Licking County, Ohio Genealogical Records Information

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Licking County History and Information

Licking County Facts

Licking County was created on January 30, 1808 and was formed from Fairfield County. The County was named for salt licks in the area. The County Seat is Newark .

Licking is Ohio's second largest county. Also located here is the Air Force station responsible for calibrating inertial guidance systems for missiles. Chief industries include; stone-clay-glass, transportation equipment, metals, machinery, vehicle parts, aluminum products, lawn mowers, truck axles and gears, insulating materials, household appliances, corrugated boxes and dairy products. Probate Judge has birth, marriage & probate records; County Health Department has Birth & Death records from 1875 through 1908; Clerk of Courts has divorce records from 1876 & civil court records from 1872; County Recorder has land records. See also County History for more historical details.

The Health Department has Birth & Death Records from 1908-Present, see the Vital Records section for more details. For birth and death records prior to Dec. 20, 1908, contact the Probate Court of this county.

Counties adjacent to Licking County are Knox County (north), Coshocton County (northeast), Muskingum County (east), Perry County (southeast), Fairfield County (southwest), Franklin County (west), Delaware County (northwest).

Licking County Municipalities Include Heath, Newark, Pataskala, Reynoldsburg, Alexandria, Buckeye Lake, Granville, Gratiot, Hanover, Hartford, Hebron, Johnstown, Kirkersville, New Albany, St. Louisville, Utica. Townships Include Bennington, Bowling Green, Burlington, Eden, Etna, Fallsbury, Franklin, Granville, Hanover, Harrison, Hartford, Hopewell, Jersey, Liberty, Licking, Madison, Mary Ann, McKean, Monroe, Newark, Newton, Perry, St. Albans, Union, Washington. Other localities Include Brownsville, Croton, Homer, Jacksontown

The Licking County Official Government Website
Search the Ohio USGenWeb Archives
Licking County, Virginia History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

Records at the Licking County Courthouse

PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

All Departments below are in the Licking County Courthouse 20 S. 2nd St., Newark, OH 43055; Phone: +1-614-349-6060, unless otherwise noted below. The Official County website is located at http://www.lcounty.com/ . NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.

Licking County Clerk of Probate Court has Marriage Records from 1809, Birth / Death Records from 1867-1908 and Probate Records from 1875 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: 740-349-6125
The Probate Court handles the following administrative functions: the probating of wills, estate administrations (full estates and releases from administration), trusts, guardianships of incompetent adults and minors, commitment hearings for the mentally ill and mentally challenged, adoptions, birth corrections, name changes, delayed birth registrations, custodial accounts, lost heir accounts, order disinterments, and issues marriage licenses. In addition, the Court tries litigation issues in all the above matters. A unique aspect of the Probate Court is that the Probate Judge is the ex-officio Clerk of Courts, thus, the Court performs all the duties as its own Clerk of Courts (indexing, filing, docketing, etc.).

Licking County Recorder has Land Records from 1800 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: 740-349-6000 or 740-349-6207
In Ohio, the Recorder, as an elected official, is charged by law with the exacting duty of keeping certain specific records which may include: deeds, mortgages, financing statements, easements, leases, federal tax liens, personal tax liens, military discharges, powers of attorney, mechanics liens, plats, recognizance liens, partnerships, living wills, zoning resolutions, etc.

Licking County Clerk of Court of Common Pleas has Court Records from 1809 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: 740-349-6000 or 740-349-6207
The Clerk of Courts of Common Pleas is responsible for various administrative and ministerial duties in conjunction with the Court of Common Pleas. These duties include filing, docketing, indexing, and preserving all court pleadings for civil, felony criminal and domestic relations cases. The Clerk of Courts must also follow procedure required by law and issues writs to carry out Court orders. Some of these writs include summons, subpoenas, warrants to arrest and to convey to penal institutions, and signing the death warrant in capital cases. The Clerk is responsible for the receipt and disbursement of all money paid into the court system. Other services provided by the Clerk of Court of Common Pleas are accepting bonds, recording notary commissions, administering oaths, keeping naturalization records, and recording and retention of coroner records.

There are a few online databases for Court, Land and Probate Records which include:Ohio Land Records and Ohio Early Land Ownership Records.

