Morrow County, Ohio Genealogy

United States

Ohio

Morrow County

Guide to Morrow 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: Mount Gilead Organized: March 1, 1848 Parent County(s): Delaware, Knox, Marion, Richland Neighboring Counties Marion  • Crawford  • Richland  • Knox  • Delaware See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The county was named for Jeremiah Morrow, who was Governor of Ohio from 1822 to 1826. It is located in the Mid-Central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Morrow County Courthouse
48 E High St
Mount Gilead, OH 43338-1458
Phone: 419-947-2085
Morrow County Website

Probate Court has birth and death records 1856-1857 and 1867-1908, marriage and probate records from 1848 and naturalization records 1848-1894; Birth and death records from 1908; Land records from 1848 and military records.
Common Pleas Court has divorce and court records.

Morrow 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
1856	1848	1856	1848	1848	1848	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 Delaware, Knox, Marion, Crawford and Richland Counties. County Seat: Mount Gilead Organized Date: March 1, 1848 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
Galion
Villages
Cardington Chesterville Edison	Fulton Marengo Mount Gilead (county seat)	Sparta
Unincorporated communities
Bloomfield Blooming Grove Climax Denmark Fargo Johnsville North Woodbury	Pagetown Pulaskiville Saint James Shawtown Johnsville South Woodbury Steam Corners	Vails Corners West Liberty West Point Westfield Williamsport
Census-designated places
Candlewood Lake	Iberia
Townships
Bennington Canaan Cardington Chester Congress Franklin	Gilead Harmony Lincoln North Bloomfield Perry Peru	South Bloomfield Troy Washington Westfield

Resources

Bible Records

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

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Morrow County, Ohio online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find A Grave Ohio Gravestones USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project Billion Graves OHGenWeb Tombstone Photo Project
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.	%±
1850	20,280	—
1860	20,445	0.8%
1870	18,583	−9.1%
1880	19,072	2.6%
1890	18,120	−5.0%
1900	17,879	−1.3%
1910	16,815	−6.0%
1920	15,570	−7.4%
1930	14,489	−6.9%
1940	15,646	8.0%
1950	17,168	9.7%
1960	19,405	13.0%
1970	21,348	10.0%
1980	26,480	24.0%
1990	27,749	4.8%
2000	31,628	14.0%
2010	34,827	10.1%
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.

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.

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.

• History of Morrow County and Ohio : containing a brief history of the state of Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, embracing its topography, geological, physical and climatic features; its agricultural, stock-growing, railroad interests, etc.; a history of Morrow County, giving an account of its aboriginal inhabitants, early settlement by the whites, pioneer incidents, its growth, its improvements, organization of the county, its judicial and political history, its business and industries, churchs, schools, etc.; biographical sketches; portraits of some of the early settlers and prominent men, etc., (Chicago, Illinois: O. L. Baskin, 1880). Online at Google Books, Internet Archive FamilySearch Digital Library, Ancestry ($) - Indexed.
• Baughman, A.J., History of Morrow County, Ohio: A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People, and Its Principal Interest, (Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Co., 1911). Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Google Books Internet Archive.
• Morrow County History Book Committee, History of Morrow County, Ohio, (Salem, West Virginia: Don Mills, 1989). Online at Google Books, HathiTrust. FHL book 977.1516 H2hm, beginning with image 470; Scroll down to Film/Digital Notes, then click on the camera icon at the right side of the page.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)at MapofUS.org

Military Records

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

Civil War
Service men from Morrow 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 Morrow County.

-96th Regiment, Ohio Infantry

• Company C, Ninety-Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry Roster
• Company D (both Morrow and Marion Counties), Ninety-Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry Roster

World War I

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

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

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

Newspapers

Morrow 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 and Obituaries.

• 1793-late 1900s Newspapers at Ohio History Connection — Select county.
• Early-late 1900s Newspapers at Ohio Memory — sort by County, City, Time Period, and more.

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 Morrow 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.

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.
• 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

• 1774-1973 Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1774-1973 at Ancestry ($) — Index
• 1841-2003 Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry ($) — Index

Marriage

• 1789-2013 Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1800-1942 Ohio Marriages, 1800-1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1800-1958 Ohio Marriages, 1800-1958 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970-2003 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Death

• 1840-2001 Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1854-1997 Ohio Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 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 of deaths from the Ohio Department of Health in Columbus. Index provided by Ancestry.com.
• 1908-1953 Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
• 1913-1944 Ohio Death Records Index, 1913-1944 (Ohio Historical Society) Free index. Search by county and timeframe. Order originals through the Ohio History Store ($).
• 1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Divorce

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

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Morrow 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

• Clear Fork Ohio Family History Center
• Marion Ohio Family History Center
• Ohio Genealogical Society

Libraries

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

Cardington-Lincoln School District Public Library
128 E Main Street
PO Box 38
Cardington, OH 43315
419-864-8181
Website

Mount Gilead Public Library
41 E High St
Mt Gilead, OH 43338-1429
419-947-5866
Website

Perry Cook Memorial Public Library
7406 County Rd 242
Shauck, OH 43349-0214
419-362-7181
Website

Selover Public Library
31 State Route 95
PO Box 25
Chesterville, OH 43317-0025
419-768-3431
Website

Museums

Morrow County History Center
17 W High St
Mount Gilead, OH 43338-1212
419-946-7264
E-mail:morrowcohs@gmail.com
Website

Societies

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

Morrow County Genealogical Society
35 E High St
PO Box 401
Mount Gilead, OH 43338-0401
419-947-5866
Website Facebook

Morrow County Historical Society
17 W High St
Mount Gilead, OH 43338
E-mail:morrowcohs@gmail.com
Facebook

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
• Morrow County OH Genealogy at LDS Genealogy
• USGW Archives for Morrow County
• The Morrow County OH GenWeb 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.