Cuyahoga County, Ohio Genealogy

United States

Ohio

Cuyahoga County

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

Ohio Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Cleveland Organized: May 1, 1810 Parent County(s): Geauga Neighboring Counties Lorain  • Medina  • Summit  • Portage  • Geauga  • Lake See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The county was named after the Iroquoian word Cuyahoga, which means 'crooked river'. The name is also assigned to the Cuyahoga River, which bisects the county. It is located in the North-Central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Cuyahoga County Courthouse
1200 Ontario Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
Phone: 216-443-7000
Cuyahoga County Courthouse

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

Cuyahoga County, Ohio Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1859	1810	1868	1823	1810	1810	1820
Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1908. General compliance year is unknown.

Record Loss

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

Boundary Changes

Parent Counties: Formed from Geauga County 7 June 1808; organized May 1,1810. County Seat: Cleveland Interactive Map of Ohio County Formation History (1790-1897) - animated maps illustrating Ohio county boundary changes Ohio Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Populated Places

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

Cities
Bay Village Beachwood Bedford Bedford Heights Berea Brecksville Broadview Heights Brook Park Brooklyn Cleveland (county seat) Cleveland Heights East Cleveland Euclid	Fairview Park Garfield Heights Highland Heights Independence Lakewood Lyndhurst Maple Heights Mayfield Heights Middleburg Heights North Olmsted North Royalton Olmsted Falls Parma	Parma Heights Pepper Pike Richmond Heights Rocky River Seven Hills Shaker Heights Solon South Euclid Strongsville University Heights Warrensville Heights Westlake
Villages
Bentleyville Bratenahl Brooklyn Heights Chagrin Falls Cuyahoga Heights Gates Mills Glenwillow	Highland Hills Hunting Valley Linndale Mayfield Moreland Hills Newburgh Heights North Randall	Oakwood Orange Valley View Walton Hills Woodmere
Townships
Chagrin Falls	Olmsted	Defunct townships

Resources

Bible Records

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

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Cuyahoga County, Ohio online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find A Grave OH GenWeb Cemeteries Interment OH Tombstone Transcription Project Billion Graves Ohio Gravestones
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Find A Grave Rootweb Cemetery for Cuyahoga County
See Ohio Cemeteries for more information.

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1810	1,459	—
1820	6,328	333.7%
1830	10,373	63.9%
1840	26,506	155.5%
1850	48,099	81.5%
1860	78,033	62.2%
1870	132,010	69.2%
1880	196,943	49.2%
1890	309,970	57.4%
1900	439,120	41.7%
1910	637,425	45.2%
1920	943,495	48.0%
1930	1,201,455	27.3%
1940	1,217,250	1.3%
1950	1,389,532	14.2%
1960	1,647,895	18.6%
1970	1,721,300	4.5%
1980	1,498,400	−12.9%
1990	1,412,140	−5.8%
2000	1,393,978	−1.3%
2010	1,280,122	−8.2%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

1930 Cuyahoga Census at Cuyahoga County, Ohio Genealogy and History

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, see Ohio Church Records.

Catholic

• 1796-2004 - Ohio, Diocese of Toledo, Catholic Parish Records, 1796-2004 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection

Jewish

• Cleveland's Synagogues at Cleveland Jewish History

Lutheran

• Ohio, Cleveland, Trinity Lutheran Church Records, 1853-2013 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection. Also at Ancestry. ($)

Cleveland Churches, General

• Cleveland Ohio Pastors and Their Churches by Laura Hine at Frequently Asked Questions for Genealogy Research in Cuyahoga County.
• Cleveland Church Histories at Frequently Asked Questions for Genealogy Research in Cuyahoga County.
• Cleveland Clergy to 1942 by Don O'Malley at Internet Archive

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Jewish

• 1837-1934 Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Jewish Marriage Record Extracts at Ancestry ($)
• 1964-2007 The Cleveland Jewish News Obituary Index at Ancestry ($)
• Virtual Jewish World - Cleveland, OH at Jewish Virtual Library

Germans

• Cleveland's German Businesses at Cleveland Memory
• German Heritage in Cleveland at Cleveland Memory
• Germans In Cleveland at ClevelandPeople.com
• German Immigrants to Cleveland at Claire Gebben Author

Land and Property Records

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.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for this county. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see Ohio Local Histories.