Click Here to Search Ohio Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Licking County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Licking County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Ohio Marriages: Extracted from the Old Northwest Genealogical Quarterly
Ohio Marriages, 1803-1900: This database contains records of marriages that took place in Ohio between 1803 and 1900.
Licking County, Ohio Court Books at Amazon.com
Ohio Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.

Licking County Vital Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

Tax records for Ohio began as early as 1800. The archives section of the Ohio Historical Society has a collection of original Ohio tax lists from the state auditor's office. They include lists from the county's organization to 1838, usually arranged by county and township. They are not indexed. County courthouses hold various tax records that have not been inventoried. They are in the office of the county auditor or the county records manager. The FHL has microfilm copies of all known extant tax records 1800-38 for Ohio.

The National Archives-Great Lakes Region retains numerous federal tax records for Ohio. These include assessment books for 1867-73 and corporate and personal records for District 10, Toledo, and District 11, Columbus.

Below is a list of online resources for Licking County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Licking County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Licking County, Ohio Tax Books at Amazon.com

Licking County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Ohio Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Licking County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Licking County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Licking County Chapter, OGS, 101 W. Main St., Newark, OH 43055-5054; Licking County Chapter, OGS meets January, February, March - First Sunday of the Month at 2:00pm. April - Annual Dinner Meeting - Place & Time To Be Announced. May, June & July - First Monday of the Month at 7:00pm. August - Annual Picnic - First Monday of the Month - Place & Time To Be Announced. September - Second Monday of the Month at 7:00pm. October and November - First Monday of the Month at 7:00pm. December - Annual Christmas Party - First Monday of the Month at 7:00pm - Place To Be Announced., Email: lcgs@npls.org
Licking County Historical Society, 101 West Main Street, Newark, OH 43055; 740-345-4898
Granville Historical Society, 115 East Broadway , Granville, OH 43023
Licking County Health Department, 675 Price Rd, Newark, OH 43055; Phone: (740) 349-6535, (888) 838-0219, Email: lchd@msmisp.com
Local Ohio Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
Ohio Historical Society, Archives-Library Division,1982 Velma Avenue, Columbus, OH 43211; Telephone: 614-297-2300
The Ohio Historical Society Archives/Library is, by law, the archives for the State of Ohio. As such, we collect, preserve, and make available to the public, documents pertaining to the operation of state and local governments.
Ohio Genealogical Society, 713 S. Main St, Mansfield, OH 44907-1644;(419) 756-7294, [EMAIL]
Columbus Metropolitan Library, Genealogy Division, 96 S. Grant Ave., Columbus, OH 43215. 614-645-2ASK (2275);The Genealogy Division holds microfilm; printed, typescript, and manuscript collections, including family and local histories; atlases; cemetery records; city directories; military records; censuses and census indexes; and transcribed records provided by the Ohio chapters of the DAR.
Ohio Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Ohio Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Licking County Church & Cemeteries

Click Here to Search Ohio Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Licking County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Licking County Tombstone Transcription Project.

Religion in Ohio was an early and important factor in settlement. The first Moravian mission was established in 1772. Presbyterians and Quakers were in the state at an early date, the latter having established forty-three monthly meetings and settlements between 1801 and 1883. The Presbyterians founded seventeen towns between 1784 and 1799. Baptists, Congregationalists, several reformed groups, Lutherans, Disciples of Christ, United Brethren, Methodists, and Catholics arrived prior to 1850. By 1890 the latter two denominations were the largest in the state. The Methodist circuit in Ohio was organized in 1798, with circuit riders traveling from log cabins to camp meetings across the territory. In 1831 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints migrated from New York to Kirtland in Lake County. No thorough survey exists of any of the holdings of individual churches in Ohio, although many are on microfilm through the FHL. The Ohio Genealogical Society is presently undertaking a church records survey.

According to the Ohio Genealogical Society, the majority of Ohio counties have published cemetery records in one form or another. They suggest contacting local societies or one of the major genealogical libraries in the state.

