Williams County, Ohio Genealogy

Williams County
	Williams County, Ohio
	Map
	; Location of Ohio in the U.S.
	Courthouse
Address	Williams County Courthouse; 1 Courthouse Square; Bryan, Ohio 43506; Williams County website

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

The county was named for David Williams, one of the captors of John André in the American Revolutionary War. Williams, a militiaman, was born October 21, 1754 at Tarry-town-on-the-Hudson, NY and enlisted in 1775, serving under General Montgomeryown-on-the-Hudson, NY and enlisted in 1775, serving under General Montgomery. It's county seat is Bryan and was founded April 1, 1820. It is located in the Northwest area of the state.^[2]

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

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: ^[3]

Cities
Bryan (county seat)
Villages
Blakeslee Edgerton Edon	Holiday City Montpelier Pioneer	Stryker West Unity
Unincorporated communities
Berlin Billingstown Bridgewater Center Columbia	Cooney Hamer Lock Port Melbern	Mina Primrose West Jefferson Williams Center
Census-designated places
Alvordton Kunkle	Lake Seneca Pulaski
Townships
Brady Bridgewater Center Florence	Jefferson Madison Mill Creek Northwest	Pulaski St. Joseph Springfield Superior
Ghost towns
West Buffalo

Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]

Fulton County • Henry County • Defiance County • DeKalb County • Steuben County • Hillsdale County

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

For animated maps illustrating Ohio county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Ohio County Boundary Maps" (1788-1940) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Resources[edit | edit source]

Bible Records[edit | edit source]

Biography[edit | edit source]

Business Records and Commerce[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

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
Billion Graves		Epodunk
OHGenWeb
OHGenWeb Tombstone Photos
Ohio Gravestones
See Ohio Cemeteries for more information.

Census[edit | edit source]

Church Records[edit | edit source]

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, view the Ohio Church Records wiki page.

Catholic[edit | edit source]

1796–2004 Ohio, Diocese of Toledo, Catholic Parish Records, 1796-2004 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. This collection includes images of parish registers recording the events of baptism, first communion, confirmation, marriage, and death in the Diocese of Toledo (Ohio), Roman Catholic Church. These records are accessed by browsing the images by county. In addition to traditional parish registers, this collection includes miscellaneous cemetery records, Books of the Elect, Professions of Faith, Sick Call registers, etc.

Finding Church Records at Other Repositories

Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Williams County, Ohio Church Records in online catalogs like:

WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).

Court Records[edit | edit source]

Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]

Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups[edit | edit source]

Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

Genealogy[edit | edit source]

History[edit | edit source]

Local histories are available for Williams 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.

Shinn, William Henry, The County of Williams: A History of Williams County, Ohio, from the Earliest Days, (Madison, Wisconsin: Northwestern Historical Assoc., 1905). FHL film 1000350 Item 4

Writers' Program (Ohio), Bryan and Williams County, Ohio, (Fort Wayne, Indiana: Allen County Public Library, 1984). FHL book 977.1113/B1 H2b

Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, County of Williams, Ohio, Historical and Biographical, (Chicago, Illinois : F.A. Battey, 1882). Digital copy at Google Books FHL book 977.1113 H2g

Bowersox, Charles A., A Standard History of Williams County, Ohio: An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular Attention to the Modern Era, Digital copy at Google Books FamilySearch Digital Library (Fort Wayne, Indiana: Allen County Public Library, 1984). FHL book 977.1113 H2b

Maynard, Kevin M., Images of America: Williams County, (Chicago, Illinois: Arcadia Publishing, 2008). Digital copy at Google Books

Land and Property[edit | edit source]

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.

Finding More Land Records[edit source]

Additional land records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Williams County, Ohio Genealogy Land and Property Records in online catalogs like:

WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
FamilySearch Catalog(For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

The Trumbull County Archives/Microfilm department has online maps and deed indexes

Maps[edit | edit source]

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military[edit | edit source]

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

Civil War[edit | edit source]

Civil War service men from Williams 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 Williams County.

- 100th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company C

- 111th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company C

World War I[edit | edit source]

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

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

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

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Williams 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 Historical Society. 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 Bryan Times 11,650 issues Jan 23, 1800 - Dec 31, 2007 is online for free through news.google.com/newspapers.
Online Newspaper Abstracts
Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

The Williams County Public Library has an online obit index Website to the local Williams County newspapers. Email them your index information and your snail mail address to obtain a copy of the obit.

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

Periodicals[edit | edit source]

Probate[edit | edit source]

Probate records created after 1852 are held by the Williams County, Ohio Genealogy Probate Court. From 1797 or the creation of the county, probate records were held by the Court of Common Pleas. Most counties transferred all records to the Probate Court, but in some circumstances, Court of Common Pleas records should be searched for records prior to 1852. Most records are housed at the Williams County, Ohio Genealogy Courthouse. Some records are on microfilm at the Ohio Genealogical Society and the Family History Library. For more complete information about the location of county probate records see:

Carol Willsey Bell, Ohio Wills and Estates to 1850: An Index (1981). Carol Willsey Bell, Ohio Wills and Estates to 1850: An Index (Columbus, Ohio: the author, 1981).FamilySearch Digital Library - Free online copy.

See the wiki page Ohio Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.

Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, marriage, adoption, and birth and death records (1867-1908 only).

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
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.

Finding More Probate Records[edit source]

Additional probate records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Williams 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[edit | edit source]

Repositories[edit | edit source]

Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Williams County Courthouse
107 W Butler Street
Bryan, OH 43506
Phone: 419.636.8253

County Record Center has birth and death records 1867-1908,
marriage and probate records 1824-1984, divorce and court
records 1824-1977 and naturalization records 1860-1926;
County Health Department has birth and death records from 1909^[4]

Family History Centers[edit | edit source]

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

Wauseon 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.

Libraries[edit | edit source]

William County Public Library 107 E. High Street Bryan, OH 43506

Museums[edit | edit source]

Societies[edit | edit source]

Online Genealogy Research Groups[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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. For more information see the wiki page Ohio Taxation.

1800-1950 - Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at FamilySearch — index and images

Finding More Tax Records

Additional tax records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Williams 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[edit | edit source]

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Although Ohio enacted a statute in 1856 -1857 requiring registration of births, deaths and marriages, many counties did not comply. A second law was written in 1867 but, again, was not always followed. By 1908, the law was more clearly defined and kept. Any existing birth and death records from 1867 through December 19, 1908 are located at the Williams County, Ohio Genealogy 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 Historical Society houses death records from December 20, 1908 through December 31, 1953.

Original marriage records are held at the office of the Williams County, Ohio Genealogy Probate Court with divorce records located with the Williams County, Ohio Genealogy Clerk of Courts.

Birth[edit | edit source]

Online Birth Indexes and Records

1841-2003 - Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003 at FamilySearch — index and images

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage[edit | edit source]

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 — free; Index.
1800-1942 - Ohio, Marriages, 1800-1942 at FamilySearch — index

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death[edit | edit source]

Online Death Indexes and Records

1840-2001 - Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001 at FamilySearch — index and images
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. Finding More Tax Records