• History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio: in three parts, general history of the county, history of Cleveland, history of the townships, with portraits and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers. By Chrisfield Johnson. (Cleveland, Ohio: D.W. Ensign Co, Leader Print. Co., 1879) Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
• A History of Cleveland: Its Settlement, Rise, and Progress, 1796-1896. Online at FamilySearch Digital Library
• History of Strongsville, Cuyahoga County, Ohio; with illustrations. Berea, Ohio. Republican Printing Company, 1901. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
• Memorial record of the county of Cuyahoga and city of Cleveland, Ohio, Illustrated. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1894. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
• A history of Cuyahoga County and the city of Cleveland; v. 01. The American Historical Society, Chicago and New York, 1924. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
• Cuyahoga Falls sesquicentennial, 1812-1962. Online at: FamilySeach Digital Library.
• Ohio Indexes at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• 1788-1940 Maps of Ohio (1788-1940) at MapofUS.org
• 1852 Cuyahoga County 1852 landownership map index, online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
• 1874 1874 Atlas of Cuyahoga County online at: FamilySearch Digital Library;Cleveland Public Library Digital Gallery
• 1896 Defunct townships of Cuyahoga County, Ohio at Wikipedia
• 1906 Cleveland Street Name Changes at Frequently Asked Questions for Genealogy Research in Cuyahoga County.
• Converting pre 1906 addresses to post 1906 addresses in Cleveland at Cleveland Public Library Digital Gallery
• Cleveland Cartography at Cleveland State Univeristy

Military Records

• 1888-1919 Ohio Soldier Home Records, 1888-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument at Soldiers and Sailors.com

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

-54th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company H

-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.

World War I

• 1914-1919 Ohio, World War I Statement of Service Cards, 1914-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1914-1918 Ohio, World War I, Enrollment Cards, 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1916-1920 Ohio, WWI Index and Return Cards, 1916-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1800-1977 - Ohio, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• Cuyahoga County Naturalizationsat OHGenWeb
  
• Naturalization Petitions for the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division, Cleveland 1907-1946 at Fold 3 ($)
  

Newspapers

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

For more Ohio newspaper information see Ohio Newspapers and Obituaries.

• 1793-late 1900's Newspapers at Ohio History Connection — Select county.
• 1882-1908 Berea Advertiser - full-text of more than 1,200 issues spanning 1882-1908 freely available in Google Newspaper Archive.
• Early to late-1900's Newspapers at Ohio Memory — sort by County, City, Time Period, and more.
• Newspaper Articles at OHGenWeb Archives

Obituaries

• 1964-2007 The Cleveland Jewish News Obituary Index at Ancestry ($)
• Online Cleveland & Cuyahoga County, Ohio Death Records & Indexes at Death Indexes.com

Periodicals

• Annals of the Early Settlers' Association of Cuyahoga County, Ohio from 1880-1899, online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Internet Archive

Probate Records

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 Cuyahoga 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 Indexes and Records

• 1786-1998 Ohio Wills and Probate Records 1786-1998 at Ancestry ($) — index and images.
• 1813-1932 Ohio, Cuyahoga County Probate Files at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• Probate Records at OHGenWeb Archives

School Records

Courtesy of the Cleveland Public Library Digital Gallery:

• Cleveland School Memories
• Additional Schools Publications
• Cuyahoga County Schools at Old Ohio Schools.com

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index 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

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.

Online Tax Indexes and Records

• 1800-1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at MyHeritage ($); Index
• 1800-1950 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1811 tax lists 1811 at OHGenWeb Archives.

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

• 1800-1962 Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1800-1962 at Ancestry ($) — Index
• 1841-2003 Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1871-1908 Cuyahoga County birth Returns at Fold3 ($) - index and images; search by year and father's surname; free access at Cuyahoga County Public Library with card.
• 1898-1908 Birth Affidavits, Ohio, Cuyahoga County Records, 1880-1950 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry ($) — Index

Marriage

• 1789-2013 Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1800-1942 Ohio, Marriages, 1800-1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1800-1958 Ohio Marriages, 1800-1958 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1810-1973 Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records and Indexes at Ancestry ($)
• 1837-1934 Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Jewish Marriage Record Extracts at Ancestry ($)
• 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage ($)
• 1970-2007 Ohio Marriage Index, 1970, 1972-2007 at Ancestry ($)
• Cuyahoga County Marriage Transcriptions at Summer's Place

