FAQ FOR RESEARCH IN CUYAHOGA COUNTY

 

FAQ FOR RESEARCH IN CUYAHOGA COUNTY

 

Select topic below to go to that FAQ:

1. BIRTHS:

2. DEATHS:

3. OBITUARIES:

4: MARRIAGES:

5: CEMETERY:

6: CATHOLIC CHURCH RECORDS:

7: SUBURBS IN THE COUNTY WHO KEEP THEIR OWN VITAL RECORDS:

8. USEFUL CUYAHOGA COUNTY WEBSITES:

9: OTHER CUYAHOGA COUNTY GENEALOGY COLLECTIONS:

10: PROPERTY DEEDS:

11. COUNTY AUDITOR:

12: COURTS:

 

 

Last Updated 11 Oct 2009

 



 

Q. Where can I find BIRTH records for Cuyahoga County?

 Answer 1.

For Births Before Dec. 20, 1908,

 Contact the Cuyahoga County Archive by emailing them at: [email protected] - - - (new as of Feb 2006)
  •   Supply
    • the name of the child,
    • approximate date, and
    • your mailing address.
  • There is no charge for less than 40 pages

*** These images may also be found on Footnote (PAID SITE) at http://www.footnote.com/browse.php#112|67980104/

 Answer 2.

For Births from Dec. 20, 1908 to present

  Contact the Ohio Dept. of Health, Div. of Vital Records at:
 
Ohio Dept. of Health
Revenue Room
246 North High Street
P.O. Box 15098
Columbus, OH 43215-0098


Telephone: (614)466-2531 recording; (614)644-5635; fax (614)466-6604
Hours: Mon-Fri 7:45am-4:30pm ET
URL:
http://www.odh.ohio.gov/vitalstatistics/vitalstats.aspx/
Allow 4-6 weeks upon receipt
Checks payable to "Treasury, State of Ohio"

  • Cost per birth cert. is now $16.50 each (new price as of 2006)
  •  
  • UNCERTIFIED COPIES ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE
  •  
  • SASE is STILL required
  • Provide them with the name of the child, county of birth and approx.
    date of birth AND A SASE WITH SUFFICIENT POSTAGE FOR THE NUMBER OF CERTIFICATES REQUESTED..
  • Postage: Figure about 5 copies per postal ounce. $0.39 for first ounce,
    and $0.24 for each additional oz. See Postal rates at:
    http://www.usps.gov
  • RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE:



    Q. Where can I find DEATH records for Cuyahoga County?

     Answer 1:

    Deaths Between Dec 20 1908 and Dec 31 1953

     Family Search Labs has all Ohio deaths certificates from 1908-1953 online at:

    http://search.labs.familysearch.org

    - Then click on United States

    - Next click on Ohio Deaths and search away

     

    Alternately, you can also contact the Akron-Summit County Public Library

    Akron-Summit County Public Library
    Special Collections
    60 South High Street
    Akron, OH 44326-0001
    330-642-9030
    [email protected]
    [email protected]
    www.akronlibrary.org

    There is a base fee of $1.00 plus 5 cents for every photocopy. For
    example, you can request five death certificates and they will send you
    an invoice for $1.50 with your photocopies. There is no charge for items
    that they cannot find. Please remember to include your mailing address
    with your requests.

    The Akron-Summit County Public Library sends out
    these request more quickly than the State Dept. of Health and is much
    cheaper. Certificates at the Dept. of Health are now $15.00 and you
    cannot get an uncertified copy such as that you will get from
    Akron-Summit Library. So, it is recommended that you order your death
    certificates from here.

     

    Answer 2:

    Deaths Before Dec. 20, 1908

     
    Contact the Cuyahoga County Archive by emailing them at [email protected] - - -(new as of Feb 2002)
    • Supply
      • the name of the deceased,
      • approximate date,
      • and your mailing address.
    • There is no charge for less than 40 pages

     Answer 3:

    Deaths between Dec. 20, 1908 - Dec. 31, 1953

     

    Contact the Ohio Historical Society,

    You can also search their online index at http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/death//
    Contact them at:

    Ohio Historical Society
    Archive Library Division
    1982 Velma Avenue
    Columbus OH 43211-2497
    614-297-2300
    614-297-2510
    HOURS: Tue-Sat 9am-5pm ET
    URL: http://www.ohiohistory.org

    Cost is $6.00 per death certificate, (NEW PRICE AS OF 2004) send a check with your request.

