Clinton County, Ohio Genealogy

United States

Ohio

Clinton County

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

Ohio Online Genealogy Records

Clinton County, Ohio
Map
Location of Ohio in the U.S.
Courthouse
Address	Clinton County Courthouse 46 S. South Street Wilmington, Ohio 45177 Clinton County Website Phone: 937.382.2103

Clinton County, Ohio Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1867	1810	1867	1810	1806	1810	1820
Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1908. General compliance year is unknown.

• Parent Counties: Formed from Highland and Warren counties 19 February 1810.
  
• County Seat: Wilmington

Description

The county was named for former U.S. Vice President George Clinton. It's county seat is Wilmington and was founded March 1, 1810. It is located in the West Central area of the state.

Places/Localities

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:

Cities
Wilmington (county seat)
Villages
Blanchester Clarksville Lynchburg	Martinsville Midland New Vienna	Port William Sabina
Unincorporated communities
Bloomington Burtonville Cuba Farmers Station Gurneyville Jonesboro Kingman Lees Creek	Lumberton McKays Melvin Memphis Morrisville New Antioch Oakland	Ogden Powder Lick Reesville Sligo South Kingman Wallopsburg Westboro
Townships
Adams Chester Clark Green Jefferson	Liberty Marion Richland Union	Vernon Washington Wayne Wilson
Ghost towns
New Burlington

Neighboring Counties

Greene County  • Fayette County  • Highland County  • Brown County  • Clermont County  • Warren 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

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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 Tombstone		Billion Graves
Billion Graves
Ohio Gravestones
See Ohio Cemeteries for more information.

Census

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1810	2,674	—
1820	8,085	202.4%
1830	11,436	41.4%
1840	15,719	37.5%
1850	18,838	19.8%
1860	21,461	13.9%
1870	21,914	2.1%
1880	24,756	13.0%
1890	24,240	−2.1%
1900	24,202	−0.2%
1910	23,680	−2.2%
1920	23,036	−2.7%
1930	21,547	−6.5%
1940	22,574	4.8%
1950	25,572	13.3%
1960	30,004	17.3%
1970	31,464	4.9%
1980	34,603	10.0%
1990	35,415	2.3%
2000	40,543	14.5%
2010	42,040	3.7%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

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.

Finding More Church Records

Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Clinton 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).
  

History

Local histories are available for Clinton 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.

Local History

• Brown, Albert J., History of Clinton County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions… (Indianapolis, Indiana : B.F. Bowen & Company, 1915) Digital version at Google Books; FamilySearch Digital Library; on microfilm at FHL film 934886 Item 1.
• History of Clinton County, Ohio : containing a history of the county, its townships, cities, towns, schools, churches, etc., general and local statistics, portraits of early settles and prominent men… (Chicago : W.H. Beers & Co., 1882) Digital version of Volume 1 at FamilySearch Digital Library; on microfilm at FHL film 934885 Item 2.

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. =====Finding More Land Records===== Additional land records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Clinton 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).

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military

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

World War I

• 1914-1919 - Ohio, World War I Statement of Service Cards, 1914-1919 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1914-1918 - Ohio, World War I, Enrollment Cards, 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1916-1920 - Ohio, WWI Index and Return Cards, 1916-1920 at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Newspapers

Clinton 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.

• various years community contributed newspaper articles Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

Online Newspapers
Online Newspaper Abstracts
Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

Finding More Ohio Newspapers

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

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

Probate

From 1797 or the creation of the county, probate records were held by the Court of Common Pleas. After 1852, records are held by the {{{1}}} County Probate Court. Records include wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, marriage, adoption, and birth and death records (1867-1908 only). The records may give the decedent's date of death, name of spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

See Ohio Probate Records for information about how to use probate records. 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 Archives

Finding More Probate Records

Additional probate records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Clinton 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

Courthouse

Clinton County Courthouse
46 S South Street
Wilmington, Oh 45177-2214
Phone: 937.382.2103 

Probate Judge has birth and death records 1867-1908, marriage and probate records from 1810.
County Health Office has birth and death records from 1908.
County Recorder has land records from 1810.
Court Clerk has divorce and court records from 1810.

Family History 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.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

FamilySearch Centers are branches of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and are located all over the world. Their goal is to provide resources for family history research.

The main FamilySearch Center for Clinton County, Ohio Genealogy is the Wilmington Ohio Family History Center. For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the FHC directory.

Societies

• Clinton County Genealogical Society
  Clinton County History Center
  149 E. Locust Street (PO Box 529)
  Wilmington, OH 45177
  Phone: (937) 382-4684]
  

Online Genealogy Research Groups

• 
  
• U.S. Midwest Genealogy Research Community - FamilySearch Facebook Research Group
• Ohio Ancestors - FamilySearch Community group, must have a free FamilySearch account to join
• U.S. and Canada Genealogy Research - FamilySearch Community group, must have a free FamilySearch account to join

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.

• 1800-1950 - Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1800-1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Finding More Tax Records

Additional tax records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Clinton 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. Marriages were usually recorded from the formation of the county and are held at the office of the County Probate Court. Divorce records are located with the county Clerk of Courts.

Any existing birth and death records from 1867 through December 19, 1908 are located at the County 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 History Connection houses death records from December 20, 1908 through December 31, 1953.

Birth

Online Birth Indexes and Records

• 1800-1962 - Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 at ancestry.com ($)
• 1821-1962 - Ohio, Births and Christenings, 1821-1962 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. This is an incomplete index of extractions of original records and of patron-submitted records. This index is not complete for any particular place or region. Information may have been previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.
• 1841-2003 - Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1908-1964 - Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964 at ancestry.com ($)
• 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry.com ($) — index
• various years - community contributed births Courtesy 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 ($)
• 1898-1912 - Ohio Marriages at ancestry.com ($)
• 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage ($) — index
• 1970-2007 - Ohio Marriage Index, 1970, 1972-2007 at ancestry.com ($)
• various years - community contributed marriages 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.
• 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 ($)
• 1908-1932, 1938-2018 Ohio, Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018 at Ancestry.com ($) — index and images

:*1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($) — index

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

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

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

Finding More Vital Records

Additional vital records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Clinton 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).

Websites

• FamilySearch Catalog
• Clinton County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Clinton County OH Genealogy
• Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook