To request editing rights on the Wiki, click here.

Brown County, Ohio Genealogy

From FamilySearch Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

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


{{{link}}}

Brown County, Ohio
Map
Boundary map of Brown County, Ohio
Map of the U.S. highlighting Ohio
Location of Ohio in the U.S.
Courthouse
Brown County, Ohio Courthouse.jpg
Address Brown County Courthouse
101 S. Main St.
Georgetown, Ohio 45121
Brown County Website
Phone: 937.378.3100



Brown County, Ohio Record Dates[edit | edit source]

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records[1]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1867 1818 1867 1818 1818 1817 1820
Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1908. General compliance year is unknown.
  • Parent Counties: Formed from Adams and Clermont counties 27 December 1817.[2]
  • County Seat: Georgetown

Description[edit | edit source]

The county was named for Major General Jacob Brown, an officer in the War of 1812 who was wounded at the Battle of Lundy's Lane. It's county seat is Georgetown and was founded March 1, 1819. It is located in the South Western area of the state. [3]

Places/Localities[edit | edit source]

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:[4]

Villages
Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places
Townships


Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]

Clermont County  • Warren County  • Clinton County  • Highland County  • Adams County  • Madson County, Kentucky  • Bracken County, Kentucky

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

1977 A courthouse fire may have damaged records.

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


Resources[edit | edit source]

Bible Records[edit | edit source]

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

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

Ohio Gravestones

See Ohio Cemeteries for more information

Census[edit | edit source]

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
182013,356
—
183017,86733.8%
184022,71527.1%
185027,33220.3%
186029,9589.6%
187030,8022.8%
188032,9116.8%
189029,899−9.2%
190028,237−5.6%
191024,832−12.1%
192022,621−8.9%
193020,148−10.9%
194021,6387.4%
195022,2212.7%
196025,17813.3%
197026,6355.8%
198031,92019.8%
199034,9669.5%
200042,28520.9%
201044,8466.1%

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.

General[edit | edit source]
Finding More Church Records[edit source]

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

Court Records[edit | edit source]

  • Record Project, Brown County Public Record Informatin Guide
  • Many court records for Brown 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.
  • Many orphans and orphanages for Brown 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[edit | edit source]

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

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

Genealogy[edit | edit source]

History[edit | edit source]

Local Histories[edit | edit source]

Local histories are available for Brown 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.

  • The History of Brown County, Ohio: Containing a History of the County, Its Townships, Towns, Churches, Schools, Etc., General and Local Statistics, Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men, History of the Northwest Territory, History of Ohio, Map of Brown County, Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, Etc., Etc. (Chicago : W. H. Beers & Co., 1883) Digital version at Google Books; FamilySearch Digital Library; FHL book 977.1796 H2h
  • Williams, Byron, History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio: from the earliest historical times down to the present. (Milford, Ohio : Hobart Pub. Co., 1913.) Digital version at Google Books; FamilySearch Digital Library; FHL book 977.17 H2w 1987; FHL film 934884

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.

  • Many land records for Brown 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.
Finding More Land Records[edit source]

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


Maps[edit | edit source]

Warren CountyClinton CountyHighland CountyAdams CountyClermont CountyMason CountyBracken CountyOH BROWN.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources


Military[edit | edit source]

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Brown 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

Online Newspaper Abstracts

Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

Finding More Ohio Newspapers[edit source]

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Brown County Ohio newspapers in online catalogs like:

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

Periodicals[edit | edit source]

Probate[edit | edit source]

Probate records created after 1852 are held by the Brown 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 Brown 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

  • Many probate records for Brown 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.
Finding More Probate Records[edit source]

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

Public Records[edit | edit source]

Repositories[edit | edit source]

Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Brown County Courthouse
101 S Main Street
Georgetown, OH 45121-00
Phone: 937.378.3100 

Probate Judge has birth, marriage and probate records from 1800’s.
County Health Department has death records from 1800’s.
Court Clerk has divorce and court records from 1800’s.
County Recorder has land records.[2]

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.

FamilySearch Centers are branches of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and are located all over the world. Their goal is to provide resources for family history research.

The main FamilySearch Center for Brown County, Ohio Genealogy is the Georgetown Ohio Family History Center. For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the FHC directory.

Libraries[edit | edit source]
Museums[edit | edit source]
Societies[edit | edit source]
Online Genealogy Research Groups[edit | edit source]

Schools[edit | edit source]

  • Ohio Schools
  • Many school records for Brown 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.

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.

Ohio Tax Records, 1816-1838 Finding More Tax Records

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

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 Brown 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 Brown County, Ohio Genealogy Probate Court with divorce records located with the Brown County, Ohio Genealogy Clerk of Courts.

See also How to order Ohio Vital Records or order vital records electronically online.

Birth[edit | edit source]

Online Birth Indexes and Records

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage[edit | edit source]

Online Marriage Indexes and Records

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death[edit | edit source]

Online Death Indexes and Records

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Finding More Vital Records

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

Websites[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Brown County, Ohio. Page 540-547 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 531-533.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 540, Brown County, Ohio. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  3. ↑ http://genealogytrails.com/ohio/brown/ accessed 2/14/2017
  4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Brown County, Ohio," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_County,_Ohio, accessed 4 November 2018.
v • d • e
Links to Ohio-related articles
Topics
Counties
Adams · Allen · Ashland · Ashtabula · Athens · Auglaize · Belmont · Brown · Butler · Carroll · Champaign · Clark · Clermont · Clinton · Columbiana · Coshocton · Crawford · Cuyahoga · Darke · Defiance · Delaware · Erie · Fairfield · Fayette · Franklin · Fulton · Gallia · Geauga · Greene · Guernsey · Hamilton · Hancock · Hardin · Harrison · Henry · Highland · Hocking · Holmes · Huron · Jackson · Jefferson · Knox · Lake · Lawrence · Licking · Logan · Lorain · Lucas · Madison · Mahoning · Marion · Medina · Meigs · Mercer · Miami · Monroe · Montgomery · Morgan · Morrow · Muskingum · Noble · Ottawa · Paulding · Perry · Pickaway · Pike · Portage · Preble · Putnam · Richland · Ross · Sandusky · Scioto · Seneca · Shelby · Stark · Summit · Trumbull · Tuscarawas · Union · Van Wert · Vinton · Warren · Washington · Wayne · Williams · Wood · Wyandot
Extinct Areas
Major
Repositories
Allen County Public Library (Ft. Wayne, IN) · American Jewish Archives · Archdiocese of Cincinnati · Archives of Ohio United Methodists · Bowling Green State University Jerome Library · Dayton Metro Library · Erie Lackawanna Historical Society Archives · Mennonite Historical Collections · National Archives at Chicago (Chicago, IL) · National Underground Railroad Freedom Center · Newberry Library (Chicago, IL) · Ohio Department of Health · Ohio Genealogical Society · Ohio History Connection · Ohio University Alden Library · Palatines to America German Genealogy Society Resource Center · Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County · Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County · Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center · State Library of Ohio · Toledo‑Lucas County Public Library · University of Cincinnati Blegen Library · Western Reserve Historical Society · Wright State University Dunbar Library
Migration
Routes


To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Retrieved from "https://www-a3.familysearch.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Brown_County,_Ohio_Genealogy&oldid=3743924"