    You have to provide

    1. THE FULL NAME OF THE DECEDENT,

    2. THE YEAR OF DEATH

    3. - AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

    - month/day of death or

    - place of death or

    - cetificate number,

    You can search their index at the link directly below and get the volume and certificate number.

    Without the 3 items above, it's considered a Research Project and it costs the full $20 fee. Make sure that you state that you want an UNCERTIFIED COPY, and give the name of the deceased, county of death and date of death.

    Research orders for more than 2 names/certificates must be listed in chronological (date) order.

    If you don't have a certificate number or year and county, here's the info about their RESEARCH policy:

    CERTIFICATE RESEARCH
    The base fee is $20.00 (NEW AS OF 1 JAN 2003) for searching one name in any one specific type of indexed record or record group during a specified time period. The fee also covers up to 4 pages of copies. Research requests must be PREPAID with check or money order payable to the Ohio Historical Society. DO NOT SEND CASH.


    A death certificate copy request that does NOT provide the above copy request information will be treated as a research request, the filling of which is governed by separate policies and procedures of the Ohio Historical Society. Death certificate research by staff of the historical society includes the following:

    • Searching multiple years of the death certificate index for one name.
      Matching specific information provided by researcher with multiple certificates to find an exact match.
    • The research fee of $20.00 applies to these requests. Each request is for ONE name. Requests must be PREPAID with check or money order payable to the Ohio Historical Society. For that fee, staff will search up to two of the eight index groupings. The individual index groupings and the years they cover are as follows:
      1908-12
      1913-17
      1918-22
      1923-27
      1928-32
      1933-37
      1938-40
      1941-44
      Due to the number of requests received by the Archives/Library, please allow ninety (90) days for a response to your inquiry.

     Answer 4:

    Deaths between Jan. 1, 1954 and the present

     

    Contact the Ohio Dept. of Health, Div. of Vital Records at:

    Ohio Department of Health
    Revenue Room
    246 North High Street
    PO Box 15098
    Columbus OH 43215-0098
    
    614-466-2531 recording; 614-644-5635; fax 614-466-6604
    Hours: Mon-Fri 7:45am-4:30pm ET
    URL: http://www.odh.ohio.gov/vitalstatistics/vitalstats.aspx/
    Allow 4-6 weeks upon receipt
    Checks payable to "Treasury, State of Ohio"

    Cost per death cert. is $16.50 each (as of 2006) and a self-addressed stamped envelope with enough postage for the number of certs. that you are requesting. UNCERTIFIED COPIES ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE AS OF 2004

    SASE with sufficient postage for number of certificates is required

    Provide them with the name of the deceased, county of death and approximate or exact date of death.


    Postage: Figure about 5 copies per postal ounce. $0.39 for first ounce,
    and $0.24 for each additional oz. See Postal rates at:
    http://www.usps.gov

    RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE:


    NOTE: Suburbs which register their own births and deaths and whose certificates would NOT be available at Cleveland City Hall are the following:

     City Hall  Address   Zip  Phone  Hospital  
               
     Bedford  60 Columbus  44146  440-232-1600  Bedford Municipal  
     Cleveland Hts  40 Severance Cir.  44118  216-291-3501  Doctorís Hospital  
     East Cleveland  14340 Euclid Ave.  44112  216-681-2188  Huron Road   Before 1935
     Euclid  585 E. 222nd St.  44123  216-289-2843  Euclid Glenville   Before 1952
     Garfield Hts  5407 Turney Rd.  44125  216-475-1503  Marymount  
     Lakewood  12805 Detroit Ave.  44107  216-529-7690  Lakewood  
     Maple Hts.  5353 Lee Rd.  44137  216-662-6000  Maple Hts.  
     Parma   6611 Ridge Rd.  44129  440-885-8816  Parma  
     Rocky River  21012 Hilliard  44116  440-331-0600  Rocky River  
     Shaker Hts.  3400 Lee Rd.  44120  216-491-1480   Shaker Heights  
     South Euclid  1349 S. Green Rd.  44120  216-381-0400  South Euclid  
     University Hts.  2300 Warrensville Ctr.  44118  216-932-7800  University Heights  

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    Q. Where can I find obituaries?

