Muskingum County, Ohio Genealogical Records Information

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Muskingum County History and Information

Muskingum County Facts

Muskingum County was created on January 7, 1804 and was formed from Fairfield and Washington Counties. The County name is said to signify in the old Indian language an elk's eye, or the glare of an elk's eye.' Col. John Johnston stated that 'Muskingum is a Delaware word and means a town on the river side. The Shawanese call it Wa-ka-tamo sepe, which has the same signification. The County Seat is Zanesville.

Muskingum County is located about 50 miles east of Columbus. Muskingum is an old Delaware Indian word meaning "a town by the river".
Zanesville was the state capital of Ohio from 1810-12 and is now the Muskingum county seat. In 1814, the first Y-bridges in the world was constructed across the Licking and Muskingum Rivers. It is possible to cross the Y-bridge and stay on the same side of the river. Probate Court has birth & death records from 1867 to 1909, marriage & probate records from 1851; Health Department has birth & death records form 1909; Clerk of Common Pleas Courts has divorce & civil court records from 1804, Supreme Court records 1805 to 1852; County Recorder has land records form 1804. 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 Muskingum County are Coshocton County (north), Guernsey County (east), Noble County (southeast), Morgan County (south), Perry County (southwest), Licking County (west).

Muskingum County Municipalities Include Zanesville, Adamsville, Dresden, Frazeysburg, Fultonham, Gratiot, New Concord, Norwich, Philo, Roseville, South Zanesville. Townships Include Adams, Blue Rock, Brush Creek, Cass, Clay, Falls, Harrison, Highland, Hopewell, Jackson, Jefferson, Licking, Madison, Meigs, Monroe, Muskingum, Newton, Perry, Rich Hill, Salem, Salt Creek, Springfield, Union, Washington, Wayne. Other localities Include Adams Mills, Blue Rock, Chandlersville, Duncan Falls, East Fultonham, Hopewell, Nashport, Trinway, White Cottage, North Zanesville, Pleasant Grove.

The Muskingum County Official Government Website
Search the Ohio USGenWeb Archives
Muskingum County, Virginia History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

Records at the Muskingum County Courthouse

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 Muskingum County Courthouse 401 Main Street, Zanesville, OH 43701; Phone: +1-614-455-7107, unless otherwise noted below. The Official County website is located at http://www.muskingumcounty.org . NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.

Muskingum County Clerk of Probate Court has Marriage Records from 1804, Birth / Death Records from 1867-1908 and Probate Records from 1804 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: 740-455-7113
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.).

Muskingum County Recorder has Land Records from 1800 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: (740) 455-7107
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.

Muskingum County Clerk of Court of Common Pleas has Court Records from 1804 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number:
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.

There are a few online databases for Court, Land and Probate Records which include:Ohio Land Records and Ohio Early Land Ownership Records.

Click Here to Search Ohio Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Muskingum County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Muskingum County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Ohio Marriages: Extracted from the Old Northwest Genealogical Quarterly
Ohio Marriages, 1803-1900: This database contains records of marriages that took place in Ohio between 1803 and 1900.
Muskingum County, Ohio Court Books at Amazon.com
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.

Muskingum County Vital Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

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 Muskingum County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Muskingum County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Muskingum County, Ohio Tax Books at Amazon.com

Muskingum County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Ohio Genealogical Addresses

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 Muskingum County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Muskingum County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Muskingum County Chapter, OGS, PO Box 2427, Zanesville, OH 43702; Muskingum County Chapter, OGS meets the third Thursday of the month (except December) at 6:00pm at the John McIntire Library, 220 N. Fifth St., Zanesville., E-mail: rjenkins@ee.net
Local Ohio Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
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.
Ohio Genealogical Society, 713 S. Main St, Mansfield, OH 44907-1644;(419) 756-7294, [EMAIL]
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.
Ohio Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Muskingum County Church & Cemeteries

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.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Muskingum County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Muskingum 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 Muskingum County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Muskingum County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Ohio Cemetery Records: Extracted from the Old Northwest Genealogical Quarterly
Muskingum County Obituaries includes Adamsville Register obituaries index 1889-1939
Muskingum County Cemeteries
Muskingum County, Ohio Cemetery Books at Amazon.com
Muskingum County, Ohio Church Books at Amazon.com

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

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 Muskingum County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Muskingum County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Sites on USGenweb: [ Muskingum County ] [ Ohio ] [ Main Page ]
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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.
The OHGenWeb Project Ohio Research Exchange Program
OHIO Family Group Sheets
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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.
Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Muskingum County, Ohio Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

On January 7, 1804, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Muskingum County. The county’s name came from an Indian word for “near the river.” The Muskingum River flows through the county. Located on Zane’s Trace, the county grew quickly. In 1810, Zanesville, the county seat, became Ohio’s capital, replacing Chillicothe. The main reason for this change was an attempt by Democratic-Republicans in Ohio to solidify their control over eastern Ohio. The capital remained in Zanesville for only two years, returning to Chillicothe in 1812, before moving permanently to Columbus in 1816.

