Adams County, Ohio Genealogy

United States

Ohio

Adams County

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

Ohio Online Genealogy Records

Adams County, Ohio
Map
Location in the state of Ohio
Location of Ohio in the U.S.
Courthouse
Address	Adams County Courthouse 110 W. Main St. West Union, Ohio 45693-1347 Adams County Website Phone: 937.544.5547

Adams County, Ohio Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1888	1803	1888	1910	1797	1849	1820
Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1908. General compliance year is unknown.

• Parent Counties: Formed from Hamilton and Washington counties in 10 July 1797.
• County Seat: West Union
  
• Neighboring Counties: Adams County, Ohio Genealogy residents may also have records in Highland County (north)  · Pike County  (northeast) · Lewis County, Kentucky (south)  · Mason County, Kentucky (southwest) · Brown County (west)

Description

The county was named after John Adams, the second President of the United States. It's county seat is West Union and was organized in 1799. It is located in the Southwestern area of the state.

Places/Localities

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 this county:

Villages
Manchester Peebles	Rome Seaman	West Union (county seat) Winchester
Unincorporated communities
Bacon Flat Beasley Fork Beaver Pond Blue Creek Bradysville Catbird Cedar Mills Cherry Fork Clayton Dunkinsville Eckmansville Emerald Fairview Fawcett Grooms Harshaville	Jacksonville Jaybird Jessup Jones Corner Lawshe Locust Grove Louden Louisville Lynx Marble Furnace May Hill Mineral Springs Panhandle Pine Gap Rockville	Sandy Springs Scrub Ridge Smoky Corners Squirreltown Selig Steam Furnace Sunshine Tranquility Tulip Unity Wamsley Wheat Ridge Whippoorwill Wrightsville Youngsville
Census-designated places
Bentonville
Townships
Bratton Brush Creek Franklin Green Jefferson	Liberty Manchester Meigs Monroe Oliver	Scott Sprigg Tiffin Wayne Winchester

Neighboring Counties

Brown County  • Highland County  • Pike County  • Scioto County  • Mason Countn KY  • Lewis County, KY

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

1910 Fire burned the courthouse, resulting in the loss of most of the will books and other probate files, as well as some other records.

For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

• Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle.
• When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog.
• Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Resources

Bible Records

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

Biography

Adams County Biographies for more information.

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 Tombstones
Billion Graves
Ohio Gravestones
OHGenWeb
Billion Graves
See Ohio Cemeteries for more information.

• Adams County Cemeteries (web content preserved on Archive.org, volunteer transcriptions)
• Famous Politicians buried in Adams County (PoliticalGraveyard.com)

Cemetery Listings (no burial information)

• GPS Coordinates for Adams County Cemeteries (GenealogyTrails.com)

Census

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1800	3,432	—
1810	9,434	174.9%
1820	10,406	10.3%
1830	12,281	18.0%
1840	13,183	7.3%
1850	18,883	43.2%
1860	20,309	7.6%
1870	20,750	2.2%
1880	24,005	15.7%
1890	26,093	8.7%
1900	26,328	0.9%
1910	24,755	−6.0%
1920	22,403	−9.5%
1930	20,381	−9.0%
1940	21,705	6.5%
1950	20,499	−5.6%
1960	19,982	−2.5%
1970	18,957	−5.1%
1980	24,328	28.3%
1990	25,371	4.3%
2000	27,330	7.7%
2010	28,550	4.5%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

• Census Index Online
• Census for Adams County
• 1820 United States Federal Census $
• 1830 United States Federal Census $
• 1840 United States Federal Census $
• United States Census 1850
• United States Census Population Schedules, 1850 - FamilySearch Historical Records
• United States Census 1860
• 1860 United States Federal Census $
• United States Census 1870
• United States Census 1880 (Index only)
• 1880 United States Federal Census $
• United States Census 1900
• 1910 United States Federal Census $
• United States Census 1920
• 1930 United States Federal Census $
• United States Census 1930

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.

General

• Adams County, Ohio Churches
• Topographic Map Church Features in Adams County, Ohio
  

Court Records

• Adams County Ohio Court Directory
• Many Court and Guardianship Records for Adams County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see topic details.

Emigration and Immigration

Adam County migration records

Funeral Homes

• Funeral Homes Near Adams County, Ohio

History

Local histories are available for Adams 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 Histories

• Evans, Nelson Wiley, A history of Adams County, Ohio from its earliest settlement to the present time: including character sketches of the prominent persons… (West Union, Ohio: E.B. Stivers, 1900) Digital version at Internet Archives; Google Books; FamilySearch Digital Library; also available on microfilm at FHL film 476934.
• Thompson, Carl N., Thompson's Historical Collections of Adams County, Ohio (West Union, Ohio : Adams County Historical Society (Ohio), c1991) FHL book 977.186 H2t.

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.

• 1797-1837 -Adams County Deeds Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

• Many Land Records for Adams County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see topic details.

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)
• Adams County, Ohio 1895 U. S. Plat Map
• Adams County, Ohio Map
• Category: Maps of Adams County, Ohio
• Map Showing Adams County, Ohio
• Adams County, Ohio
• Adams County Map
• Many Maps for Adams County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see topic details.

Military

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

Revolutionary War

• Adams County Military in the Revolutionary War
• Revolutionary Veterans living in Adams County Ohio and Revolutionary Veterans Service Information

War of 1812

War of 1812 Adams County Ohio Veterans

Civil War

• Civl War Research Database $
• Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System
• Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

World War I

• World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 $
• 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

World War II

• U. S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 $
• U. S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 $
• United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 Collection Description: Images of cards for men, age 45-64 (born 1877-1897), included in the fourth draft conducted on Arpil 27, 1942.

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

Newspapers

Adams 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 Memory. 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.

Online Newspapers

• The People's Defender

Online Newspaper Abstracts

• Obituaries and Death Notices
• Newspaper Articles Courtesy of OhioGenWeb

Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form
Finding More Ohio Newspapers
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Adams County Ohio newspapers in online catalogs like:

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

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 {{{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

• Early to 1910 - Adams County Ohio Will Index prior to 1910
• 1883-1924 Wills - Adams County. Courtesy of OhioGenWeb Archives

===== Finding More Probate Records =====

Additional probate records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Adams 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).

Public Records

Schools

• Adams County Schools
• School Records
• Many School Records for Adams County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see topic details.

Repositories

Courthouse

Adams County Courthouse
110 W. Main St.
West Union, Ohio 45693-1347
Adams County Courthouse (Wikipedia)
Phone: 937–544–5547

Probate Court  has births and deaths 1888-1893, marriages 1803-1853 and from 1910, probate records 1849-1860 and from 1910.

Court Clerk  has divorces and court records from 1910.

County Recorder  has land records from 1797.

Board of Health  has births and deaths from 1908.

Family History Centers

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.

• Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator

Local Centers and Libraries

Libraries

• Libraries

Societies

The Adams County Historical Society
507 N. Cherry St.
West Union, Ohio 45693
Phone: 937-544-8522

• Adams County Genealogy Genealogical Society West Union, Ohio
• Ohio Historical Society

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
• 1810 - Index to Tax List Courtesy of Ohio GenWeb Pages
• 1816-1838 Tax RecordsAbout this collection

Finding More Tax Records

Additional tax records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Adams 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

• Recordings of Births The Adams County, OH Courthouse was destroyed by fire on February 25,1910. All official Probate Court Birth Records were destroyed. Births may be found in the "Adams County,OH Probate Court Assessor Books," (1879 thru 1895) and the "Restored Adams County, OH Board of Health Birth Records," (1857 to 1909).
  
• 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
• 1856-1893 - Township birth records Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
• 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry.com ($) — index

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage

FamilySearch has a large collection of Ohio marriage records digitized and on microfilm.

Online Marriage Indexes and Records

• 1789-2013 - Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images;
• 1800-1945 - Marriages of Adams County, Ohio and Marriage Data - Adams County Ohio 1800-1945
• 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 ($)
• 1896 - 1896 Marriage License Issued
• 1898-1912 - Ohio Marriages at ancestry.com ($)
• 1970-2007 - Ohio Marriage Index, 1970, 1972-2007 at ancestry.com ($)
• 1803-1999 - Ohio Marriage Records Courtesy of OhioGenWeb
• 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death

Online Death Indexes and Records

• 1840-2001 - Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1889 - Adams County Adult Deaths: 1889 Courtesy OhioGenWeb
• 1908-1953 - Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953 Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch. 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.
• 1908-1932, 1938-2018 Ohio, Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018 at Ancestry.com ($) — index and images
• 1909 - Adams County Deaths 1909 Courtesy Genealogy Trails
• 1913-1937 - Death Index 1913-1937
• 1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($) — index
• Social Security Index Rootsweb

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

Finding More Vital Records

Additional vital records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Adams 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

• Adams County OHGenWeb
• Adams County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• Ohio Digital Collections statewide database links
  
• Adams County OH Genealogy
• FamilySearch Catalog
  
• OHGenWeb - Adams County
• UsGenWeb - -Adams County
• Genealogy Trails, Adams County, Ohio
• Ohio Genealogy Express

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