     Answer 1: 1850-1975:

     Go to: http://dxsrv4.cpl.org/WebZ/Authorize?sessionid=0&next=/html/obit.html&dbchoice=1:dbname=necr &bad=html/authofail.html&style=noframe

    You can then use the date of death to get birth and death records and
    information from the cemeteries.

     Answer 2: 1975-Present:

     For an index go to:
    http://www-catalog.cpl.org/CLENIX
    Information for obtaining copies:

    1. For three or less, please contact the Microform Center of the Cleveland Public Library, either by regular mail, e-mail or telephone at:
    Microform Center
    Cleveland Public Library
    325 Superior Ave.
    Cleveland, OH 44114-1271
    216-623-2910
    email: [email protected]
    Copies will be mailed to you free-of-charge. DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE YOUR MAILING ADDRESS IF YOU MAKE ANY REQUESTS BY E-MAIL.

    2. If you need more than three, contact the Photoduplication Dept. at the same mailing address provided above or via e-mail: <[email protected]>. They will give you an estimate of the charges involved.

    3. If you live nearby, copies can be made by visiting the Microform Center at the Cleveland Public Library. The cost is 10 cents per page.

     Answer 3: Past 6 months  : Go to:
    http://www.cleveland.com/obits/

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    Q. Where can I find Marriage records?

     Answer: The Cuyahoga County Marriage index is at: http://probate.cuyahogacounty.us/ml/ (new as of 19 May 2009)

    When you search there you will get a Volume and Page Number.

    You can see my websites at:
    http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~officer/CuyOhMarIndx.html

    There is a listing of dates that pertain to the Volume numbers on the marriage index above. That will give you an idea of when the marriage took place.

     

    The Cuyahoga County archive has marriages from Volumes 1-200.

    To get a copy of the marriage record, you can email them at [email protected] - - -( new address as of Aug 2005)

    • Give them the volume and page number
    • and the names of the bride and groom,
    • be sure to include your mailing address.

    There is no charge for less than 40 pages

    For marriages in Volumes 201 to present:

    Cuyahoga County - Probate Court
    Marriage License Bureau
    County Courthouse
    1 Lakeside Ave N.W., Rm 146 (at Ontario St.)
    Cleveland OH 44114
    216-443-8920
    HOURS: M-F 8:30am-4:30pm?


    COMMENTS: Receptive if not busy. They're there to issue licenses primarily.

    INFORMATION: Marriage records and index, 1810 to the present, are available on microfilm. Divorce and Land is elsewhere in building I believe, but for older records they're probably at the archives.

    FACILITIES: There is one microfiche viewer for the marriage indexes (one by husband's name, and another by wife's name). There is one microfilm viewer for looking at applications, banns or returns.

    FEES:

    Certified copies are $1/each 'short form' (typewritten) or $2/each 'long form' (preferred).

    Uncertified 'long form' copies are 25 cents each.

    They DO NOT ACCEPT CHECKS, so SEND MONEY ORDERS, or go in person and use cash.

    DO INCLUDE A SASE if ordering by mail.

    Once you get the marriage record, you will see a name of the Pastor that performed the ceremony. You can look at my website at:
    http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~officer/pastors.html
    Here, you can look up the pastor's name and see which church he served at and possibly find some records at that church.

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    Q. Where can I find cemetery records?

     Answer 1: The City of Cleveland maintains records for all City owned cemeteries.

    City of Cleveland
    Park Maintenance & Properties Div. - Cemetery Office
    21400 Chagrin Blvd.
    Beachwood, OH 44122-5308
    216-348-7210
    The cemeteries covered by this office are:
    Alger, Brookmere, Denison, Erie Street, Harvard Grove, Highland Park,
    Monroe Street, Scranton Road, West Park, and Woodland.

    Some on line access is available:

    Cleveland City Owned Cemeteries Index:

    https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ohcdrt/clecems/index.html/

    Private Cemeteries Index:

    https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ohcuyah2/cems/trans.html/

     

     

    Answer 2: The Diocese of Cleveland maintains records for Catholic Cemeteries. Contact them at:

    Diocese of Cleveland
    Catholic Cemeteries Association
    10000 Miles Ave
    P.O. Box 605310
    Cleveland OH 44105-0310
    216-641-7575
    FEES: $1/lookup after 2 names; includes section map of cemetery with plot highlighted

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    Q. Where can I find church records for Catholic Churches?

