Ohio Guide to Genealogical Sources

By: Carol W. Bell, Pub. 1993, 372 pages, Hard Cover........

This is a very comprehensive guide to the genealogical records and sources in Ohio, written by one of Ohio’s foremost genealogists, Carol Willsey Bell.  For each of Ohio’s eighty-eight counties, Mrs. Bell supplies the following data: the county creation date and the name(s) of the parent county; the county seat; the name and address of the county courthouse, library, historical society, genealogical society, archival district, and health department; a list of relevant land surveys (for land and deed research); the surrounding counties; and the names of all townships in the county. Next is a detailed breakdown of the court records on microfilm (LDS and Ohio Historical Society), listed first by originating office and then by record group. This includes the records of the State Auditor, Clerks of Court, Court of Common Pleas, Children’s Homes, Coroner, County Homes, County Commissioners, Probate Court, Recorder, Sheriff, Soldier’s Relief Commission, and Treasurer.

Then there follows an itemization of the census records available for each county, including special schedules, a listing of the county’s records on microfilm in the State Library, plus manuscript collections, newspapers, tax records, articles from periodicals, and an extensive list of published sources for that county. And all of this magnificently detailed data on the counties is preceded by an elaborate listing of statewide and regional records and publications.