Preble County, Ohio Genealogy

United States

Ohio

Preble County

Guide to Preble 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: Eaton Organized: March 1, 1808 Parent County(s): Butler, Montgomery Neighboring Counties Darke  • Montgomery  • Butler  • Union (IN)  • Wayne (IN) See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The county was named for Edward Preble, a naval officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. It is located in the Southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse

Preble County Courthouse
101 East Main Street
Eaton, Ohio 45320
Phone: 937-456-8145
Preble County Website

Probate Judge has birth and death records from 1867, probate records from 1800 and marriage records from 1808;
Clerk Court has divorce and court records from 1850;
County Recorder has land records from 1804

Preble 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
1867	1808	1867	1850	1804	1800	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 Butler and Montgomery Counties on March 1, 1808. County Seat: Eaton 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. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Eaton (county seat)
Villages
College Corner Camden Eldorado Gratis	Lewisburg New Paris Verona	West Alexandria West Elkton West Manchester
Unincorporated communities
Brennersville Brinley Browns Campbellstown Cedar Springs Dadsville Ebenezer Enterprise	Fairhaven Gettysburg Greenbush Hamburg Ingomar Morning Sun Muttonville New Hope	New Lexington New Westville Sampleville Sugar Valley Talawanda Springs West Florence West Sonora Wheatville
Census-designated places
Lake Lakengren
Townships
Dixon Gasper Gratis Harrison	Israel Jackson Jefferson Lanier	Monroe Somers Twin Washington
Ghost towns
laysburg Crawfordsville	Hagerstown

Resources

Bible Records

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

Biographies

• A Biographical history of Preble County, Ohio, A Compendium of National Biography. Published by the Lewis Publishing Co, Chicago, 1900. Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive.
• Directory of Preble County, Ohio: historical sketches and biographies of Eminent Pioneers, Advertisements, Home and Foreign. (Eaton, Ohio: B.E. Morgan Publisher and Compiler, 1875). Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive

Cemeteries

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

 

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1810	3,304	—
1820	10,237	209.8%
1830	16,291	59.1%
1840	19,482	19.6%
1850	21,736	11.6%
1860	21,820	0.4%
1870	21,809	−0.1%
1880	24,533	12.5%
1890	23,421	−4.5%
1900	23,713	1.2%
1910	23,834	0.5%
1920	23,238	−2.5%
1930	22,455	−3.4%
1940	23,329	3.9%
1950	27,081	16.1%
1960	32,498	20.0%
1970	34,719	6.8%
1980	38,223	10.1%
1990	40,113	4.9%
2000	42,337	5.5%
2010	42,270	−0.2%
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, see Ohio Church Records.

Directories

• Clevenger's directory of farmers and breeders: Preble County, Ohio, 1919-1920. Published by Clevenger Directory Co., Indianapolis, IN, 1919. Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive.

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.

Online Land Indexes and Records

• Ohio Historical Inventory for Preble County this resource, from Preble County Room - Preble County District Library Genealogical Department, provides a listing of historical and architectural significant houses and buildings of Preble County.
  
• 1820 Land tax, Preble County, Ohio, 1820 online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

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.

• Graham, Albert Adams, History of Preble County, Ohio: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, (Cleveland, Ohio: H.Z. Williams, 1881). Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, HathiTrust, Internet Archive, Google Books.
• Howe, Henry. History of Preble County, Ohio, 1808-1889: excerpted from 1898 edition of Howe's historical collection of Ohio. Online at FamilySearch Digital Library.
• Lowry, R.E., History of Preble County, Ohio: Her people, Industries, and Institutions, (Indianapolis, Indiana: B.F. Bowen, 1915). Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, Internet Archive.
• Hiestand, Ione Sell, Preble County, Ohio, (Eaton, Ohio: Preble County Historical Society, 1992). FHL film 1000337 Item 4; book 977.171 H2p
• Ohio Indexes at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Composite Collection of Cadastral Maps of Preble County, Ohio by Seth Schlotterbeck (Eaton, Ohio: Preble County Historical Society, c1978). Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
• Plat Book of Preble County, Ohio: Compiled from County Records and Actual Surveys. (Des Moines, Iowa: Northwest Publishing Co., 1912). Online at Library of Congress
  
• Township Maps of Preble County, Ohio: Compiled from County Records and Actual Surveys. (Richmond, Indiana: F. B. Robinson, c1897). At Library of Congress
• Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)
• Survey maps Atlas of Preble County, Ohio from Actual Surveys by D. J. Lake (Philadelphia: C. O. Titus, c1871)
  

Military Records

• 1888-1919 Ohio Soldier Home Records, 1888-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.

World War I

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

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1800-1977 Ohio, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.

Newspapers

Preble 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.

• 1793-late 1900's Newspapers at Ohio History Connection — Select county.
• Early-late 1900s Newspapers at Ohio Memory — sort by County, City, Time Period, and more.
• Preble County District Library Genealogical Room has a tremendous resource in microfilm records of newspapers from 1854 to present.
• Miami Valley News
• Register-Herald

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 Preble 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 ($) — index and images.
• 1789-1996 Ohio Probate Records 1789-1996 at FamilySearch.org — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1806-1854 Preble County, Ohio Wills Vol. I and Vol. II at Ancestry ($)

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 FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1800-1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at MyHeritage ($) — index

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 ($) — Index
• 1841-2003 Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry ($) — Index
• 1959-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1959-1998 at MyHeritage - index ($)

Marriage

• 1789-2013 Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1800-1942 Ohio, Marriages, 1800-1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index.
• 1800-1958 Ohio Marriages, 1800-1958 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index.
• 1808-2000 Preble County, Ohio, Marriage Index at ancestry.com ($)
• 1808-1830 and 1830-1840 Preble County, Ohio Marriage Records Vol. I and Vol. II] at ancestry.com ($)
• 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

• 1835-2010 Preble County, Ohio, Death Index at ancestry.com ($)
• 1840-2001 Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images.
• 1908-1932, 1938–1944, and 1958–2007 Ohio, Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007 at FamilySearch – How to Use this Collection; Index.
• 1908-1932, 1938-2018 Ohio, Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
• 1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Divorce

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

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Preble County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Ohio Archives and Libraries.

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

• Oxford Ohio Family History Center
• Preble County District Library

Libraries

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

Preble County District Library
Preble County Room
450 S. Barron Street
Eaton, OH 45320
937-456-4250
E-mail:pcdl@preblelibrary.org
Website

Brown Memorial Public Library
101 S. Commerce Street
P.O. Box 640
Lewisburg, OH 45338-0640
937-962-2377
Website

Marion Lawrence Memorial Library
15 E. Franklin Street - Municipal Building
Gratis, OH 45330-9999
937-787-3502

Societies

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

Preble County Genealogical Society
Preble County District Library
450 S. Barron Street
Eaton, Ohio 45320
E-mail:preblecgs@gmail.com
Website

Preble County Historical Soceity
7693 Swartsel Road
Eaton, Ohio 45320
937-787-4256
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
• Preble County OH Genealogy LDS Genealogy
• USGenWeb Preble County, OH - free genealogy resources; part of the national USGenWeb Project
• 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.