    Answer: Diocese of Cleveland
    Archivist (Ms. Christine L. Krosel in 1999/2000)
    Chancery Building
    1031 Superior Ave
    Cleveland OH 44114
    216-696-6525
    URL: http://dioceseofcleveland.org
    e-mail: [email protected]

    Fee: $10/hour of research.

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    Q. What are some useful websites for research?

    Answers:

    http://www.familysearch.org Main page for resources provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints (LDS)

    http://www.CyndisList.com/ Major genealogical index site referencing over 120,000 genealogy links.

    http://www.usgenweb.org/states/index.shtml US Genweb. Find a State that you want to look at and find webpages for counties in that state with lots of good info on how to search and what is online for that state.

    http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/ Great site for people who have submitted their genealogies on line

    http://www.ancestry.com/ Another great site to see what genealogies people have submitted on the web

    http://genforum.genealogy.com/oh/cuyahoga/ Great message board for Cuyahoga County. On the top of this page, under forum finder, you can enter a surname, or another state. Let's say you enter Pennsylvania. That page will come up and then you can see the counties for PA. This is a great place to ask questions, such as whether anyone else is working on your surname, or to ask some kind soul for a lookup in that county etc. The surname pages are great too to see what other people are doing on your particular surname. I go to these surname pages and put my family there in a letter so that others can find it later.

    http://www.ellisisland.org This is the website that has the Ellis Island Passenger lists online. You can download actual pages to your computer or have them send you copies.

    http://castlegarden.org Before Ellis Island opened, Castle Garden was the point of arrival at New York. This is a searchable site of those records.

    https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ohcuyah2/cems/index.html Cuyahoga County Cemeteries

    http://www.rootsweb.ansestry.com/~ohcuyah2/index.html Cuyahoga County Records

    https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ohcuyaho/ Cuyahoga County USGENWEB

    http://files.usgwarchives.net/oh/cuyahoga/ Cuyahoga County USGENWEB Archive

    https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ohcuyah2/nats/coarch/index.html Cuyahoga County Naturalization records

    http://www.footnote.com/browse.php#41|92687364 OH Northern District Court Naturalizations (index free, paid images)

     

    OTHER CUYAHOGA REFERENCE PAGES

    The NorthEast Ohio Computer-Aided Genealogy Society, Inc.

    Cleveland Street Name Changes, about 1906:

    Cleveland Pastors and their churches:

    The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:

    Murphys Public House - Misc Cleveland Genealogy Resources:

    Cuyahoga County Resources

    Cuyahoga County Alien Documents

    Cuyahoga County US Gennet

     

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    Q. Is there another way to find a birth and death date?

    Answer: Visit the Social Security Death Index at:
    http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi

     


    Q. What other genealogy collections are available in Cuyahoga County?

    Answers

    Cleveland Public Library

    325 Superior Ave (NE corner of E 3rd & Superior)
    Cleveland OH 44114-1271
    216-623-2904 Newspaper (email: [email protected])
    216-623-2910 Microforms (email: [email protected])
    216-623-2864 History & Geography
    216-623-2800 General Information (email: [email protected])
    URL: http://www.cpl.org
    URL: http://js-catalog.cpl.org:60100/newcat.html On-Line Card Catalog

    HOURS: 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday - Saturday; 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sunday (during school year)
    PARKING: Street parking near the Library is limited. There are several commercial lots in the area.

    NOTE: Materials useful to genealogical research are dispersed throughout the Main Library Complex, which covers a city block. The History & Geography Department on the 6th floor of the Louis Stokes Wing is a good starting point. The library does not collect individual family histories; the Western Reserve Historical Library does. Nor does the Library collect vital records. Sources of those records are listed elsewhere in this pamphlet. The following is a summary of the types of material to be found in the various Departments.

    BUSINESS, ECONOMICS & LABOR: (2nd floor, Louis Stokes Wing) Who's who file of Cleveland businessmen. Criss-Cross by address for Cuyahoga County - current yeat only.

    PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION: (4th floor North, Louis Stokes Wing) Photographs of prominent Clevelanders. Approximately 22,000 images of individual Cleveland residences.

    HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY: (6th floor, Louis Stokes Wing) Genealogy how-to books. Cleveland city directories 1936-1980. Criss-Cross by address for Cuyahoga County 1960 to the present. Biographical clipping files on prominent Clevelanders. Ohio county histories. Printed indexes to Ohio Census 1820-1880 (1870 index Is for Cleveland only). Rosters of Ohio soldiers in the Civil War, Spanish-American War and WWI. "Pennsylvania Archives". "PERSI". Civil War regimental histories. British parish registers; with index. English county histories. Coats-of-arms index. "Morton Allan directory of European Passenger Steamship Arrivals" (1890-1930). Indexes to published passenger lists. Lists of immigrants from specific ethnic groups such as German, Irish, Italian and Russian. Meanings of names, often in English translation.
    African Americans: "Black Loyalist Directory". "On the Trail of the Buffalo Soldier: Biographies of African Americans in the U.S. Army, 1866-1917". "United States Colored Troops" (Civil War).
    "Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations from the Revolution through the Civil War". "Slavery in Ante-Bellum Southern Industries
    -printed indexes for these two microfilm sets are in History; actual sets are in the Microform Center.
    Also "Changes in Cleveland street and house numbers, 1905-6: old and new street numbers" (OCoLC)30481303 and Call No. Ref F499.C675 O42 1905x.

    MAP COLLECTION: (6th floor North, Louis Stokes Wing) Sanborn fire insurance maps of Cleveland 1886-1972/73. Atlases of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County from the later 19th century. Plat books of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County 1912-1966/68. Ward maps of Cleveland and some suburbs 1852 to the present. Historical atlases and pre-WWI maps of Europe. Reproductions of British Ordnance Survey Maps circa 1820-1850s.

    MICROFORM CENTER: (1st floor West, Main Building) Necrology file of paid obituaries from Cleveland newspapers 1833, 1847-48, 1850 to the present. Cleveland city directories 1837-1960. Complete runs of suburban city directories (years vary with suburb). Cleveland telephone directories 1880 to the present. Complete runs of Cleveland newspapers, induding the "Call & Post". "Cleveland Blue Book" (social register) 1888 to the present. File of Cuyahoga County soldiers who served in WWII and Korea compiled from local newspaper columns during those wars; usually includes a small photo and 1 or 2 lines about the serviceman. Ohio Census 1820-1920 with Soundex index for 1880-1920. "Index" to the roster of Ohio soldiers in the Civil War. [Microform viewers all have printers.]
    Also "Changes in Cleveland street and house numbers, 1905-6: old and new street numbers" (OCoLC)30481303 and Call No. F499.C675 O42 1905x (microfilm).

    FOREIGN' LITERATURE: (4th floor South, Main Building) Meanings of names, usually in original language. Language dictionares. Foreign encyclopedias. Basic translation help.

    SERVICES:

    REFERENCE HELP: There are no trained genealogists on staff. Guidance in doing in-depth or time-consuming research is provided in-person at the Library. Present staffing levels do not permit librarians to do complete genealogical searches.

    ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: Online and CD-ROM resources provide computer access to a world of information. For example: available on CD-ROM in History is the "Army Official Records" (Civil War) and on History's website - "Christine's Genealogy" (African-American genealogy sites and sources).

    OFF-SITE STORAGE: Many older volumes are not housed in the Main Library Complex due to the size of the collection. Call ahead to have books retrieved from off-site and held on reserve.

    COPY EQUIPMENT: Coin operated self-serve copiers are available in all departments, as are coin changers. [$0.10 / copy in 1999]
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Cuyahoga County Archive

    2905 Franklin Blvd
    Cleveland OH 44113-2995
    216-443-7250; Fax +1 (216) 443-3636
    URL: http://centralservices.cuyahogacounty.us/archives/
    EMAIL: [email protected]
    HOURS: Mon-Fri 8:30am-4:30pm ET

    DIRECTIONS: From downtown Cleveland: take Superior West (becomes Detroit Ave) to W 25th St South (left) to Franklin Blvd West (right) to 2905 (left). Free parking in the Archives gravel lot west of the building.
    FEES: Uncertified copies are $0.25/each.
    COMMENTS: There is a collection of viewers, a couple of which have printers too. "The Cuyahoga County Archives, a department of the Board of County Commissioners, was organized in the summer of 1975 and serves as a repository for the historical records of Cuyahoga County, and for current records requiring temporary maintenance. A research library is available for the convenience of persons using the records in the County Archives and trained personnel are always available to provide advice on any specific research problem. The offices, storage facilities and the research library are all located in the Robert Russell Rhodes House, a Victorian Italianate mansion built in 1874."

