About Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center

Welcome to the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center

Wayne Co. Public Library, Genealogy and Local History Department

This website is a collaborative effort between staff at the Wayne County Public Library and volunteer editors. It is intended to archive local knowledge and history of Wayne County, Ohio. Some biographical and genealogical information may be found on select individuals who have resided in Wayne County, Ohio. Digital images of some documents may be found throughout the Wayne County (OH) Wiki.

To utilize the Wayne County (OH) Wiki to its fullest potential, it is necessary to have a great community of volunteer contributors and editors. Time and knowledge of staff are limited so it is essential to have contributions by the community. You do not need to be a current resident in Wayne County, Ohio to become involved. Go to Adopt a Wiki page for more information on how to participate. You may contact us by email: genealogy@wcpl.info with any questions or concerns.

Accuracy of the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center

Staff and volunteers of the Wayne County Public Library and our selected Wiki editors try our best to include accurate information on the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center. However, the information is only as good as the original or in some cases, the derivative source. Newspapers, directories and other such resources often contain discrepancies. Users of the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center should use their own discretion in determining what is correct or what information may be incorrect in the resources provided. After examining the facts, researching the known resources, and following up on further research on the subject of interest, the end user may draw their own conclusions based on Preponderance of the Evidence. The library, staff and volunteers of the library, and Wiki editors should not be held liable for inaccurate or misrepresented information found in original sources or derivative sources used to create a Wiki Page. If you have further information to share on a subject found on the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center, please contact the Adult Services Department (Business Portal) or the Genealogy and Local History Department (Genealogy Portal, Local History Portal).

Use of images on the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center

The Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center makes digital collections available with the intention that they be used for nonprofit educational, research and personal use.

Many images are in the public domain and may be used freely at the user's discretion and abidance by law. Many of these images date prior to 1923.

Many images were submitted with permission from the image owner for exclusive use on the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center. The Wayne County Public Library nor Wiki owns the license or copyright of these images. The images in these collections may be copyrighted, contain trademarks or be subject to other legal restrictions not controlled by the image owner. If you would like to use the image for any purpose other than nonprofit educational, research,or personal use, contact the image owner to request written permission.

The Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center is a collaborative effort with many contributors. Individual contributors own the rights to their own submissions. To use their images for any purpose other than nonprofit educational, research, or personal use, contact the contributor to request written permission.

Users of the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center are ultimately responsible for determining copyright restrictions and obtaining written permission.

As a common courtesy, when using information on the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center, give attribution to the submitter or to the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center if the submitter is not known.

Plagiarism is a violation of law.

If you are a rights holder who does not wish an image to be displayed in the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center, please provide a written request to remove the image. You may send the request to: Wayne County Public Library, Genealogy and Local History, 220 W. Liberty St., Wooster, Ohio 44691.

Using the wiki

There are currently three interrelated and interconnected projects in the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center: Genealogy, Local History, and Business. Each project has a "Portal" page that serves as an entryway or introduction to its central topic.

Within each Wiki page, there are many red and blue links. Red links lead to empty pages. These are waiting to be populated. Blue links should open to either an external or internal link.

The amount of information available varies from page to page. As staff and volunteers have time, many of these pages will become more complete. Please be patient as the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center is a work-in-progress.

In the sidebar to the left, Department Resources will provide a list of many of the resources available on the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center. To find out more information about specific areas, choose the particular topic.

At any time, please use the search field to find information.

Genealogy Portal

The genealogy portal focuses on individuals who at one time resided in Wayne County, Ohio or who may have had some business or personal connection with Wayne County, Ohio. Such records as birth, census, court, marriage, death and property may be found through the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center. Discussion on the ethnicity in Wayne County, Ohio and immigration into the county may be found through the Genealogy Portal. Some general information on how to search each record is discussed.

Another part of the Genealogy portal includes information on the department research services and hours available in the Wayne County Public Library, Genealogy and Local History Department. Much of our collection may be found through our online catalog. However, parts of our collection have not been cataloged or digitized. A listing of these items may be found throughout the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center or you may browse the WCPL Resources located in the left sidebar.

The third part of the Genealogy portal includes an area for researcher submitted genealogies. If you are interested in having your family's genealogy added to the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center, please contact the department. We will not add any of the genealogies currently found in our department without written consent of the compiler and donor. Information on compiled genealogies may be found in the genealogy portal tab, Family trees.

Local History Portal

Whereas the Genealogy Portal focuses more on individuals, the Local History Portal focuses on the overall history of Wayne County, Ohio. Topics such as Wayne County, Ohio history, the history of buildings, businesses and churches may be found in the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center. Other subjects include schools, military, organizations, recreation and literary culture.

One other area included in the Local History Portal includes the digital collection. Throughout the Local History Portal, images of churches, schools, businesses, and residences may be found. For additional photos, visit the Wayne County Public Library Digital Collection which is part of the Ohio Memory Project hosted by the Ohio History Connection.

A third component of the Local History Portal is the Historical Atlas project. Plat maps for 1856, 1873, and 1897 have been digitized and added to Wiki. Eventually, indices to each of the plat maps will be added to the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center. Additional plat maps will be added and indexed as time allows.

Business Portal

The Business Portal started as a history of many of the businesses located in Wayne County, Ohio, both historic and current. It has expanded to include many other useful resources for present-day businesses and organizations. Information includes links to databases available at the Wayne County Public Library, information on grants, the Working for You program, taxes, and employment resources.

The second part of the Business Portal includes the business directory. Through the business directory, businesses are organized several ways:

The information found here is beneficial in tracing addresses of residents and businesses in Wooster and Wayne County, Ohio. This component is still in the works and does not include a complete record of all directories found in the department. To view other directories, visit the Genealogy and Local History department during open hours.

Historical business letterhead are now available through the Business Portal. Most are from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The third part of the Business Portal includes links to featured databases, event programs, and guides to the business collection.

Searching the wiki

If you're looking for something specific, use the search bar above. To find information on a specific family name, search for the name followed by "(surname)" without quotation marks. To find information about the Smith family, for example, you would search for "Smith (surname)" without quotation marks. For historical information on businesses in Wayne County browse Portal:Organization or search for the name of a specific business.

The Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center uses the NAICS guidelines when assigning industries. NAICS is an acronym for the North American Industry Classification System. See the Business Portal for industries chosen for the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center page.

Research assistance

The WCPL Genealogy Department offers research assistance services in-person, by mail and by email: genealogy@wcpl.info. For more information, see the Genealogy Portal.