Franklin County, OhioEdit This Page
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Guide to Franklin County Ohio genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Franklin County, Ohio | |
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 Location in the state of Ohio | |
 Location of Ohio in the U.S. | |
| Courthouse | |
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| Address | Franklin County Government Center 373 South High Street, 23rd Floor Columbus, OH 43215 Franklin County Website |
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Ohio Franklin County
Historical Facts
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| *For earlier dates, try... Church | Obituaries | Cemeteries | |||||
- Parent Counties: Formed from Ross County and unorganized land in 30 March 1803.[1]
- County Seat: Columbus
- Neighboring Counties: Franklin County, Ohio residents may also have records in [2]Delaware (north) · Pickaway (south) · Madison (west) · Union (northwest) · Fairfield and Licking (east)
Boundary Changes
- Parts set off in a series of divisions:
- 20 February 1805: Champaign
- 10 February 1808: Delaware
- 12 January 1810: Pickaway
- 16 Febrary 1810: Madison
- 10 January 1820: Union
- 20 February 1805: Champaign
See an interactive map of Franklin County boundary changes.
Record Loss
- The 1820 US Federal Census is missing for Franklin County.
Resources
Bible Records
Biography
Cemeteries
- Obetz Cemetery, Obetz BillionGraves
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.
| Online Grave Transcripts | Published Grave Transcripts | County Cemetery Directories |
| Family History Library | ||
| WorldCat | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
See Ohio Cemeteries for more information.
Census
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.
Court Records
Emigration and Immigration
Archives, Libraries, and Museums
Biographies
Church Records
Cemetery Records
Court Records
Histories
Immigration/emigration/migration
Maps
Newspapers
Societies
Gazetteers
Genealogy
History
- Named for Benjamin Franklin.
- The county was created just 2 months after Ohio became a state.
- The county originally extended all the way to Lake Erie before the divisions.
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.
Maps
Military
Revolution, 1775-1783
Civil War, 1861-1865
Civil War service men from Franklin 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 Franklin County.
- - 1st Regiment, Ohio Cavalry, Companies F and K
- -1st Regiment, Ohio Heavy Artillery, Company C
- - 113th Regiment, Ohio Infantry , Companies B, C, H, and I
- Franklin County, Ohio Civil War Military Roster. (Austin, Minnesota : Ohio Genealogy Center, c1984). Libraries with book. FHL book 977.156 M2f
Naturalization and Citizenship
Newspapers
Franklin County, Ohio 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.
- Arlington News - a few full-text digital issues in Google News Archive from 2005
Obituaries
Periodicals
Probate
Probate records created after 1852 are held by the Franklin County, Ohio 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 Franklin County, Ohio 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). [3] 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).
Public Records
Repositories
Courthouse
Franklin County Courthouse
3695 High Street
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: 614.645.3600
Probate Court has birth and death records before 1908,
marriage and probate records; Clerk Court has divorce
and court records from 1803; County Auditor has land records[1]
Family History Centers
- Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
- Columbus Ohio Family History Center (Grover City)
- Columbus Ohio North Family History Center (Dublin)
- Columbus Ohio South Family History Center (Reynoldsburg)
- West Chester Ohio Family History Center
Libraries
- Columbus Metropolitan Library
- Ohio Historical Society Archives Library
- State Library of Ohio (Sources for Genealogists)
Museums
Societies
- Columbus Historical Society
- Columbus Metropolitan Library
- The Franklin County Genealogical & Historical Society
Taxation
Finding Tax Records at Other Repositories
Additional tax records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Franklin County, Ohio Tax Records in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Family History Library Catalog (For instructions see FHL 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 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 Franklin County, Ohio 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 Franklin County, Ohio Probate Court with divorce records located with the Franklin County, Ohio Clerk of Courts.
Birth
Marriage
Death
- Ohio Death Certificates, 1908-1953 Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch Historical Records. Records include such information as birth date of deceased, city, county, and state of death, name of spouse if married, names of parents, maiden name of mother, name of informant, if deceased was single, married, windowed or divorced, occupation of deceased.
Hint: Enter name of the county, will narrow the search.
Websites
- The Franklin County OH GenWeb Project, a member of The OHGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
- The USGenWeb Archives Project for Franklin County.
- Family History Library Catalog
Places
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), [FHL book 973 D27e 2002].
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Franklin County, Ohio" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_County,_Ohio (accessed 10 May 2012).
- ↑ Carol Willsey Bell, Ohio Wills and Estates to 1850: An Index (Columbus, Ohio: the author, 1981). FamilySearch Books Online - Free online copy.
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- This page was last modified on 17 May 2013, at 01:32.
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