    RECORDS OF INTEREST IN THE ARCHIVES:

    RESEARCH POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Cuyahoga County Public Library
    Fairview Park Regional Library

    ATTN: Genealogist
    21255 Lorain Ave
    Fairview Park OH 44070
    440-333-4700
    440-895-1114

    INFORMATION: City directories 1831-1930. Cleveland Necrology File (index of death notices and obituaries appearing in greater Cleveland newspapers). Cuyahoga County Marriage License Index.

    MAIL REQUESTS: Correspondence answered as time permits. Charge is for photocopies, limited to 10 exposures per request. By mail, you must specify the kind of record you want, where the event occured and an appropriate date. They do not do census searches. They do not have birth, death or marriage certificates. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE). Items searched are the Cleveland Necrology File (index of death notices and obituaries appearing in greater Cleveland newspapers), and the Cuyahoga County Marriage License Index. There are no vital records kept here; for these contact either Cuyahoga County Archives (births & deaths before 1909), Ohio Historical Society (deaths 1908-1949) or Ohio Bureau of Vital Records in Columbus (births 1908-current, deaths 1950-current). They will check the L.D.S. SourceFile and FamilySearch. While they prefer not to have to check the immigration indexes, there are quite a few!, they have been known to do it for the local homebounds who are too elderly to travel. Will check city directories 1831-1930.
    URL: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ohcuyaho/lookup.htm

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In order to make the jump to other countries, you need to know a town there. That is most likely found on the naturalization papers, church records, or death certificate. Once you have a town, you can look at the catalog for the Mormon Church (Latter Day Saints - LDS) library. http://www.familysearch.org This church has filmed records from all over the world. It is part of their religion, but you don't have to be a Mormon to order their films. There are two branches here in Cleveland that have a library. One is in Kirtland and the other is in Westlake. You can go to their library and order a film for just $3.50. The main library in Salt Lake City sends that film to the local branch in Westlake for instance, and you have one month to view the film at the Westlake library.

    Family History Center
    Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints
    8854 Chillicothe Rd
    Kirtland OH 44094
    440-256-8808

    HOURS: Tues-Sat 10am-2pm ET and Thu-Fri 7pm-9pm ET.

    DIRECTIONS: From Cleveland, take I-90 East, exit OH-306 Kirtland - Mentor. Turn right on OH-306. Go down into valley. When the road starts to bend right and goes up out of the valley, you can make a left turn onto Kirtland-Chardon Rd. At first stop sign turn left onto Chillicothe Rd, next left into parking lot for Newell K. Whitney General Store Visitor Center. On the left is the Visitor Center, on the right is the Family History Center, sign in front of the house.

     

    Family History Center
    Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
    25000 Westwood Rd
    Westlake OH 44145
    440-779-6195
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

    Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS)

    Archives/Library
    10825 East Blvd
    Cleveland OH 44106
    216-721-5722
    URL: http://www.wrhs.org Card catalog slowly going on-line.

    COMMENTS: Can be expensive, but good collection. Especially for early Cleveland and it's settlers.

    DIRECTIONS: From downtown Cleveland, I-90 East to Martin Luther King Jr (MLK) Drive. Left onto Martin Luther King Jr (MLK) Drive, South about 2+ miles to traffic circle just past East 105th Street. About 60% around the circle to East Blvd (East or North?). East Blvd (East or North?) past the VA Hospital on left to East 108th St. Left onto East 108th St. 1 block to Magnolia Dr. Right onto Magnolia Dr. to 2nd WRHS driveway on right (1st is employees'). Take driveway to WRHS parking lot on left.

    HOURS: Tu-Sa 9am-5pm; W until 9pm; Su 12n-5pm; closed M; busiest on Saturday

    FEES: Admission $6/person; WRHS Parking $.90/30min (max $7.20?); reduction for long stay by copies made (see desk in library). Public metered parking lot adjoins; continue on driveway to Hazel Drive; turn left. Some metered street parking.

    INFORMATION:
    The library of the Western Reserve Historical Society is the largest American history research center in Northern Ohio. Its holdings consist of 235,000 books; 25,000 volumes of newspapers; 30,500 rolls of microfilm; 1,000,000 prints and photographs; and more than 3,000 collections of manuscripts and archives which comprise more than six million items. The library is the principal respository for histories, records, and papers relating to the growth and development of Cleveland and that portion of northeastern Ohio once known as the Western Reserve of Connecticut. ...

