Scioto County was created on March 24, 1803 and was formed from Adams County . The County was named for the Wyandot Indian word Sci-on-to, whose meaning is unknown. The County Seat is Portsmouth.
Scioto
County is crossed by the Scioto River. In this
county is Ohio's largest state forest, Shawnee
Forest, often called "Little Smokies of
Ohio".
Portsmouth was laid out where the Scioto River meets the Ohio by Henry Massie
in 1803. The city's location has enabled it to maintain its size and industrial
activity. Portsmouth was the childhood home of Roy Rogers. Clerk of Courts has divorce & civil court records from 1817. 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.
Scioto County Municipalities Include Portsmouth, New Boston, Otway, Rarden, South Webster. Townships Include Bloom, Brush Creek, Clay, Green, Harrison, Jefferson, Madison, Morgan, Nile, Porter, Rarden, Rush, Union, Valley, Vernon, Washington. Other localities Include Friendship, Haverhill, McDermott, Minford, Scioto Furnace, Stout, Franklin Furnace, Lucasville, Rosemount, Sciotodale, West Portsmouth, Wheelersburg
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 Scioto County Courthouse 602 7th Street, Portsmouth, OH 45662; Phone: +1-614-353-5111, unless otherwise noted below. The Official County website is located at http://www.sciotocountyohio.com/. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.
Scioto County Clerk of Probate Court has Marriage Records from 1804, Birth / Death Records from 1867-1908 and Probate Records from 1810 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number:
(740) 355-8290,
Fax (740) 353-1095 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.).
Scioto County Recorder has Land Records from 1803 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: Phone: 740-355-8303 or 740-355-8304, Fax: 740-355-8355 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.
Scioto County Clerk of Court of Common Pleas has Court Records from 1809 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: (740) 353-5111 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.
Below is a list of online resources for Scioto County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Scioto County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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.
Click Here to Search Ohio Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Ohio did not make it a law to keep birth records until 1867.
Ohio made it a law to record births in 1867. County probate courts kept birth records between 1867 and December 19, 1908. There is no statewide index to birth records from 1867 through December 19, 1908. Go to the list of county probate court birth records held at the Ohio Historical Society. If the Ohio Historical Society does not hold a county's birth records, please contact the county's probate court.
Ohio Department of Health,
Vital Statistics,
225 Neilston Street,
Columbus, Ohio 43215;
(614) 466-2531. Same-day service available to walk-in customers (for Ohio birth and death records only).,
P.O. Box 570,
Jefferson City, MO 65102, Please allow up to approximately 3 weeks to 6 months for processing of all type of certificates when ordered through the mail. They have the following records:
Birth & Death Certificates: The state of Ohio began issuing certificates for births on December 20, 1908. The Ohio Department of Health holds birth certificates for the state of Ohio from December 20, 1908 to the present. The Vital Statistics Office maintains statewide Death Certificates from 1954 to the present. Individual health departments in the county or city where the death took place keep certificates for their local area (not statewide).
Cost: $16.50 per certificate, payment is payable to the Treasurer State of Ohio. The cost for each authentication is $5.00 payable to the Secretary of State of Ohio. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $16.50 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 3-6 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Marriage & Divorce Certificates:
The State of Ohio Vital Statistics Office maintains the abstracts of marriages and divorces that occurred in Ohio from January 1, 1954, to present. Abstracts are brief forms that list limited information extracted from the original marriage licenses or divorce decrees. This limited information is used for index purposes and the filing of the marriage or divorce within the State of Ohio. We do not have marriage licenses or divorce decrees on file, only abstracts. An abstract is not a marriage license or divorce decree. Please contact the following agencies: Marriage License - County Probate Court; Divorce – County Clerk of Court
To request a certified copy of a marriage license contact the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the license was obtained.To request a certified copy of a divorce decree contact the Circuit Clerk in the county where the decree was granted.
