestry.com ($)
• 1898-1912 - Ohio Marriages at ancestry.com ($)
• 1970-2007 - Ohio Marriage Index, 1970, 1972-2007 at ancestry.com ($)
• various years - community contributed marriages most are pre-1900, Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
• various years - community contributed births courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

 Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death

Online Death Indexes and Records

• 1840-2001 - Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1854–1997 - Ohio, Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free; Index. Name index to death and burial records from the state of Ohio. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. This set contains 2,535,556 records. Due to privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records. A few records may be earlier or later.
• 1908–1953 - Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. Name index and images of Ohio statewide death certificates.
• 1856-7 - Township Deaths Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
• 1908–1932, 1938–1944, and 1958–2007 - Ohio, Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. Index of deaths from the Ohio Department of Health in Columbus. Index provided by Ancestry.com.
• 1908-2007 - Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007 at ancestry.com ($)
• various years - community contributed deaths courtesy of OhioGenWeb

Original Death Records on Microfilm Finding More Vital Records

Additional vital records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Belmont County, Ohio Genealogy Vital Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Divorce

• 1962-2007 - Ohio Divorce Index, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007 at ancestry.com ($)

Websites

• FamilySearch Catalog
• Belmont County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Belmont County OH Genealogy
• Ohio Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook