Gallia County, Ohio Genealogy

United States

Ohio

Gallia County

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

Ohio Online Genealogy Records

Gallia County, Ohio
Map
Location of Ohio in the U.S.
Courthouse
Address	Gallia County Courthouse 18 Locust St. Gallipolis, Ohio 45631 Gallia County Website

Gallia County, Ohio Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1864	1803	1867	1850	1803	1803	1820
Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1908. General compliance year is unknown.

• Parent Counties: Formed from Adams and Washington Counties 25 March 1803.
• County Seat: Gallipolis

Description

The county name originated from the Latin word for France. Its county seat is Gallipolis and was founded March 25, 1803. It is located in the South-central area of the state.

Places/Localities

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:

Villages
Centerville Cheshire	Crown City Gallipolis (county seat)	Rio Grande Vinton
Unincorporated communities
Bidwell Kerr	Mercerville Patriot
Census-designated places
Kanauga
Townships
Addison Cheshire Clay Gallipolis Green	Greenfield Guyan Harrison Huntington Morgan	Ohio Perry Raccoon Springfield Walnut

Neighboring Counties

Meigs County  • Vinton County  • Jackson County  • Lawrence County  • Mason County, West Virginia Genealogy  • Cabell County, West Virginia Genealogy

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

1981 A courthouse fire may have damaged or destroyed some 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.

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
Ohio Gravestones	WorldCat	Names in Stone
USGW Tombstones		Billion Graves
Billion Graves
OHGenWeb Tombstone Photos
See Ohio Cemeteries for more information.

• Cemeteries of Gallia County.
• Gallia County Cemeteries.

Census

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1810	4,181	—
1820	7,098	69.8%
1830	9,733	37.1%
1840	13,444	38.1%
1850	17,063	26.9%
1860	22,043	29.2%
1870	25,545	15.9%
1880	28,124	10.1%
1890	27,005	−4.0%
1900	27,918	3.4%
1910	25,745	−7.8%
1920	23,311	−9.5%
1930	23,050	−1.1%
1940	24,930	8.2%
1950	24,910	−0.1%
1960	26,120	4.9%
1970	25,239	−3.4%
1980	30,098	19.3%
1990	30,954	2.8%
2000	31,069	0.4%
2010	30,934	−0.4%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

• United States Census 1850.
• United States Census (Mortality Schedule), 1850 - FamilySearch Historical Records.
• United States Census, Slave Schedule, 1850 - FamilySearch Historical Records.
• United States Census 1860.
• United States Census 1870.
• United States Census 1880.
• United States Census 1900.
• United States Census 1910.
• United States Census 1920.
• 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.

• Gallia County Churches.

Court Records

• Many Court records for Gallia 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 the topic details from their catalog.

Directories

• Wiggins and Weaver's Ohio River Directory for 1871-1872, including Gallipolis.

Local Histories

• Index to Hardesty's History of Gallia County. Printed in 1882. It contains a condensed history of the county, biographical sketches, general statistics and miscellaneous matters.
• History of Gallia County Containg A condensed History of the County; Biographical Sketches; General Statistics; Miscellaneous Matters, ;c.
• Gallia County Ohio History Sources.
• First Settlers of Huntington Township.
• Gallia County Ohio Memory Digital Collection.
• Biographical Index.
• Gallia County, First Families.
• Many History records for Gallia 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 the topic details from their catalog.

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.

• 1790-1907 - Bureau of Land Management database Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives
• various years - Community contributed deeds

• Many Land records for Gallia 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 the topic details from their catalog.

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)
• Gallia County Google Satellite Map.
• Gallia County and its Neighbors Maps.
• 1887 Gallia County map from Military History of Ohio, Illustrated.
• U. S. Geological Survey - National Mapping Information Geographic Names
• Many Map records for Gallia 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 the topic details from their catalog.

Military

General

• 1888-1919 - Ohio Soldier Home Records, 1888-1919 at FamilySearch — index and images
• Gallia County Military Records.
  
  

Civil War

Civil War service men from Knox 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 Knox County.

- 1st Regiment, Ohio Cavalry, Company E

- 56th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies A and E

- George's Independent Company, Ohio Cavalry

-Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System.

-Gallia History Web, during the Civil War.

Many Military Civil War 1861-1865 records for Gallia 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 the topic details from their catalog.

World War I

• 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

• Gallia County, Ohio World War II Casualties Army and Air Force.
• United States, World War II Draft Registratoin Cards, 1942 at FamilySearch
  
  

Many Military records for Gallia 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 the topic details from their catalog.

Naturalization and Citizenship

• 1800-1977 - Ohio, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977 at FamilySearch — index and images
• Many Naturalization and Citizenship records for Gallia 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 the topic details from their catalog.

Newspapers

Gallia 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 and Obituaries. Online Newspapers

• Digital Archives of Bossard Memorial Library - free digitized newspapers from Gallia County.

• Gallipolis Daily Tribune.

Online Newspaper Abstracts

• Gallia County Newspaper Obituaries.
• Gallia County Newspaper Obituaries for Civil War Veterans.
• Gallia County, Ohio Genealogy and History News Articles.
• various years - Community contributed newspaper articles

Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

.

Probate

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 Indexes and 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
• 1790–1967 - Ohio, Probate Records, 1790-1967 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. This collection consists of probate records and estate files from county courthouses in Ohio. The content and time period varies by county, with more records being added as they become available. This Collection will include records from 1789 to 1996. Currently, (September 2012) the collection is only searchable by browsing the images. A list of Fires that have destroyed records in the courthouses of several counties are listed on the Record Description page.
  
• various years - Community contributed wills
• Many Probate records for Gallia 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 the topic details from their catalog.

Finding More Probate Records

Additional probate records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Gallia County, Ohio Genealogy Probate Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).

Repositories

Courthouse

Gallia County Courthouse
18 Locust Street
Gallipolis, OH 45631-1251
Phone: 740.446.4374 

Probate Judge has birth, marriage, death and probate records;
County Health Department has burial records; Clerk Court has
divorce and court records from 1850; County Recorder has
land records

• Gallia County, Ohio Courthouse.
• County Records for Gallia County.

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 Affiliate Libraries

• Columbus Ohio Family History Center

For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the FHC directory. Put your town name in the top search box.

Societies

• Gallia County Genealogical Society.
• Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library.
• The Gallia County Historical and Genealogical Society (Facebook) located at 412 Second Avenue and is open 4 days a week from 10am to 4 pm. Closed for the month of January. The Stake Temple and Family History Consultant - Center can be reached at 740-446-7200. The Family Search team came to the society many years ago and copied all the books that were there at the time. We now have 92 books that were copied (exact copies) of what is in the Probate office. (Birth, Death, Marriages from 1800- 1993) and Wills from 1803 to later 1930's. The GCHGS has become the depository for all the Gallia County books that were at one time housed in the Alden Library, Genealogy, and rare book room on the Ohio University Campus. The early tax records and other land records that no longer could be housed in the Gallia County Courthouse are now a part of the GCHGS collection. The collection also includes the Gallipolis Tribune , the local newspaper, from the years 1900 to 1980. They can be found in the section of the genealogical library in the GCHGS. They are hard bound editions.. easy to read and very available to the public. There are also many books that have been donated by schools, granges, children's home, etc. and other organizations. There are 2 floors of records and 1 floor that houses donated artifacts of the area.. in 3 Museum Rooms... Military, Medical and Miscellaneous.

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

Schools

• Gallia County Schools.

Taxation

• 1800-1950 - Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1800-1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at MyHeritage ($) — index
• 1816-1838 - Ohio Tax Records 1816-1838.
• 1860 - Delinquent Tax List for 1860. Transcribed by Henry Evans

• Many Probate records for Gallia 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 the topic details from their catalog

Finding More Tax Records

Additional tax records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Gallia County, Ohio Genealogy Tax Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Places 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

• 1841-2003 - Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1894-1903 - Birth Records of Gallia County 1894-1903. These records are transcribed from Volume 3. The birth records are housed in Gallia County Probate Court in Gallipolis, Ohio.
• 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry.com ($) — index

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage

Online Marriage Indexes and Records

• 1789-2013 - Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 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
• 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage ($) — index
• various years - community contributed marriage records Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death

Online Death Indexes and Records

• 1840-2001 - Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1887-1888 -Gallipolis Township, Part 1.
• 1887-1888 - Gallipolis Township, Part 2.
• 1887-1888 - Cheshire Township.
• 1887-1888 - Huntington Township.
• 1888 - Gallia County Death Register
• 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 ($) — index and images
• 1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($) — index
• 1913-1943 - Gallia County, Ohio Death Records.
• various years - community contributed death records Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

• Many Vital records for Gallia 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 the topic details from their catalog.

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Finding More Vital Records

Additional vital records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Gallia County, Ohio Genealogy Vital Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).

Websites

• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• FamilySearch Catalog
• Gallia County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Gallia County OH Genealogy
• Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• Gallia County, Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
• Post Offices of Gallia County.
• Gallia County Funeral Homes.
• Gallia County, Ohio Genealogy and History.
• Genealogical ; Historical Information for Gallia County, Ohio.
• Linkpendium Gallia County Genealogy and Family History.

References

Gallia County Reference Books and Lookup Volunteers.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.

Family History Library