Death

• 1833-1900 Coroner Case Files compiled by Cuyahoga West Chapter OGS at Department of Public Works
• 1840-2001 Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1854-1997 Ohio, Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1908-1953 Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1908-1932, 1938-2018 Ohio, Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
• 1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($); — index

Divorce

• 1962-2007 Ohio, Divorce Abstract, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007 at Ancestry ($)
  

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Cuyahoga County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Ohio Archives and Libraries.
Cuyahoga County Archives
2905 Franklin Blvd
Cleveland, OH 44113
216-443-7250
Website

Family History Centers

Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Solon Ohio Family History Center
• Westlake Ohio Family History Center

• Cleveland Public Library - an affiliate Library
• Western Reserve Historical Society - an affiliate library

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Cuyahoga County. For state-wide library facilities, see Ohio Archives and Libraries.

Cuyahoga County Public Library
2111 Snow Rd
Parma OH 44134
216-398-1800
Website

Cleveland Public Library
325 Superior Ave E
Cleveland, OH 44114
216-623-2800
Website

Case Western Reserve University
10900 Euclid Ave
Cleveland, OH 44106
216-368-2000
Website

Lakewood Public Library
15425 Detroit Ave
Lakewood, OH 44107
216-226-8275
Website

Museums

African-American Museum
1765 Crawford Rd
Cleveland, OH 44106
216-721-6555
Website
Facebook

Maltz Museum of Jewish History
2929 Richmond Rd
Beachwood, OH 44122
216-593-0575
E-mail:info@mmjh.org
Website

Ukrainian Museum-Archives
1202 Kenilworth Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
216-781-4329
Website

South Euclid-Lyndhurst Historical Society and Museum
Telling Estate Gatehouse
4629 Mayfield Rd
South Euclid, OH, 44121-4018
216-970-2333
Email: info@SE-Lhistory.org
Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Cuyahoga County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Ohio Societies.

Western Reserve Historical Society
Research Library in the History Center
10825 East Blvd
Cleveland, Ohio 44106
216-721-5722
FamilySearch Wiki
Website

Berea Historical Society
118 East Bridge St
PO Box 173
Berea, OH 44017
440-243-2541
Email:bereahistory@att.net
Website

Cleveland Heights Historical Society
P.O. Box 18337
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
Email: heightshistory@gmail.com
Website

Greater Cleveland Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 40254
Cleveland, OH 44140-0254
Email: GCGS1972@gmail.com
Website

Lakewood Historical Society
13314 Detroit Ave
Lakewood, OH 44107
216-221-7343
Email: https://www.lakewoodhistory.org
Website

Shaker Heights Historical Society
16740 South Park Blvd
Shaker Heights, OH 44120
216-921-1201 or 800-860-6078
Website

Slavic Village Historical Society
6804 Lansing Ave
Cleveland, OH 44105
216-271-0691
Website

Westlake Historical Society
1371-A Clague Rd
Westlake, OH 44145
216-848-0680
Email: claguemuseum@yahoo.com
Website

North Olmsted Historical Society
Frostville Museum
24101 Cedarpoint Rd
North Olmstead, OH
E-mail:frostvillecindy@gmail.com
Website

Cleveland Police Historical Society and Museum
1300 Ontario St
Cleveland, OH 44113
216-623-5055
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 ($) - online databases
• Cleveland Digital Library at Cleveland State University
• Cuyahoga County at OHGenWeb
• Cuyahoga County Research FAQs
• Cuyahoga County History at Ohio American Local History Network
• Cuyahoga County OH Genealogy at LDSGenealogy
• Cuyahoga County Old Photos at FamilyOldPhotos.com
• Cuyahoga County American History and Genealogy Project
• Case Western Reserve University Digital Book Collection
• Encyclopedia of Cleveland History at Case Western Reserve University
• Cleveland State University Digital Library at Cleveland Memory.org
• Cleveland State University Memory Project at Cleveland Memory.org
• Cleveland District Round Table Regional Activities at USGenWeb
• Cuyahoga County at Cyndi's List
• Heritage Pursuit ($)
• Rootsweb Resources for Cuyahoga County at Internet Archive
• FamilySearch Catalog – 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.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a family history center.