Putnam County- Cemetery Records

Cemetery Record research is a very important element in genealogical research. Some of my personnel best cemetery hunts have happened in Putnam Co., OH. My family descends from the Continental area. I have spent some time searching through the Crow, Myers and Varner cemeteries in that area.

Cemeteries come in three forms. They are the church burial yard, public cemeteries and family burial plots. If you are fortunate to have a person buried in a church cemetery the church will often have the records for the burial. This information is similar to a death certificate, but will often include more information. Public cemeteries also have burial records and these are often stored at the local sexton's office or with the township. Family burial plots are often not as well covered, but some records are kept with the township.

A note on rubbings of the stones. This practice is frowned on by most people in the genealogy field. The exposure to weather has resulted in many stones be difficult to read. Rubbings only help in more destruction to the surface of the stone. Use common sense when you are in the cemetery.

Here is a good link for locating cemeteries in Putnam Co. OH.

http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=17371

Happy hunting!!

Putnam County- Death Records

Death Records in Putnam County are again listed in three separate locations. The county courthouse in Ottawa under the Probate Court. The other two locations are at the library at Ft Jennings and the Archives in Bowling Green.

Death records of the nineteenth century and beyond are very detailed. The records will include persons name, date and place of death, age at time of death, place of birth, parents' names, occupation, name of spouse, name of the person giving the information and the informers relationship to the deceased. Race is also noted on the record.

Again if you are looking for copies of records that are certified the courthouse is the place to go. Copies of all the death records are located here. The library has records dating from 1834-1920. The archives include the same records dated from 1834 to 1920.

Please be aware that death records are only as accurate as the person that is giving the information. A common error is the name of parents and the dates of birth and location. Additional sources to document this information is critical.

Holiday Time

Thank you for your support of my blog. My hope is that it is providing some valuable help to your research.

This coming week I will finish up the overview of sources in Putnam Co. OH. Please contact me if you would like to see other topics covered.

DNA Testing

The study and evaluation of data from DNA testing is having a big impact on genealogy. More and more people are going through this procedure to understand their past and areas of origin. With a swab of your mouth they can determine your lineage on your maternal side of your family. Recently a piece was done on this topic. ABC News: Who Are You, Really? Find Out With DNA
I hope you find it interesting.

On a separate topic, I did get one response on my offer to do a genealogy research and then use it as a demonstrator on the blog. This topic will be covered next week. I would love to see more. The search is free and the search must deal with someone in Northwest Ohio. Have a great Saturday.

Putnam County District Library

Since the topic of the week has been genealogical research in Putnam County, OH it would not be complete with out covering was of the main repositories in the county at the District Library. AS mentioned previously the permanent collection is normally located at the main library in Ottawa, but has been moved due to the rains in the Spring 0f 2007 to the Ft Jennings library. The information I will cover will be on those records in the collection other than the birth and marriage records listed in earlier postings.

Some of the highlights in the collection are manuscripts of local families genealogies, memorial card collection, obituary index for the Putnam County Sentinel from 1865 to present, fully indexed collection of Putnam County pictures, yearbooks, and vertical file of local history and genealogy.

The newspaper collection is the finest in the county.

- The Continental News Review- 1919-2005
- Delphos Weekly Herald- 1872-1902
- Gilboa Gazette- 1978-1981\
- Kalida Sentinel- 1855-1866
- The Kalida Venture- 1845-1854
- Leipsic Free Press- 1878-1982
- Leipsic Messenger- 1982-2005
- Pandora Times- 1902-1995
- Putnam County Gazette- 1892-1949
- Putnam County Sentinel- 1865- current
- Putnam County Vidette- 1875-1995
- Putnam County Vidette & Pandora Times- 1996-2004
- Western County News- 1931-1947

All of these are on microfilm.

The library also has a complete collection of books related to the counties history and maps.

For further information the staff at the library can be contacted at 419-523-3747 or wilhelru@oplin.org

Putnam County- Land Records

Part of the great American dream was to own land. One of the first acts that a before moving or upon arriving in a new area was the purchase of land. Through the purchases and transfers of land genealogical data can be gathered about your ancestors. Relationships can be determined from these documents as well as origins of the purchasers.

In Putnam Co., OH the records concerning land purchase were kept by the County Recorder. These records are located at the county court house, but can also be search at the Archives in Bowling Green, OH. The records available date from 1830-1903 at the archives and from 1830 to present at the courthouse. Land Records are very important and often overlooked area of genealogical research.

Putnam County- Marriage Records

The next major event of interest to the genealogist is the Marriage record. The records of marriage are located in three primary spots for Putnam Co. OH. They are the library at Ft Jennings, Court House in Ottawa and the Bowling Green Center for Archival Collections in Bowling Green, OH.

With the marriage records the certified copies can be obtained from the Clerk of Courts at the courthouse in Ottawa. Again there will be cost involved and may be subject to restriction. Please be aware that staff is limited and be patient when asking for a records search.

The marriage records located at the library run from 1834 to 1951. Marriage records were some of the best kept records in any county. For reasons that am not sure of they always tend to be the oldest records in any county. Another source at the library will again be the church records which were kept at the individual churches. All of these records are available for microfilming.

Located at the BG archives is the index to marriage records and index from 1834-1951. Available again for microfilming.

Putnam County- Birth Records

When searching for birth records in the Midwest you are limited on the time period in which the records were recorded. Putnam Co. OH is no exception. The birth records are located with the Clerk of Courts at the county seat of Ottawa. These records are only available if you attempting to purchase certified copies. As in all cases the service varies and is heavily restricted by privacy laws.

The good news is there are two other areas that you can get birth records in the county. The first one is at the Putnam County Library which is located at the main library in Ottawa. As of this printing the collection has been moved to Ft Jennings Library due to the flood that occurred in the spring of 2007 that effected downtown Ottawa. The second location for records related to birth are at Bowling Green Center for Archival Collections in Bowling Green, OH.

The early birth records for the county are available on microfilm at the Ft Jennings Library. The first records are from the court house records and date from 1867-1920 and the birth registration that dates from 1876-1925. The next series of records were kept by the Health Department and they run from 1908-1996. When at the library you are able to make copies off of the microfilm for your records. These should be acceptable for most documentation purposes.

Located at the BG archives is several different records concerning births. They are

Birth Records- 1857- 1920
Index to Birth records- 1854-1925
Index to Birth Registrations and Corrections- 1941-1964

All of these records are available on microfilm and can be copied.

Another source for birth related records also located at the library in Ft Jennings is the Catholic Church records for the county which include baptisms. Also available are records from various other religions in Putnam County. These records also include baptisms.

For those settlers of Mennonite faith another excellent source is the collection at Bluffton University. The Musselman Collection was covered in a posting from a couple of weeks ago.
This is a must see for people of this faith.

Putnam County Ohio- History

The beginnings of Putnam Co. Ohio occurred back in 1820 when it was created out of Shelby County. The legal jurisdiction during this time was with Wood County, OH to the north. Then in 1824 the county of Williams was created and the jurisdiction was switched to Williams. Finally the county became a sole unit with a act passed in 1834.

The county was a names after Israel Putnam who was a popular military figure at the time from Massachusetts. In the early days a large part of the area as we know it today was still inhabited by Indian tribes. Slowly in the 1830 period settlers of German and Swiss heritage. The settlement was greatly effected though by the presence of the Black Swamp that covered a good portion of the Northeast portion of the county. This would create a natural barrier to people attempting to settle in this area.

The people of this area were primarily German Catholic and Mennonite. The migration into this area began in the early part of the 1830's. The areas of origin of many of the early ancestors was from eastern Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina. The Mennonites were a people of faith and tended to travel with others of the same belief. Another group that blended into the Mennonites were the Quakers. Many can trace their roots back to Lancaster Co. PA which is a major area of for Mennonites.

Tomorrow I will be discussing the many records that are available for this county.

Military Records- World War II

The last war that I will cover in this section is World War II. As we all know this war had a major effect on Northwest Ohio from both a people and economic standpoint. We played a major part in supporting the war effort.

When looking for genealogical records related to this service you are left with two basic sets of records draft registration and enlistment records. The unfortunate part concerning these records is that the National Archives had a fire and many of these records were destroyed. The good news is that many of them survived.

The registration cards are very similar to those records covered for WWI. The document lists the persons name, birth, location of birth, occupation and personnel stats. It also tells where the person lived at the time of sign up.

The enlistment records give a brief description of where the person was mustered into the military. What part of the military did they serve. The document also gives what theater of the service the person served.

Again these records can be obtained from the National Archives or Ancestry (pay site) on the internet.

Over the next week I will start profiling the individual counties in Northwest Ohio. Please ask questions now or ideas you would like me to cover and I will include them. I am also still looking for peoples brick walls. Do you have ancestors in Northwest Ohio that you are having trouble with? Give me a try I will do it for free and it will be profiled on Saturdays in the blog.

Winter Blast

For those of you in Northwest Ohio today stay warm from this snowy icy blast. Tomorrow we finish up on Military Records.

Have a great Sunday.

Northwest Ohio Genealogical Searchs

I would like to start a new item in my blog. Every Saturday I will outline one of the readers searches. Send me your details on a brick wall in your genealogical research and I will attempt to solve it. The people involved must have lived in Northwest Ohio at some period in their lives. So if you have some research that you would like conducted or friends that need some help drop me a line.

Once the search is completed then I will write out how I completed the search in my blog. My intent is to show people how to use some of the many resources we have here in Northwest Ohio to complete the research and hopefully we all learn something new. I look forward to hearing from you.

Have a great weekend.

Sandusky Public Library/Follett Musem

Sandusky is not just about amusement and water parks. There has been a long and interesting history of this area and Erie Co. Ohio. For the genealogist the main point of interest is the collection of the Sandusky Public Library and the collection at the Follett Museum.

Some of the unique items in the archives collection of the library are the interment cards for the Oakland Cemetery. This is not only the largest cemetery in the area, but interment cards are a wonderful source of genealogical information(more to be covered on this in a seperate posting). They also have a microfilm listing of all the rest of the cemeteries in the county. The collection also has obituary notebooks that were compiled from 1921-1952. Another unique item is the finding aids that help in finding primary sources, business files, vintage photographs and more. Finally they have a extensive collection of yearbooks.

The Follett Museum helps in creating a window into the past of Sandusky and Erie County. Here is a link to more information about this very interesting library.

http://www.sandusky.lib.oh.us/follett_house/multimedia.php

Be sure to check out these two exciting resources for your Erie County genealogical research. I would like to thank Doren Paul for her help on this article.

Sandusky Library
114 West Adams St.
Sandusky, OH
419- 625 3834

Follett Museum
404 Wayne St.
Sandusky, OH
419- 627 9608

Military Records- World War I

The Great War was the first major global event for soldiers in Northwest Ohio. The information from this war is unique in that the main document is the draft registration card that was generated on a local basis.

When tracing you WWI ancestor the first item is to know where they lived during the possible time of sign up. The cards for a particular area are listed alphabetically. The information provided is fabulous. They list the persons name, address, date of birth, age, race, citizenship status, birthplace, occupation and employer, dependent relative, martial status, father's birthplace, and name and address of nearest relative. For many new immigrants this would be one of their first important documents while in America. The listing of the soldiers address and relatives address are very important when proving kinship.

Another index that I have seen for this time period that is very valuable is of all women in a given area that are able to work. The cards list all the same information as the men, but include their ability to work. This is a fascinating resource for a period in our history that was dominated by men.