Cost: Include a fee of $3.00 per 10 year search per last name with request. Allow 4 to 6 months for the search. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: Allow 4 to 6 months for the search
by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY. Mail your search request to: Ohio Department of Health,
Vital Statistics,
246 N. High Street, 1st Floor,
P.O. Box 15098,
Columbus, Ohio 43215-0098
Order In Person: Same day service is available to walk-in customers. This is the fastest way to obtain a birth certificate. When you arrive, you will complete an application and pay the $16.50 required fee. Walk-in address is Ohio Department of Health,
Vital Statistics,
225 Neilston Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215
Phone: (614) 466-2531. You can also obtain the birth/death record from the city or county health department office where the event occurred, provided there is no court or legal action. You may download the application and submit it in person or by mail to the nearest local health department. Order By Mail: Turn around is estimated at 3 to 6 weeks from the day the request is received. However, people are urged to allow sufficient time for delivery for all birth/death records. Mail a check or money order of $16.50 for each certified certificate. Do not send cash. Mail to the following address: Ohio Department of Health,
Vital Statistics, P.O. Box 15098,
Columbus, Ohio 43215-0098. Please include return address on envelope and application form. Order On-Line: To obtain a certified copy of a vital record by on-line purchase with a credit card, please link to VitalChek
The Ohio Historical Society Archives/Library has most birth records before 1908 and copies of original death certificates on microfilm for the period December 20, 1908 through 1953.
Below is a list of online resources for Scioto County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Scioto County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Ohio Obituaries Index 1830s-present - mostly Northwest counties (over 800,000 names) includes obituaries from these Ohio counties: Allen, Auglaize, Belmont, Defiance, Erie, Gallia, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Huron, Logan, Lorain, Miami, Ottawa, Paulding, Ross, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Washington, Wayne, Wood & Wyandot - coverage varies by county - also see the links below (copies of the obituaries can be ordered for a fee)
MOLO Obituary Index includes obituaries from newspapers in Ashland County (Loudonville), Coshocton County, Holmes County and Stark County (Massillon)
Click Here to Search Ohio Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Below is a list of online resources for Scioto County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Scioto County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Ohio Census, 1790-1890: This collection contains the following indexes: 1790 (Northwest Territory) Federal Census Index; 1800 Federal Census Index (Washington County); 1810 Washington County Census Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1870 Federal Census Index; Early Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedule.
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Ohio and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Ohio showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Ohio showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries.
Below is a list of online resources for Scioto County Maps. Email us with websites containing Scioto County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Ohio Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Scioto County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Scioto County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Ohio (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
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 Scioto County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Scioto County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
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 Scioto County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Scioto County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Scioto County Chapter, OGS, PO Box 812, Portsmouth, OH 45662-0812; Scioto County Chapter, OGS meets bimonthly on the second Saturday beginning in February at the Portsmouth Public Library.
Lucasville
Area Historical Society,
PO Box 761,
Lucasville, OH 45648
Sandusky
County Board Health,
2000 Countryside Dr,
Fremont, OH 43420,
419-334-6377 or 419-334-6366
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.
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.
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.
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 Scioto County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Scioto County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Ohio obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Ohio newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Ohio.
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 Scioto County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Scioto County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
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.
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.
On March 24, 1803, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Scioto County. Residents took the county’s name for an Indian word meaning “deer.” Located at the intersection of the Ohio River and the Scioto River, the county grew quickly due to the river traffic. Scioto County continued to prosper with the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal during the 1820s and the 1830s.
Scioto County is located in southern Ohio. Its southern border lies on the Ohio River. The county is predominantly rural, with 1.6 percent of the county’s 612 square miles consisting of urban areas. It is part of Appalachia. The county seat is Portsmouth. Like many of Ohio’s more rural counties, Scioto County experienced a decrease in population—1.4 percent—between 1990 and 2000, reducing the total number of residents to 79,195 people. Many people in Ohio’s more rural counties are seeking better lives and more employment opportunities in the state’s larger cities. This is the case for Scioto County residents. The county averages almost 129 people per square mile.