    GENEALOGY COLLECTIONS:
    The Society was one of the first institutions in America to collect genealogical materials and is, today, one of the largest family history research centers in the country. Although the focus of the collections is on source materials for the region east of the Mississippi River, major sources for other states are collected, especially through donation. The library's genealogical holdings include the following:

    Family Histories - more than fifteen thousand genealogies (books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and microforms) and numerous publications of family associations.

    Federal Records and Indexes - including all available federal census schedules on microfilm from 1790 through 1920; 1880 Soundex for all states; the 1900, 1910, and 1920 Soundex for Ohio and some surronding states; and the passenger lists for New York City, 1820-1841 (index for 1820-1846), and for Baltimore, 1820-1879.

    Local Records (microform) - New England marriages prior to 1700. Connecticut State vital records compiled by Charles R. Hale, vital records for several Ohio counties, Cleveland necrology file 1850-1975, and the Ohio Surname index to county histories.

    Military Records - Revolutionary War Pension Applications and Bounty Land Files and index to War of 1812 pension applications on microfilm, Revolutionary War and War of 1812 rosters for most states, numerous Civil War state rosters and regimental histories, rosters of Ohio soldiers in the Spanish-American War and World War I, and compiled records of more than 50,000 World War veterans in Cuyahoga County. ..."

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    Q. Where can I find property deeds?

    Answer:

    Cuyahoga County Recorder
    County Administration Bldg.
    1219 Ontario Street
    Cleveland, OH 44113

     

    PROPERTY DEEDS IN CUYAHOGA COUNTY
    This site currently has deeds from 1928 to the present but more are being
    added all the time and at a quick pace.
    http://recorder.cuyahogacounty.us/

    To do a complete search at this site, enter the dates 01/01/1928 - (the present date)

    Enter a last name. The first name needs to be supplied as well, but a wildcard search under the first name works as well, so
    just enter * in the first name location.

    You then hit enter and a page comes up asking you to confirm the search. Hit yes and then the list of
    deeds comes up.

    Then click on a particular deed and more detailed information appears. At that point click on "View" to view the deed while online or download the deed to
    your computer for further use.

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    Q. How to use the County Auditors site.

    CUYAHOGA COUNTY AUDITORS SITE
    http://auditor.cuyahogacounty.us/REPI/default.asp

    This site is useful if you have an address that you want to know more
    about and dovetails well with the previous site.

    Type in an address following the directions on the screen. All addresses have to have five
    digits. So, for instance, if you are searching for 2064 W. 55th, you would enter "02064" for the address.

    In the street box you enter "55".

    In the direction box you would enter "W" and Hit search.

    If the address still exists today, you will get information about it. You can then click on the parcel ID and more
    information will appear.

    If you then click on "Transfer History" at the vtop of the page, a new page will appear. Just above the transfer date is
    the word "previous". If you click on that and keep clicking on that you will see the ownership of the property working back through time. If you
    click on "Residential Building Sketch" you can even see a drawing of the house.

     


    Q. What are the addresses for the various Courts in Cleveland?

    Answers:

    Cuyahoga County - Common Pleas Court
    Clerk of Courts
    Justice Center
    1200 Ontario St.
    Cleveland OH 44113

     

    Federal Court
    U.S. Federal Courthouse
    201 Superior Ave Rm 535/537
    Cleveland OH 44114
    1 (216) 522-4355 x56

    HOURS: M-Th 8:15-4:30pm ET, Fri 10:30-4:30pm ET.
    Index of naturalization petitions (1855-present): name, address, birthdate, naturalization date, country or origin, specific place of origin. Those who did not complete naturalization may also be included.
    There is a charge for copies. Some may come directly from the Cleveland court but others may come from the National Archives depending on the date of naturalization. They will bill you when they pull the copies. You pay and then they send the copies.

     

    National Archives and Records Administration
    Great Lakes Region
    7358 South Pulaski Rd.
    Chicago IL 60629-5806
    1 (773) 581-7816
    URL: http://www.nara.gov/

     

    U.S. District Court
    210 Superior Ave. N.E., Rm 537
    Cleveland OH 44114-1201

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    Please contact Laura Hine with corrections, additions and comments at [email protected]

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