Military Source- Grand Army of the Republic

The Grand Army of the Republic is a military organization that was organized by veterans on the Union side of the Civil War in 1866. This group was located in almost ever town in Northwest Ohio of any size. This group is similar to a VFW hall that we would have in modern times.

The records by this organization are a little hit and miss. Many of the records for the individual groups were destroyed for a variety of reasons over the years, but some have been kept. Applications for this organization were often as detailed as those used for pension records. Another interesting outcome was the publication of the group magazine called "The National Tribune". Here the soldiers would write detailed stories about their experience in the war. These can be very interesting and offer flavor to your ancestors past if they participated in the same Regiments in the war.

The GAR held annual meetings on a national, state and local level. In 1908 the city of Toledo held one of the national meetings. At the time this was a pretty major event and would bring thousands of people from all across the country to your city. There would be marching bands, speeches and a variety of other activities. In most cases the President of the United States would be in attendance at this event.

The city of Lima held the State convention on several occasions. This was well attended by people all over the state of Ohio. You will find pictures and many post cards of downtown Lima decorated for this event.

On a more local level the individual regiments will have reunions. I have seen documents for reunions in Toledo, Bowling Green, Fremont, Lakeside and Sandusky, Ohio.

All of these gatherings would produce items for the soldiers. Many medals, ribbons, water canteens, cups, books and pins were produced as keep sakes. Pictures were also taken in abundance and many pictures can be found with males wearing medals. If you have old pictures this is a excellent clue to participation in the Civil War.

Similar to today's Women's Auxiliary for the VFW the GAR had a Women's Auxiliary. Records were also kept for applications for this group as well. Information and clues exist in their records but many have experience the same fate as the men's.

A good place to start your search is to determine if your person participated in the Civil War. Then check out the Ohio Historical Society website. They have many sources on the GAR.

Another link to check out is manuscript collection at the Library of Congress. On their website they have a listing of all the GAR posts in Northwest Ohio. They are intermixed with the rest of Ohio, but this will help find if there was a local post in your area. When I looked, most cities large and small had a GAR post.

On a more local basis the Bowling Green archives has over 70 documents currently in their collection related to the GAR. All of these are cataloged and are for Northwest Ohio. The Hayes collection in Fremont also has items related to the GAR. Finally the Williams Co. website on USgenweb has information about a GAR post in Montpelier. This is by no means a exhaustive list of items available so be sure to check for this group.

Another current group that grew out of this group is Sons of Union Veterans and Daughters of Union Veterans. These were organized as the veterans began to pass on and kept their children involved in the group. There are some of these groups spread across Northwest Ohio and meet on a monthly basis.

Good luck on your GAR research.

Military Records- Civil War Pension Records

In the early stages of tracing your family back in time, the pension records from the Civil War are a important document. If your relative served in all likely hood they applied for a pension record. It does not mean that they got one, but even a rejected application can have a great deal of information.

Here again the more information and details you have on the solider the better. The information provided on the service record application is the same for the pension record. The information is a first hand account by your ancestor or widow on the events that occurred during the individuals service. The primary information is person's name, date of enlistment, location of enlistment, birth date, location of birth, injuries during battle, death date if widow and location of death. Another important item is a list of where they have lived since the war and complete list of children with birth dates. The information in these documents can vary, but I have seen several that exceed fifteen pages and up. Pension papers are one of the few documents in your research that you will get a first hand account done by your ancestors. All of these records area available again at the National Archives.

My ancestor George Davey applied for a pension after he left the service. When he enrolled he had actually given the wrong year of birth. He was older than most when he signed up so his date he gave the government varied by ten years his actual birth date. Needless to say when it came time to apply for his pension he had a lot of explaining to do. His pension record had a great deal of documentation as a result.

Be sure to get your ancestors service and pension records from the Civil War. They offer extensive clues to earlier generations.

Military Records- Civil War Case Study- cont.

From our last post on this topic we were able to determine that William Wallace Brown served in the 54th Ohio Co. K. The next step was to order the service records from the National Archives to document his period of service in the war.