Service industries and retail positions are the largest employers in Scioto County. Government positions, farming, and manufacturing businesses also employ many county residents. One of the county’s larger employers is Shawnee State University in Portsmouth. The Southern Ohio Correctional Facility is also located in Scioto County. In 1999, the per capita income in the county was 18,978 dollars, with twenty-one percent of the people living in poverty. This is one of the highest county poverty rates in Ohio.
The first European to settle in the vicinity of what would become Portsmouth was Emanuel Traxler in 1796. Henry Massie formally laid out Portsmouth in 1803. He named the town Portsmouth after Portsmouth, Virginia. Located at the intersection of the Ohio River and the Scioto River, the community grew quickly due to the river traffic. The town continued to prosper with the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal during the 1820s and the 1830s. Several families called Portsmouth home by 1804, and the first child to be born in the community, Polly Barber, was born that same year.
Portsmouth’s quick growth resulted in the town becoming the Scioto County seat. By the late 1840s, approximately 2,500 people lived in Portsmouth. There were at least four churches, two newspapers, and seventeen stores located in the town. On the community’s outskirts, there also was a series of dry docks to repair and build steamboats.
By the late 1880s, Portsmouth had sixteen churches to meet the spiritual needs of its twelve thousand people. There also existed four banks, a machine shop, a brewery, a steel and iron business, several clothing and shoe manufacturers, a stove company, numerous quarries that mined stone for buildings, and several businesses affiliated with the railroad. Brick-making also was a booming industry at this time. Numerous firms produced bricks, but the largest and most profitable establishment was the Scioto Valley Firebrick Company, established in 1871. By 1916, these establishments could produce more than two million bricks per day. During the late 1800s and the early 1900s, numerous other business ventures opened in the community. The Portsmouth Street Railroad and Light Company offered trolley service between Portsmouth and New Boston beginning in 1893. Mitchellace would become the largest manufacturer of shoelaces during the first decades of the 1900s, and the Selby Shoe Company opened for business in 1906. Portsmouth had become a much more industrial community by the early 1900s, but agriculture continued to be the prime moneymaker for most Scioto County residents.
During the late 1800s and the early 1900s, Portsmouth residents enjoyed a booming economy as well as a rich social life. In 1897, the Enos Reed Pharmacy was the first business in the town to sell Coca Cola. Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders visited the community in 1900. The Portsmouth Library opened its doors in 1902 thanks to funds donated by Andrew Carnegie. T.A. McMahon of the Salvation Army waged his own war against the numerous bars operating in the city in the first decade of the 1900s. Football also was important to the town’s residents. In 1909, the Portsmouth Shoemakers played the New York Giants. Semi-pro football clubs the Portsmouth Presidents and the Portsmouth Merchants formed in 1926, and the Portsmouth Shoe-Steels joined them the following year with Jim Thorpe as the team’s coach. In 1928, the Portsmouth Spartans joined the National Football League.
The Great Depression hurt Portsmouth residents, but even more disastrous was the flood of 1937. The Ohio River crested more than twenty feet above flood stage. The flood left thirty-five thousand residents homeless and destroyed sixty percent of all homes in the community. Portsmouth residents, however, did rebuild. World War II once again brought prosperity to the community. Henry Oberling Motor Company opened its doors in 1950, and beginning in 1956, the uranium enrichment plant at Piketon also provided numerous Portsmouth residents with employment. The Ohio Stove Company also doubled production in 1964. In 1973, the completion of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility at Lucasville also brought new job opportunities to Scioto County residents.
Despite these numerous business opportunities, Portsmouth has faced a continuous decline in population ever since the 1950s. In 1950, more than thirty-six thousand people resided in the city. Fifty years later that number has declined to just twenty-two thousand people. There are numerous reasons for this, but probably the most important factor has been the declining importance of industrial jobs to the economy of the United States. Portsmouth residents are looking elsewhere for higher paying and more prestigious jobs. This is a problem many other Ohio communities continue to face. Today, Portsmouth is home to Shawnee State University. In addition, Portsmouth is known for the series of murals painted along the Ohio River floodwalls. These murals depict the community’s history from prehistoric times to modern day.
