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Holmes County History and Information |
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County History |
Court Records |
Vital Records |
CENSUS Records |
TAX Records |
Military Records |
Church & Cemetery | Maps & Atlases | Genealogy Addresses | Genealogy Related Sites | |
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Holmes County was created on January 20, 1824 and was formed from Wayne, Coshocton and Tuscarawas Counties. The County was named for Major Andrew Holmes, an officer in the War of 1812 killed at Mackinac Island, Michigan. Millersburg is the county seat of Holmes County. In 1824, Charles Miller and Adam Johnson surveyed the town. The town became the county seat the following year. 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 Holmes County are Wayne County (north), Stark County ( northeast), Tuscarawas County (east), Coshocton County (south), Knox County (southwest), Ashland County (northwest). Holmes County Municipalities Include Baltic, Glenmont, Holmesville, Killbuck, Loudonville, Millersburg, Nashville. Townships Include Berlin, Clark, Hardy, Killbuck, Knox, Mechanic, Monroe, Paint, Prairie, Richland, Ripley, Salt Creek, Walnut Creek, Washington. Other localities Include Berlin, Big Prairie, Charm, Lakeville, Mount Hope, Walnut Creek, Winesburg
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All Departments below are in the Holmes County Courthouse One East Jackson Street, Millersburg, OH 44654; Phone: +1-216-674-5916, unless otherwise noted below. The Official County website is located at http://www.holmescounty.com/gov/ . NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time. Holmes County Clerk of Probate Court has Marriage Records from 1821, Birth / Death Records from 1867-1908 and Probate Records from 1825 and is located in Suite 201. Phone: 330-674-5881 Holmes County Recorder has Land Records from 1808 and is located at 75 E Clinton St, PO Box 213, Ste 101, Millersburg, OH 44654; Phone: 330-674-5916 or 330-674-9519, Fax: 330-674-0782; Email: smiller@co.holmes.oh.us Holmes County Clerk of Court of Common Pleas has Court Records from 1825. Phone Number:
(330) 674-0286
Below is a list of online resources for Holmes County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Holmes County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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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:
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
Below is a list of online resources for Holmes County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Holmes County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
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Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Holmes County, Ohio are 1830, 1840, 1850 ,1860 ,1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your Family Tree in Holmes County, Ohio are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms. See Also Statewide Records that exist for Ohio Below is a list of online resources for Holmes County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Holmes County Census Records by clicking the link below:
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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 Below is a list of online resources for Holmes County Maps. Email us with websites containing Holmes County Maps by clicking the link below: |
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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 Holmes County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Holmes County Military Records by clicking the link below:
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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 Holmes County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Holmes County Tax Records by clicking the link below: |
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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 Holmes County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Holmes County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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There are many churches and cemeteries in Holmes County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Holmes 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 Holmes County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Holmes County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
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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 Holmes County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Holmes County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
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Holmes County was formed by an act of the General Assembly of Ohio in 1824 and the actual organization was completed by the same body on January 4,1825. Its neighboring counties, Wayne to the north, Tuscarawas to the southeast, and Coshocton to the south, were all formed at an earlier date and the territory of Holmes County was taken from that of these three adjacent counties. The County was named for Major Holmes, a young officer of the War of 1812 who was killed in the unsuccessful attack on Fort Mackinack in 1814. The first white settlers in the area which is now known as Holmes County came in 1809-1810 and, on February 4,1810, Hannah Butler became the first white child born in the County near Big Spring, a short distance north of present-day Holmesville. At about the same time, a group of Amish Mennonites from eastern Pennsylvania crossed the Alleghenies and made the first settlement of people of their faith in Ohio near the present Village of Sugarcreek in Tuscarawas County near the Holmes County line. A young Amishman named Jonas Stutzman settled on lands near today's Walnut Creek. The deeds for these lands were signed by President Thomas Jefferson. Thus began the settlement of the Amish people in the area, a settlement which has grown into the largest in the world and which has contributed greatly to the picturesque quality of Holmes County rural life. The Village of Millersburg was originally platted in 1815 and became the County seat in 1824 actually prior to its incorporation as a village by an act of the legislature dated February 17,1835. Holmes County always was, and still remains, an Anglo-Saxon community with its ancestry almost entirely originating in central and northern Europe, primarily Germany and Switzerland with a smaller group from France. Among those coming from Switzerland were cheese makers who established their profession in the early days of the County. Today, their descendants produce large quantities of Swiss cheese known throughout Ohio and the neighboring states for its fine quality. Holmes County is proud of its history, its fine farms, its good people, and its natural beauty. In a busy world, Holmes County still maintains a certain pastoral quality where those weary of the noise and pressures of life in larger industrial communities can literally "get away from it all." The Holmes County Historical Society preserves the history of the County and maintains the Victorian House, a 28-room Queen Anne styled home at 484 Wooster Rd. in the Village of Millersburg. The Victorian House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is open to the public from June through October. The Holmes County Commissioners, Emergency Management Agency, Environmental Management District, Buildings and Grounds, and Planning Commission have offices that reside in the "Old Jail Building" on Court Street. Holmes County is located in northeastern Ohio. It is predominantly rural, with less than one percent of the county’s 423 square miles consisting of urban areas. The county seat is Millersburg. With a population of 3,857 people, Berlin Township was the county’s largest community in 2000, but the next five largest towns are within five hundred people of Berlin in population. Holmes County experienced a significant increase in population—roughly 18.6 percent—between 1990 and 2000, raising the total number of residents to 38,943 people. Many residents of Ohio’s rural communities are seeking better lives and more opportunities in the state’s cities, but Holmes County is increasing in population. The county averages ninety-two people per square mile. Farming is the largest employer in Holmes County, with 63.4 percent of the county’s acreage under cultivation. Within Ohio, Holmes County farmers rank second in oat and hay production, as well as in dairy farming. Manufacturing positions finish a close second, with furniture being one of the primary products that Holmes County residents produce. The town of Trail also has a meat-processing plant, which produces trail bologna. In 1999, the per capita income in the county was 17,591 dollars, with ten percent of the people living in poverty. Millersburg is the county seat of Holmes County. In 1824, Charles Miller and Adam Johnson surveyed the town. The town became the county seat the following year. The town grew slowly, having only 673 residents by 1840. In 1844, a fire erupted in the town, destroying much of Millersburg. In 1846, the village contained four churches, two newspaper offices, thirteen stores, one iron foundry, and one grist mill. Over the next forty years, Millersburg’s population tripled in size, having a population of 1,814 people in 1880. The town consisted of two newspaper offices, seven churches, two banks, and several additional manufacturing businesses. The town’s largest employer was Henry Snyder, a tile manufacturer, who employed twelve workers. Most businesses provided materials to farmers in the surrounding countryside or processed the farmers’ crops. The same remains true today. In 2000, Millersburg’s population was 3,326 people, making it the sixth largest urban center in Holmes County. |
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