Warren County, Ohio Genealogy

United States

Ohio

Warren County

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

Warren County, Ohio
Map
Location of Ohio in the U.S.
Courthouse
Address	Warren County Administration Building 406 Justice Drive Lebanon, Ohio 45036 Warren County Website

Warren County, Ohio Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1867	1803	1867	1803	1795	1803	1820
Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1908. General compliance year is unknown.

• Parent Counties: Formed from Hamilton and County in 1803.
  
• County Seat: Lebanon
   

Description

The county was named for Dr. Joseph Warren, a hero of the Revolution who sent Paul Revere on his famous ride and who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill. It's county seat is Lebanon and was founded May 1, 1803. It is located in the Southwest area of the state.

Populated Places

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:

Cities
Franklin Lebanon (county seat) Loveland	Mason Middletown	Monroe Springboro
Villages
Blanchester Butlerville Carlisle Corwin	Harveysburg Maineville Morrow	Pleasant Plain South Lebanon Waynesville
Unincorporated communities
Blackhawk Chautauqua Cozaddale Crosswick Dallasburg Dodds Edwardsville Fosters Genntown Greentree Corners Gum Grove Hagemans Crossing	Hickoryville Hicks Hillcrest Hopkinsville Kenricksville Level Mathers Mill Merrittstown Middleboro Middletown Junction Mount Holly Murdoch	Oregonia Osceola Pekin Red Lion Ridgeville Roachester Rossburg San Mar Gale Socialville Twenty Mile Stand Wellman Zoar
Census-designated places
Five Points Hunter	Kings Mills Landen	Loveland Park
Townships
Clearcreek Deerfield Franklin Hamilton	Harlan Massie Salem Turtlecreek	Union Washington Wayne
Ghost towns
Beedles Station Browns Store	Butterworth Hammel and Millgrove	Venable

Neighboring Counties

Montgomery County  • Greene County  • Clinton County  • Brown County  • Clermont County  • Hamilton County  • Butler County

Boundary Changes

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

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

Resources

Bible Records

• The Warren County Genealogical Society holds the family pages (or copies) of many Bibles that have been submitted to the Genealogical Society.
• Some Bible records for Warren County have been microfilmed and are available from your local family history center.

Biography

• Everhart, Mary. Warren County, Ohio Revolutionary War Soliders Who Lived and/or Died in Warren County... Lebanon, Ohio: Warren County Genealogical Society, 2002. [Short biographical sketches of Revolutionary War Veterans.]
• Phillips, Hazel Spencer. Genealogy. Lebanon, OH: Warren County Genealogical Society, 1998. [Collection of biographical sketches published in the Western Star (Lebanon, Ohio) from May 24, 1978 - August 1, 1979.]
  
• Snyder, Marion. Memory Lane. Lebanon, OH: Warren County Genealogical Society, 2004. [Collection of local history articles and biographical sketches published in the Western Star (Lebanon, Ohio) from 1976 - 1985.]

Cemeteries

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
Ohio Gravestones	WorldCat	Names in Stone
USGW Tombstones		Billion Graves
Billion Graves		Epodunk
OHGenWeb Tombstone Photos
See Ohio Cemeteries for more information.

• The Warren County Virtual Cemetery Project (a project of the Warren County Genealogical Society) is an endeavor to catalog, digitize, and make available information on every cemetery in Warren County. Included in the project is a complete list of every cemetery. Check out the site here.
• Cemetery records for Warren County located in the Historical Museum at Lebanon, OH (including cards, notebooks, newspaper clippings, etc.) have been microfilmed and are available from your local family history center.

Church Records

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.

• The Warren County Genealogical Society has a list of current (and some former) churches along with addresses and phone numbers.
• Hess, Phyllis Lafferty. History of the First United Methodist Church of Warren, Ohio. Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, 1999.

Finding More Church Records

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

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

Court Records

• The Warren County Genealogical Society has information about various courts and court records in Warren County as well as indexes to various court records.
• The Court of Common Pleas, whose records start in 1803, hold a variety of records. A listing of available records can be found on the Warren County Genealogical Web site.
• The Warren County Supreme Court (1803-1851) became the District Court (1852-1883) which became the Circuit Court (1883-1912) which became the Court of Appeals (1912-present). Further information can be found at the Warren County Genealogy Society Web site.

Funeral Home Records

• The Warren County Genealogical Society has indexes to some funeral home records as well as addresses for all local funeral homes.

Genealogy

• Miami Valley Genealogy Index is an Index to more than a half million pointers to records all over Miami Valley including Warren County.

History

Local histories are available for Warren 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.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Warren 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.

