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Summit 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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Summit County was created on March 3, 1840 and was formed from Medina, Portage and Stark Counties. The County was named for the highest point on the Ohio and Erie Canal which was located there.. The County Seat is Akron. Summit County has the highest
land along the Ohio Canal. The county is noted
for its chain of natural lakes. The Cuyahoga
and Tuscarawas Rivers flow through the county.
The city of Akron, the county seat, was laid out in 1825 by General Simon Perkins
of Warren, Ohio. Its name comes from a Greek word meaning "high". Although
best known as a leading producer of rubber, the city is also an important research
and development center, as well as one of the nation's leading producers of childrens
books and toys. 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 Summit County are Cuyahoga County (north), Portage County (east), Stark County ( south), Wayne County (southwest), Medina County (west). Summit County Municipalities Include Akron, Barberton, Cuyahoga Falls, Fairlawn, Green, Hudson, Macedonia, Munroe Falls, New Franklin, Norton, Stow, Tallmadge, Twinsburg, Boston Heights, Clinton, Lakemore, Mogadore, Northfield, Peninsula, Reminderville, Richfield, Silver Lake. Townships Include Bath, Boston, Copley, Coventry, Northfield Center, Richfield, Sagamore Hills, Springfield, Twinsburg
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All Departments below are in the Summit County Courthouse 209 South High Street, Akron, OH 44308; Phone: +1-216-379-2720, unless otherwise noted below. The Official County website is located at http://www.co.summit.oh.us/. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time. Summit County Clerk of Probate Court has Marriage Records from 1840, Birth / Death Records from 1867-1908 and Probate Records from 1839 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: (330) 643-2350,
FAX: (330) 643-2393 Summit County Recorder has Land Records from 1840 and is located at Summit County Fiscal Office, 175 S Main Street, Rm 400, Akron, OH 44308; Phone: 330-643-2715, Fax: 330-643-8154; Email: jdonofrio@summitoh.net Summit County Clerk of Court of Common Pleas has Court Records from 1840 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number:
(330) 379-2512
Below is a list of online resources for Summit County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Summit 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 Summit County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Summit County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
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Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Summit County, Ohio are 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 Summit 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 Summit County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Summit 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 Summit County Maps. Email us with websites containing Summit 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 Summit County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Summit 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 Summit County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Summit 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 Summit County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Summit County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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There are many churches and cemeteries in Summit County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Summit 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 Summit County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Summit 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 Summit County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Summit County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
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On March 3, 1840, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Summit County. It originally was a portion of the Connecticut Western Reserve. The county was named for the Portage Summit, the highest point along the Ohio and Erie Canal. The county grew very quickly, especially following the completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal. Due to its proximity to transportation systems and an abundant supply of coal, iron ore, and steel, the county seat of Akron became a major site for the production of cereal, rubber, and numerous other products during the latter portion of the nineteenth century. Because B.F. Goodrich Company, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, and the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company were all located in Akron, the city became known as the "Rubber Capital of the World." Summit County is located in northeastern Ohio and covers 413 square miles. The county has grown in recent years. Between 1990 and 2000, Summit County's population increased by 5.4 percent to a total of 542,899 residents in 2000. Akron is the largest community in the county, with 217,074 residents in 2000. The county averages 1,315 residents per square mile. Summit County is overwhelmingly rural, with only fourteen percent of the county deemed to be urban. Still, only just over three hundred farms exist in the county. Most of the county is now covered with subdivisions. These areas are not populated enough to qualify as urban areas, but they are definitely not devoted to agriculture. Most residents earn their livings by working in service, sales, or manufacturing positions. The county's average income was just over twenty-nine thousand dollars per person in 1999, with 10.9 percent of the population living in poverty. Akron was originally laid out in 1825 and in 1841 became the seat of Summit County. The name came from a Greek word meaning "an elevation" or "point." Originally, the community was located slightly south of its present location, in modern-day South Akron. Many of the town's earliest residents were Irish migrants employed to build the nearby Ohio and Erie Canal. After 1827, when the canal was completed between Akron and Cleveland, the community's business interests really began to prosper. Its location along the canal meant that many farmers brought their crops to Akron to be milled and then transported to other markets, and manufacturing interests such as mills, furnaces, and textiles also emerged. By the second half of the 1800s, railroads connected the community to other important cities in Ohio, and other industries emerged. There were a number of stoneware and cereal manufacturers, as well as a well-known sewer pipe industry. The Barber Match Company, later a branch of the Diamond Match Company, produced one-fifth of all the matches in the United States. The Buckeye Mower and Reaper Company, originally located in Canton, moved to Akron in 1863. Probably among the most famous companies established in Akron were the B.F. Goodrich Company and the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, both rubber and tire manufacturers that began to prosper after the advent of the automobile age. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many migrants from the Appalachian region and European immigrants came to Akron looking for work in these industries. There was also a significant African-American population going back prior to the Civil War. In the early twentieth century, Akron continued to grow. During the 1920s, Goodyear branched out into the zeppelin industry, a predecessor to modern-day blimps. The Great Depression hit the city particularly hard, and Akron reported industrial unemployment rates of sixty percent during the 1930s. In spite of the economic problems, the population continued to grow during this decade, possibly because of New Deal programs. The 1920s and 1930s were an interesting time for Akron. During Prohibition, organized crime, illegal alcohol production, and gambling were prominent in some parts of the city, and the Ku Klux Klan had a significant following. In fact, during the 1920s Klan members held many of the important local political positions, from mayor to school board members. Akron's economic problems from the Great Depression ended with the United States' entry into World War II. The need for wartime mobilization meant that factories were once again at full production, and the city grew once again as workers were recruited to make aircraft and other necessary military goods. Following World War II, Akron's residents faced some difficult financial times. The traditional industries that allowed the city to prosper during the 1800s and early 1900s began to decline. As a result of this economic downturn, Akron has experienced a declining population. In 1950, nearly 275,000 resided in Akron. Fifty years later, Akron enjoyed a population of just over 217,000 people. Despite the smaller population, Akron produced numerous famous residents during the twentieth century. Musicians Chrissie Hynde, James Ingram, and Ruby and the Romantics came from Akron, as did actress Melina Kanakaredes and model Angie Everhart. Astronaut Judith Resnik, who died in the Challenger explosion, and Nobel Prize-winning poet Rita Dove both graduated from high schools in Akron. The National Civic League also named Akron an All-American City in 1981 and in 1995. |
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