Back to my “Family History from A to Z” series…
I’ve picked up my genealogy work after several years of sidelining it. I signed up for a SLIG 2025 (virtual) class on advanced methodology to be held in January, a second SLIG virtual class on writing to take place in February and March (weekly). Finally, most recently the Research Like a Pro e-course taught by the ladies at FamilyLocket.com after I first read their books at the library, and then bought the Kindle versions.
For the e-course, I am writing up research on my finding the father of my 3G grandmother Hannah (Hill) Englehart. I actually did the research years ago, came up with a father candidate, and that candidate (Andrew Hill) was ultimately validated via DNA. But I have only a research log, some scraps of notes, and skeletal citations, so I decided this would be a good project for this class to get me back in gear.
And one of the steps I’ve taken in the e-course — and part of the Research Like a Pro process — is to create a locality guide for my main research area. Because my 3G grandmother Hannah (Hill) Englehart was married in Guernsey County, Ohio (and apparently grew up there), I created a locality guide for that county. Additions to it are ongoing but what I have is below.
Guernsey County, Ohio Locality Guide
Prepared for Identifying the father of Hannah Hill Research Project by Cathy Dempsey; created 18 October 2024 (from a template created by familylocket.com
Background
Quick Facts
- County Seat: Cambridge
- Named for the Isle of Guernsey in English Channel, as many original settlers came from Guernsey
- Formed 10 March 1810, from portions of Muskingum and Belmont counties
- Ohio became a state on March 1, 1803, and was formed from part of the Northwest Territory (which was formed in 1787).
- Countywide marriage and court records began in 1810, birth and death in 1867
- Statewide birth and death records began in 1908
- Ohio is a State Land State
Online Research Guides
Guernsey County, Ohio – Family Search wiki
Guernsey County, Ohio: Family History & Genealogy, Census, Birth, Marriage, Death Vital Records & More – Linkpendium
Guernsey County Genealogy Guide – Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness
Guernsey_County,_Ohio (Wikipedia) – Wikipedia
Archive Grid ArchiveGrid is a collection of millions of archival material descriptions, including MARC records from WorldCat and finding aids harvested from the web.
Geography and Maps
In 1851, lost Buffalo, Beaver, Olive and Seneca townships in the creation of Noble County to the south of Guernsey.
Neighboring Counties: Coshocton (northwest), Tuscarawas (north), Harrison (northeast), Belmont (east), Noble (south), Muskingum (southwest/west)
Maps and Gazetteers:
- Adams, Louis A. Adam’s Directory of Points and Landings on Rivers and Bayous in the States of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. (includes Tennessee) (New Orleans : W.L. Murray, 1877). digital version at Hathi Trust
- Ohio Digital Map Library OHGenWeb
- Interactive Map of Ohio County Formation History Map of US
- Maps (Guernsey County, Ohio) USGennet.org
- Topo Builder USGS
- Historic Map Works
- David Rumsey Map Collection
- Atlas of Historical County Boundaries The Newberry Library
Timeline of Major Events
Timeline of the area including major government changes and events
Ohio: Individual County Chronologies Newberry Library, 2007
The Historical Development of Guernsey County and Its Townships Anderson, Scott C. R. (USGennet.org)
History
History of settlement, links to history articles and books about the locality, major periods, military engagements,
Migration Routes
Describe main migration routes through your locality and link to maps and articles about the subject.
Principal Routes of Trade and Migration, 1840–1850 (accessed 18 October 2024)
https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/United_States_Internal_Migration (access 18 Oct 2024)
Law and Government
Old books that have been digitized (via Google Books, Internet Archive, Geneanet, etc.) that contain the laws and statues of the particular locality that you are researching; blog posts and articles about laws in your locality (check out the Legal Genealogist blog and library websites)
Libraries and Archives
Guernsey County
Administration Building
801 E. Wheeling Avenue
Cambridge, Ohio 43725-2335
Phone: 740-432-9230
Guernsey County Website
Guernsey County District Public Library 63500 Byesville Road
Cambridge, OH 43725
The Digital Archives of Guernsey Memorial Library
The Samuel D. Isaly Library Bellville, Ohio [library of the OGS]
Ohio History Connection Archives & Library Columbus, Ohio [formerly Ohio Historical Society]
National Archives at Chicago Serves Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Genealogical Societies and Publications
Guernsey County Genealogical Society [Guernsey County Chapter of OGS] Cambridge, Ohio
Ohio Genealogical Society Bellville, Ohio
Record Loss
No known record loss.
Local History
Guernsey County History Museum Flickr Account: People Guernsey County Historical Society
Guernsey County History Museum Flickr Account: Township Plats Guernsey County Historical Society (The images in this album are derived from a plat scan made available to the public by the Library of Congress)
Sarchet, Cyrus P.B.; History of Guernsey County, Ohio, (Indianapolis, Indiana: B.F. Bowen and Co., 1911). Volume 1 online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive; Volume 2 online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books
Wolfe, William G.; Stories of Guernsey County, Ohio: History of an Average Ohio County, (Cambridge, Ohio: W.G. Wolfe, 1943). Online at FamilySearch Digital Library
Reference Books
Additional books pertaining to research in this locality.
Record Collections
General Collections
Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, MyHeritage.com, FindMyPast.com etc. catalog titles about the locality
United States Record Finder on familysearch.org
Bible Records and Compiled Genealogies
Links to websites that have Bible records for the locality
Ohio Bible Records on familysearch.org
Cemetery Records
Links to cemetery records in the locality
Census Records and Substitutes
Links to different types of censuses: federal, state, town, colonial, territorial, census substitutes, etc.
United States Federal Census 1820 > Ohio > Guernsey
United States Federal Census 1830
Church Records
List the various denominations and where their records are kept.
Ohio Church Records — a general information page on familysearch.org
Determining the Church Your Ancestor Attended familysearch.org
Ohio, Church and Civil Births and Baptisms, 1765-1947 familysearch.org
Court Records
Links to court record collections and descriptions of what they contain
Guernsey County Clerk of Courts: Location of Court Records (Case Files, Docket appearances, etc.) PDF — Guernsey County Clerk of Courts
Guernsey County Clerk of Courts homepage
Court records, 1810-1862 [Court of Common Pleas] familysearch.org
Court records, 1811-1856 [Ohio Supreme Court] familysearch.org
Ohio, Guernsey County, Common Pleas Journal and appearance dockets [1829 – 1990] familysearch.org
Ohio, Guernsey County, Common Pleas Journal and appearance dockets, 1810-1938 at familysearch.org
Ethnic Records
List the various ethnic groups in the locality and what unique record collections are available about them.
Immigration and Naturalization
Describe immigration in the locality and link to the associated record collections.
Land Records
Land records were kept as of 1802
Ohio Land and Property familysearch.org wiki
The Official Ohio Lands Book (pdf format) Knepper, George W., pub. By Ohio State Auditor Office, 2002
The Northwest and the Ordinances, 1783-1858 Library of Congress (summarized history)
Land Ordinance of 1785 wikipedia.org
Northwest Ordinance of 1787 wikipedia.org
Guernsey County Recorder – has land records
Deed records, 1810-1901; index, 1802-1968 familysearch.org
Legislative Records
Link to collections about legislative records, if applicable, i.e. Virginia’s legislative petitions.
Military Records
Colonial, militia, war, regimental histories, etc.
Newspapers and Directories
Link to websites which contain digitized newspapers for your locality or how to find them if they aren’t digitized.
UF Digital Collections: Guernsey County (Ohio) Newspapers [early 20th century only]
The Digital Archives of Guernsey Memorial Library OCR text is poor, with no option to fix as with CDNC. However, clicking on the link available allows you to see a digitized mage of the page.
Ohio Newspaper Archives 1795-2021 genealogybank.com
Probate Records
Link to record collections about will administration, probate, etc.
Probate records began to be kept as of 1812.
Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996 familysearch.org “Probate records and estate files from county courthouses in Ohio. The content and time period varies by county.”
Administration and execution dockets, 1812-1992 Probate Court (Guernsey County) on familysearch.org
Vital Records (Birth, Marriage, Death)
List the start of registration for birth, marriage, and death records. List any Gretna greens.
Birth and death records kept at the county-level as of 1867. Marriage records kept as of 1810.
Birth records v. 1-3, 1867-1909, 1941-1963 Guernsey County Probate Judge; familysearch.org
Marriage records, 1810-1951, 1992-1997; index to marriages, ca. 1810-1930 Guernsey County Probate Court; familysearch.org
Death records, 1867-1960 Guernsey County Probate Judge; familysearch.org
Tax Records
Link to tax record collections, personal property tax, land tax, etc.
Guernsey County, OH Tax Duplicates 1816-1832 Guernsey County, Ohio Auditor. Familysearch.org
Genes and Roots 