• Check out the Warren County Genealogical Society's local history page for historical information about the county.

• Morrow, Josiah, The History of Warren County, Ohio, (Chicago: W.H. Beers, 1882). Digital copy at FamilySearch Digital Library FHL film 924428; book 977.1763 H2h

• McKay, Will S., The Centennial Atlas of Warren County, Ohio, (Ohio: Centennial Atlas Assn., 1903). FHL 925037 Item 4; book 977.1763 H2h

• Hale, Harry L., The Colorful Story of Lebanon and Warren County, Ohio, (Lebanon, Ohio: Ohio Genealogical Society. Warren County Chapter, 1998. FHL 925037 Item 4; book 977.1763 H2h

• Pauwels, Cynthia L., Historic Warren County: An Illustrated History, (San Antonio, Texas: Historical Publishing Network, 2009). Digital copy at Google Books FHL book 977.1763 H2p

• Howe, Henry, History of Warren County, Ohio, 1803-1889, (Knightstown, Indiana: Bookmark, 1977). FHL book 977.1763 H2ho

Land and Property

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. Land in Warren County was originally surveyed under two different systems. Clear Creak, Deerfield, Franklin Turtlecreek and Wayne townships were surveyed as part of the Symmes Purchase. The Symmes Purchase covered land located between the Miami Rivers (the resulting survey was sometimes referred to as the Miami River Survey or the Survey between the Miamim Rivers) and was surveyed according the Northwest Ordinance of 1785. According to the 1785 act, section one was located in the southeast corner of the township. Section two was then located directly north of section one with section three just north of two and so forth through section six. Section seven was located just west of section one and sections eight through twelve to the north of section seven. Sections were numbered in this manner through section thirty-six, which was located in the northwest section of the township. Meanwhile Hamilton, Harland, Salem, and Washington Townships were originally part of the Virginia Military District lands and divided using Military District numbers. Military Districts were not numbered according to a standard so it will be necessary to locate a plat map of Warren County to locate a specific Military District number.

• The Warren County Genealogical Society has indexed the deeds from 1799-1832.

Finding More Land Records

Additional land records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Warren 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

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)
• The Warren County Genealogical Society has a variety of maps including township formation maps, the 1875 county Atlas, and the 1867 Wall Map of Warren County (hosted at the Warren County GenWeb Project)
• Check out a 1914 map of Warren County hosted by the Ohio GenWeb Project.

Military

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

Revolutionary War

• Everhart, Mary. Warren County, Ohio Revolutionary War Soliders Who Lived and/or Died in Warren County... Lebanon, Ohio: Warren County Genealogical Society, 2002. [Short biographical sketches of Revolutionary War Veterans.

Civil War

Civil War service men from Warren 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 Warren County.

- 1st Regiment, Ohio Cavalry, Company G 

• Bogan, Dallas R. Warren County's Involvement in the Civil War. Franklin, OH: D.R. Boga, 1991.

• Frary, Sue. Civil War Soldiers Buried in Warren County, Ohio. Lebanon, OH: Warren County 

World War I

• 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

• 1800-1977 - Ohio, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977 at FamilySearch — index and images
• The Warren County Genealogical Society has indexes to Naturalization Records from 1821-1925. Naturalizations after 1925 were filed with the Federal Court in Hamilton County.

Newspapers

Warren 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

• The Warren County Genealogical Society has information on local newspapers including newspaper titles and years of publications.

Obituaries

• The Warren County Genealogical Society has indexes to obituaries published in local newspapers covering years from 1810-2009. Indexes are organized by year and decade. If an ancestor is found in the obituary index, copies of the obituary can be ordered from the genealogy society.
  

Probate

Probate records created after 1852 are held by the Warren 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 Warren 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.
• 1803-1835 - Probate records of Warren County 1803-1835 at Ancestry.com ($) original data
  
  

• The Warren County Genealogical Society has information on and an index to Will and Estate Records from 1803-1888 with later years coming soon.


• The Warren County Genealogical Society has an every name index to Guardianship records from 1803-1916.


• The Warren County Genealogical Society has an index to lunacy records from 1904-1913.

Finding More Probate Records

Additional probate records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Warren 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).