Below is a list of online resources for Licking County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Licking County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Ohio Cemetery Records: Extracted from the Old Northwest Genealogical Quarterly
Licking County Birth & Death Certificate Search includes death records 1909-1945 & 2000 to present, birth records 1947-present, and Newark City birth & death records 1998-present
Licking County Probate Records Index 1829-1904
Licking County Death Records 1874-1908
Licking County Obituaries & Death Notices 1880-1941 from the Granville Times
Licking County, Ohio Cemetery Books at Amazon.com
Licking County, Ohio Church Books at Amazon.com

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search Ohio Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Licking County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Licking County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Search the Family Tree DNA Project- Use DNA testing to break through your genealogical barriers!
Sites on USGenweb: [ Licking County ] [ Ohio ] [ Main Page ]
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Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
The OHGenWeb Project Ohio Research Exchange Program
OHIO Family Group Sheets
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Ohio Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Licking County, Ohio Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

On January 30, 1808, the State of Ohio authorized the creation of Licking County. Residents named the county after the Licking River, which flows through the region. Licking County was originally part of Fairfield County. Before the arrival of Europeans, Indians lived here. The most notable group of prehistoric people was the Hopewell Indians, who built elaborate earthworks. Whites destroyed many of these earthworks, as they converted the countryside into farm fields and communities during the nineteenth century. Remnants still remain at the Great Circle Earthworks, Octagon Earthworks, and Wright Earthworks. The Ohio Historical Society has preserved these three sites, known collectively as the Newark Earthworks. Other important native sites in Licking County include Blackhand Gorge and Flint Ridge.

Licking County is located in central Ohio. It is predominantly rural, with less than two percent of the county’s 687 square miles consisting of urban areas. The county seat is Newark, with a population of 46,279 people. It was the county’s largest community in 2000. Licking County experienced a significant increase in population—roughly 13.4 percent—between 1990 and 2000, raising the total number of residents to 145,491 people. The county averages 212 people per square mile.

Retail positions and service industries are Licking County’s two largest employers, with manufacturing businesses and government a distant third and fourth. Farming ranks fifth. Some of the counties larger employers include Denison University, The Ohio State University at Newark, Kaiser Aluminum, Owens-Corning, and State Farm Insurance. The county was once home to the Heisey Glass Company and the American Bottle Company, which was the world’s largest beer bottle manufacturer during the early part of the twentieth century. In 1999, the per capita income in the county was 26,891 dollars. Just over nine percent of the people in the county were living in poverty.

Newark is the county seat of Licking County. It is located approximately thirty-five miles east of Columbus. Samuel Elliott and Samuel Parr built the first homes -- log cabins -- in the community in 1802. By 1804, approximately twenty families lived in Newark. In 1808, residents constructed Licking County's first courthouse. It was located on the same site as Licking County's courthouse today. The original courthouse was a log structure that also served as a church. Church services occurred routinely in the courthouse in Newark's early years. In 1817, Presbyterians built the first official church in the community. By 1830, Newark had a population of roughly one thousand people. By 1840, the population had almost tripled to over 2,700 people. Most residents earned their living from agriculture in Newark's early years, but by the late 1840s, the town also boasted three newspaper offices, ten grocery stores, two gristmills, an iron foundry, a wool factory, a bookstore, two hardware stores, as well as several other business establishments. The Ohio and Erie Canal helped Newark prosper during the 1830s and 1840s. Construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal actually began just south of Newark at Licking Summit in 1825.

By 1900, Newark boasted a population of fifteen thousand people. Numerous businesses had opened since the 1840s, including several new iron foundries, various construction companies, tractor manufacturers, and numerous businesses affiliated with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Among the more important businesses in Newark during this time period were the Heisey Glass Company, world-renowned for its stem and dinnerware, and the American Bottle Company, the largest beer bottle manufacturer in the world and employer of more than 2,500 people in the first decade of the 1900s.

During the twentieth century, Newark continued to grow and prosper. In 2000, Newark's population exceeded 45,000 people. The city is home to The Ohio State University at Newark, the largest of The Ohio State University's branch campuses. Almost two thousand students are enrolled at the school, plus another three thousand people are enrolled at the Central Ohio Technical College. Numerous businesses provide economic opportunities to residents, including Owens-Corning and the Longaberger Company. Newark is the Longaberger Company's headquarters, and its offices are located in a building that resembles a large picnic basket. Construction jobs also abound, as many Columbus residents moved forty-five minutes east to Newark during the 1990s and early 2000s. These people still commute to Columbus for employment, but they prefer living in a smaller community like Newark.

Newark is probably best known for the Newark Earthworks, a series of mounds built by the Hopewell Indians in Ohio. Remnants of those earthworks still exist today, tended by the Ohio Historical Society. During the late 1800s and the early 1900s, the Licking County Fair actually took place inside the Great Circle Mound, while the Ohio National Guard utilized the Octagon Mound as a drill field.

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