Portal:Genealogy

Genealogy Portal

Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center Portals Organization • Genealogy • Local History

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Research services and fees

Family trees

Welcome to the Wayne County Public Library Genealogy Portal.

Topics in Genealogy

Birth

Census

Court

Death

Ethnicity

Genealogies

Immigration

Marriage

Property

Portal:Genealogy/Front page content/External Databases

Featured

The Genealogy and Local History Department of the Wayne County Public Library has updated several new pages on the wiki. An ongoing task is to have a listing of all known churches in Wayne County, Ohio from its settlement in 1808 to present day. The Wayne County, Ohio Churches (Table) has recently been updated.

The First Baptist Church in Wooster was originally known as Bethany Baptist Church and was founded in 1812. Prior to Bethany Church, it was known as the "Regular Baptist Church of Jesus Christ". This first congregation met in a blockhouse used to protect the first settlers from the Indigenous peoples. Some of the first known Baptists who moved to Wooster were David and Lydia Kimpton and Philip B. Griffith. They were here in 1810. In 1811, Ezekial and Hannah Jones and family settled in same area.

Did you know...

Did you know the house that is on the corner of Beall Ave and High St in Wooster was built in 1861? The house was owned by only two different families. The first owner was Anthony Wright. When he died, the house was deeded to his only daughter, Sarah Elizabeth (Wright) Quinby. It left the family when Sarah sold the property to William and Mary Fike in 1908. When William and Mary Fike died, the house passed down to their only daughter, Elizabeth Lorson. It remained in her position until she sold it to the Noble Foundation Inc in 2007.

The deed to the house was transferred a couple more times since 2007 and is currently used as a Pathway House.

Location

WCPL Main Branch (2nd floor), Part of Adult Services Department (Next to the elevator) 220 West Liberty St., Wooster, OH 44691.

Hours

Beginning September 20, 2021, the Genealogy and Local History Department will open for the public. Facial masks are strongly recommended regardless of vaccination status. Staff continue to answer questions. We are currently experiencing a significant backlog with more challenging and time consuming requests. However, we try to answer the simple, look-up questions within 1-2 weeks. If you have questions, please contact the department by phone or email.

The Wayne County Public Library is currently open limited hours for the public. Branch and Main Library hours differ. Beginning June 1, 2021, the Genealogy and Local History will be open the following hours:

Monday	10:00 am–8:00 pm
Tuesday	10:00 am–8:00 pm
Wednesday	10:00 am–5:00 pm
Thursday	10:00 am–8:00 pm
Friday	10:00 am–5:00 pm
Saturday	10:00 am–1:00 pm

If you do not feel comfortable coming into the library, curbside service is available at all locations.

Contact

Mailing Address: Wayne County Public Library Genealogy and Local History 304 N. Market St. Wooster, OH 44691. telephone: 330-262-0916, ext. 4670 email: genealogy@wcpl.info

Staff

Deborah, BSBA, MLS, CPL, PLCGS
Adult Librarian - Genealogy

Doug, MLS
Adult Librarian

Internal Databases

Volunteers and staff members have spent countless hours working on many projects. Many of these projects are now available through this website. Other projects are still in progress. Additional databases may be found on the Internal Databases page of the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center.

Wayne County, Ohio Databases

Births

• Milestone Birthdays
• Rittman Press Births
• Tri County Weekly News Births and Deaths

Marriages

• Forth coming

Divorces

• Early Divorces

Deaths

• Homicides in Wayne County, Ohio
• Rittman Press Deaths
• Wayne County Infirmary Death Records

Burial Records

• Crown Hill Cemetery Burial Records

Census Records

• 1815 Census of Wayne County
• 1819 Census of Wayne County
• 1823 Census of Wayne County
• Quadrennial Enumeration Wooster 1887
• Quadrennial Enumeration Wooster 1907

Court Records

• Wayne County Court Index

Property Records

• Caldwell's Atlas (1873)
• Caldwell's Atlas (1897)
• First land owners of Wayne County, Ohio
• Land Deeds in Wayne County, Ohio

Military

• World War II Scrapbook

Occupations

• Apprenticeship
• Ministers performing marriages

Business

• Public Square (Wooster)
• Wayne County Topics

Church

• Wayne County, Ohio Churches

School

• School reunions

Government

• County statistics
• Wayne County Officials, Table

Genealogy

• Family Reunions
• Multi-Generation Photos I
• Multi-Generation Photos II

Research assistance

To request information, you may contact the department several ways:

1. Mail your request to the Wayne County Public Library; Genealogy and Local History; 304 N. Market St.; Wooster, OH 44691
2. Email genealogy@wcpl.info
3. Phone the department at 330-262-0916, ext. 4670. Only simple questions will be answered by phone. Any detailed request should be submitted by mail or email.

When requesting information, please be specific with your request. Please limit the requested items to five per month. Include names of interest, approximate dates, and places the events may have taken place.

Due to volume of requests and helping researchers who come into the department, we will answer your requests as quickly as time permits. See Research services and fees for a complete list of available services and costs.

Other Services

Information found in the Genealogy and Local History Department of the Wayne County Public Library extends beyond the county line. For a description of the scope of the collection, please view our Collection Guidelines.

On 21 August 2009, the Wayne County Public Library was certified as a designated FamilySearch Affiliate Library. This certification permitted researchers to order in microfilm from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. On 1 September 2017, microfilm lending services were discontinued. FamilySearch anticipates all current microfilm to be digitally available by the year 2020. Please be patient between the discontinuation date and the time when all current microfilm will be digitized.

Wayne County was the parent county of both Ashland County, Ohio and Holmes County, Ohio. Other Neighboring Counties include Stark County to the East and Summit County to the Northeast and Medina County to the North. Ashland is to the West of Wayne County and Holmes County is to the South.

About Us

This website serves as both source and repository for research pertaining to the local history of Wayne County and the genealogy of its residents. For an introduction to conducting genealogical research, see our Getting started guide. 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 specific businesses in Wayne County, Ohio, browse through our business history category or do a search on the name of the business.