Muskingum County is located in eastern Ohio. It is predominantly rural, with less than one percent of the county’s 665 square miles consisting of urban areas. With a population of 25,586 people, Zanesville was the county’s largest community in 2000. The next largest urban area, Falls Township, had only 8,585 residents that same year. Muskingum County experienced a slight increase in population—roughly 3.1 percent—between 1990 and 2000, raising the total number of residents to 84,585 people. Many residents of Ohio’s rural communities are seeking better lives and more opportunities in the state’s cities, but Muskingum County seems to be remaining stable in population. The county averages 127 people per square mile.

The largest employers in Muskingum County are retail establishments, with manufacturing businesses a close second. The most important industry in the county during the second half of the nineteenth century was art pottery manufacturing. Samuel A. Weller became the most important manufacturer in 1890, when he began production in Zanesville. Most of his early products included simple items like flowerpots, cuspidors, and tableware. By 1905, more than five hundred workers found employment in Weller's plant. These workers produced three boxcars full of pottery every day, making Weller the largest manufacturer of pottery in the world by the 1910s. Pottery manufacturing remains a vital component of Muskingum County’s economy today. In 2003, many of Zanesville’s residents found employment in various pottery establishments, including Fioriware Art Pottery, Zanesville Pottery and China, Incorporated, and Robinson Ransbottom Pottery in nearby Roseville. Other businesses also flourish in the county, such as Volvo Trucks and Custom Vans of Zanesville. The county also enjoys a booming tourism industry, due to the pottery manufacturers, as well as the Longaberger Company, which produces baskets in nearby Frazeysburg. People across the world collect Longaberger baskets. In 1999, the per capita income in the county was approximately twenty-two thousand dollars, with 14.4 percent of the people living in poverty.

Land speculator Ebenezer Zane founded Zanesville in 1800. The community was located at the mouth of the Licking River, where Zane had built a ferry service for people traveling along the frontier road known as Zane's Trace. Zanesville was built at a prime location and grew quickly. By the War of 1812, the town had approximately 1,400 people. It became the Muskingum County seat in 1804. In 1810, Zanesville became Ohio's capital, replacing Chillicothe. The main reason for this change was an attempt by Democratic-Republicans in Ohio to solidify their control over eastern Ohio. The capital remained in Zanesville for only two years, returning to Chillicothe in 1812, before moving permanently to Columbus in 1816.

Zanesville became an important commercial center in the region, with a number of skilled craftsmen and small businesses located within its boundaries. Businesses manufactured such items as soap and candles, and the pottery industry emerged as an important economic component in the years prior to the War of 1812, capitalizing on the plentiful clay in the region. In 1846 seven iron foundries operated in the community, as well as one cotton mill, five flourmills, four sawmills, two oil processors, and one paper mill. Because of the city's location along Zane's Trace, the National Road, and the Muskingum River, which was navigable by steamboats, Zanesville's thirty stores carried a wide variety of goods during the 1840s.

The most important industry in Zanesville during the second half of the nineteenth century was art pottery manufacturing. Samuel A. Weller became the community's most important manufacturer in 1890, when he began production in Zanesville. Most of his early products included simple items like flowerpots, cuspidors, and tableware. By 1905, more than five hundred workers found employment in Weller's plant. These workers produced three boxcars full of pottery every day, making Weller the largest manufacturer of pottery in the world by the 1910s.

During the late 1800s, most art pottery was hand painted. Most manufacturers ceased this practice before World War I, preferring to use faster machines, but Weller continued to use hand painting until the 1930s. The Great Depression severely hampered the pottery business in Zanesville, as the American people, as well as people around the world, no longer had the spare cash necessary to buy the pottery. Primarily due to the Great Depression, Weller Pottery ended production in 1948.

Despite Weller Pottery's closure, pottery manufacturing remains a vital component of Zanesville economy today. In 2003, many of the city's more than 27,000 residents found employment in various pottery establishments, including Fioriware Art Pottery, Zanesville Pottery and China, Incorporated, and Robinson Ransbottom Pottery in nearby Roseville. Other businesses also flourish in the community, such as Volvo Trucks and Custom Vans of Zanesville. The community also enjoys a booming tourism industry, due to the pottery manufacturers, as well as the Longaberger Company, which produces baskets in nearby Frazeysburg. People across the world collect Longaberger baskets.

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