Repositories

Administration Building 406 Justice Dr. Lebanon, Ohio 45036 513-695-1242 Hours: M-F 8am-5pm	Replacing the traditional county courthouse, the Warren County Administration building opened in 2001 and is home to the Recorder's Office, the Records Center and Archives, and the Genealogy Society.
Records Center and Archives 406 Justice Dr. Rm #052 Lebanon, Ohio 45036 513-695-1815 Email:archives@co.warren.oh.us Hours: M-F 8am-4:30pm	The Edna L. Bowyer Records Center and Archives is located on the lower level of the Warren County Administration Building and was dedicated in honor of a former Warren County Recorder. The Warren County Archives holds a variety of records including birth and death records (1867-1908), marriage records (1803-1980), probate records (1803-1936), and duplicate tax records (various years). The Archives accepts online research requests.
Recorder 406 Justice Dr. Lebanon, Ohio 45036 513-695-1382 Email:linda.tufts@co.warren.oh.us Hours: M-F 8am-4:30pm	Located on the upper level of the Warren County Administration Building, the Recorder's office is responsible for maintaining copies of all land records from the county's formation until the present day. An index to deeds recorded between 1979 and 2010 is available online.
Warren County Combined Health District Vital Statistics 416 South East Street Lebanon, Ohio 45036 Hours: M-F 7:30am-4pm	The Division of Vital Statistics is responsible for recording births and deaths and holds copies of all birth and death records after December 20, 1908. (Original birth and death records after 1908 were forwarded to the Division of Vital Statistics of the Ohio Department of Health.) Certified copies of birth and death records can be obtained from the Division of Vital Statistics either on-site or by mail.
Genealogical Society 406 Justice Dr. Lebanon, Ohio 45036 Hours: M,T,Th,F 9am-4pm	Located on the lower level of the Warren County Administration Building, the Warren County Genealogical Society holds a variety of records on-site and has made available information and online indexes for a variety of resources including vital records, obituaries, cemetery records, probate records, and land records. Also check out the society's Virtual Cemetery Project.

Courthouse

Warren County Courthouse
500 Justice Dr; PO Box 238
Lebanon, OH 45036
Phone: 513.695.1120

Probate Judge has birth and death records from 1867,
marriage and probate records from 1803; Clerk Court
has divorce and court records; County Recorder has land
records

Family History Centers

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

• Middletown 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.

Societies

Online Genealogy Research Groups

• 
  
• 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

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
• The Warren County Genealogical Societys has indexes for the tax lists for 1810, 1827, 1830, 1832, 1840, and 1842 and is in process of indexing the teax lists for 1816-1826 and 1828.

Vital Records

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

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

Title	Description	Location(s)
Adoptions 1856-1917	The first formal adoption in Warren County took place in 1856 though orphan children may have been indentured with a local family instead.	Online Indexes (Warren County Genealogical Society) In Person (Records Center & Archives)
Births 1867-1908	Kept by the county starting 1867 in register format.	Order Online (Records Center and Archives) Online Indexes (Warren County Genealogical Society) Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003 (FamilySearch) index and images In Person (Records Center and Archives)
Births 1908-present	Statewide registration started 20 Dec 1908. Copies can be found with both the county and the state.	Order by Mail (Warren Division of Vital Statistics) Order by Mail (Ohio Division of Vital Statistics) Order Online (Ohio Division of Vital Statistics)
Late Births 1868 - 1938	Birth certificates obtained  by adults oftentimes to acquire a Social Security Card or other government documentation.	Online Indexes (Warren County Genealogical Society) Chester L. Dunn, Warren County, Ohio Birth Records: Later Reports as Recorded in Probate Files, Lebanon, Ohio: Warren County Genealogical Society, 1988.
Marriages 1800 - present	Recorded by the county starting at the time the county was formed.	Online Indexes1803-1907 (Warren County Genealogical Society) Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 at FamilySearch — index and images In Person (Records Center & Archives) Ohio, Marriages, 1800-1958 at FamilySearch — free; Index Ohio, Marriages, 1800-1942 at FamilySearch — index
Deaths 1840-1908	Kept by the county starting 1867 in Register format.	Online Indexes (Warren County Genealogical Society) Order Online (Records Center & Archives) FHL film 384218 (FamilySearch) In Person (Records Center & Archives) Ellen Van Houten and Florence Cole, Death Records, 1867-1881 Probate Court, Warren County, Ohio, Loveland, Ohio: Cardinal Research, 1988. Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001 - index and images
Deaths 1908-present	Statewide registration started 20 Dec 1908. Copies can be found with both the county and the state.	Online Images 1908-1953 (FamilySearch Record Search) Online Indexes 1908-1930 (Warren County Genealogical Society) Order by Mail (Warren Division of Vital Statistics) Order by Mail 1954-present (Ohio Division of Vital Statistics) Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001- index and images
Divorces 1803-present		Online Indexes 1803-1900 (Warren County Genealogical Society)

Finding More Vital Records

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

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

Websites

• Warren County OHGenWeb
• Warren County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Ohio Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• Warren County OH Genealogy
• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• FamilySearch Catalog