The first step in this process is to get the form. This can be obtained from the National Archives website. From the County history I was able to determine the period of time that he served. (8 Feb. 1864-15 Aug. 1865) Other facts that are needed on the form is state of service, union or confederate, and volunteer or regular. The unit in which he served is critical. (54th OH, Co. K) They also want to know the persons date of birth, death and location of each event. The less information that you are able to provide the less likely you are to get back information from the National Archives.

With the use of a credit card the records can be ordered over the Internet. Allow for four to six weeks for delivery though. Please be aware that this information costs from $50 to $75 dollars.

The information you can expect to obtain from the service documents includes the rank of the solider, rate of pay, locations of payment, health and date of mustering out. The amount of data retrieved from these files really varies. I have experienced a variety of information from these records. They can be as basic as date of document, soldiers name, location of pay and amount of pay. Then there are others where the amount of information is much more detailed.

William Wallace Brown's service records were very detailed. He served a very short period of time in the war. He served in the latter half of the war in the Western Theater. The battles he fought in included Stone River, Chickamauga and March to the Sea. William was present at the signing of the peace treaty by Johnston in North Carolina and participated in the victory parade in Washington, DC at the end of the war. This was rare for soldiers that were fought in the Western portion of the war. Finally he was mustered out of the war in Texas. Amongst the things that he took home with him according to the documents was his uniform and equipment including his gun. This type of information is rare and would not be found anywhere else other than family lore.

I know in the case of my own ancestor my father and I took it one step further. We used the service record along with some other sources to document where are ancestor participated during the war. Then we mapped out a trip and visited the many battles that he served in during the war. This turned out to be a very moving experience for both of us. The meaning of history and the part that are ancestor had played in the war came home to both of us.

Tomorrow I will talk about the pension records. This will give a much richer understanding of the value of military records.

Feed Back

Please let me know if there are any topics on Northwest Ohio you would like to see covered in upcoming days or months. Your input is important.

Have a great Sunday!

Holiday Season Gift Ideas

Well Black Friday is over and the gifts have been purchased. My thoughts are on what to by for the genealogist. Here are a few suggestions that you may want to take a look at over the next few weeks.

1. Quicksheet Citing Online Historical Resources- by Elizabeth Shown Mills- 2007- This is a well done guide on how to use those numerous sources available on the Internet. This is a timely item as the Internet increases it's presence in genealogy. The author is one of the true leaders in the study of genealogy.

2. The Family Tree Problem Solver: Proven Methods for Scaling the Inevitable Brick Wall- by Marsha Hoffman Rising- Jan. 2005- We all run into that one brick wall that gives us fits. This book comes up with creative ways to solve genealogical issues.

3. Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County & Town Sources, Third Revised Edition, by Alice Eicholz, 2004, This book has been one of the must have books when doing genealogy. Invaluable listing of sources with addresses and phone numbers.

4. Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures, by Christine Rose, 2004, The court house can be intimidating for the average person doing genealogy. This book does a excellent job of identifying records of interest and where they are located.

5. The Handybook for Genealogist: United States of America, (10th Edition) by Everton Publishers, 2002, This book is another primary book in your collection. Everton the publisher of the Genealogical Helper has compiled a excellent list of sources.

So while your out this weekend don't forget the genealogist in your life. Might be you!

Findlay Hancock County Public Library

Got some time this long weekend and have ancestors from Hancock Co., OH then check the Findlay Hancock County Public Library. There local history and genealogy department has all the sources to continue your search or start a new one.

Fortunately this library was able to survive the floods that occurred here during the early summer. Here are some of the unique sources that they have for Hancock Co., OH.

1. Birth, Marriage & Death records
2. Local Cemetery Indexes
3. City directories
4. County History books
5. Newspapers for local area that are from 1850's to present.
6. Obituary Index for Hancock County
7. Ohio Census Records

So while your out please check another one of Northwest Ohio's great genealogical resources.