Warren County Genealogical Society Warren County, Ohio Chapter of Ohio Genealogical Society Frequently Asked Questions
(513) 695-1144	406 Justice Drive, Lebanon, Ohio 45036 Hours: 9 AM-4 PM Monday through Friday Driving Directions	wcgs@co.warren.oh.us

This page contains information, frequently asked questions, and other helpful hints for researching in Warren County, Ohio and using the Warren County Genealogical Society web page.

If you have questions or comments about the web site please email, Dana Palmer, webmaster. If you have specific questions regarding researching your family lines please contact our research department via USPS mail or by visiting our library. Due to the numerous amount of queries we are not staffed to answer research questions via email. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Thanks for your support and help. Hope you have enjoyed our site!

Q- How do I get started?
Q- I can't find my ancestors listed on your search engine …
Q- Okay, I've found my ancestor listed on your pages, now what?
Q- Are these indexes the only records you have available?
Q- Will you be putting more indexes online?
Q- What vital records have you indexed?
Q- Do you have obituaries?
Q- What funeral home records do you have available for researchers?
Q- What probate records have you abstracted and indexed?
Q- Do you have census records?
Q- Have you indexed any land records?
Q- What cemetery records do you have available?
Q- Do you have any military records?
Q- Do you have resources for other areas besides Warren County, Ohio?
Q- How do I submit for First Families or Early Settlers of Warren County?
Q- I would like to submit my family file/family book to your library …

Q- How do I get started?
A-

1. Get Organized!!!  Create a 3 ring binder with family group records for each family and a related pedigree chart. 
2. Interview relatives
3. Attend the WCGS Summer Workshop Classes or buy the booklet
4. Visit the WCGS Resource Library
5. Attend State & National conferences:
   1. Family History Jamboree (Feb)
   2. Ohio Genealogical Society (Apr)
   3. National Genealogical Society (Apr)
   4. Federation of Genealogical Societies (Aug)

Q- I can't find my ancestors listed on the web pages, but I know they were in Warren County, Ohio.
A- I have two possible ways to find your ancestors, if they are listed on one of our pages-

1. Check alternate spellings. Names often times get mistyped, spelled wrong or changed for whatever reason. For example- they are some great stories behind the changing of the surname DEATH to DEARTH and also IORNS to IRONS.
2. WCGS has many other records not yet indexed or put online. You can contact our research department.

A- You have two ways to get the full information from our indexes online.

1. Come into our library and look up the records yourself. Our staff can assist you with any questions you may have and help orient you to the resources we have in our library. We will also assist you in locating other research avenues to save you time and help you be more successful.
2. Correspond with our research department by regular mail.

	First- Write down exactly what information you would like to find and include as much detail about the individual(s) as you can. You can include pedigrees and family group records. Be specific and focus your search; you'll be more successful that way.
	Second- make a list of all the web pages you saw your ancestor listed and please include the reference page or index number. This will speed up the process.
	Third- make a list of the documents you have already copied, so we don't duplicate your research.
	Lastly- please include your full name and mailing address, if corresponding by mail. Unfortunately we will not be able to respond to queries that don't include a full name and mailing address.

A- No, we have extensive resources in our library, too numerous to list on our web site. Researchers are welcome to browse the stacks in our library. We are also centrally located to other major Warren County repositories and can make copies of most original documents that we might not already have on our shelves. Please contact our research department for further help.

A- Yes, as more records become available they will be indexed and eventually included on our website. Indexing is a timely process, and since WCGS is staffed by volunteers, the indexing of records is dependent upon volunteer efforts. Please check back often for updates to our website. We have many exciting projects we are working on that need lots of data entry and help. If you would like to help and are local please call (513) 695-1144 or email us.

A- In Warren County, Ohio, birth and death records began to be recorded in 1867. We have birth records indexed from 1867 to 1925 and deaths from 1867 to 1930. These are searchable by surname in our computer databases or online on our website. We also have indexes for the township assessor records from 1886-1919 for births & deaths and late births from 1868-1938. Adoptions are indexed from 1856-1917. (We do have a few later adoptions but they are not published yet). We have indexed marriage records from 1803 (their start date) to 1907 searchable by bride or groom surnames. Divorces are indexed from 1803-1900.

A- Yes! Our master obituary index covers obituaries from the start date (about 1810) to the current year. The index in our library is searchable by surname and provides the reference needed to find a copy of the actual obituary in the binders located on the shelves of our library. We have photocopied obituaries from many of the major newspapers in the area, and have microfilms for many of these in our library. If you have an obituary on a Warren County ancestor we are missing; please send us a copy, WCGS, 406 Justice Dr., Lebanon, OH 45036. We would love to add it to our file.

A- Probate records start in 1803 and continue to the present date. The originals are available either at the Probate Court or Archives. We have published abstract books for will and estate records to date through box 350. Information from boxes 351 (~1888) to box 712 (~1914) has already been abstracted and is in the process of being verified and put into publication format. Check our publication page for updates. The index for just the will and estate records has been completed and will soon be listed online. We are also working on a master probate index. The old index was arranged by first letter of the surname and then by the first letter of the given name. We have revised this so it is now searchable by surname from 1803-1936 (up to DE book 18). We are in the process of finishing the later years (~1936-1996) by indexing the remaining probate books from DE book 19 to DE book 57. Adoptions have been indexed from 1856-1917. Lunacy Records have been indexed from 1904-1913. Guardian Bonds have been indexed from 1865-1868 and Guardianships cover 1803-1916.

A- Transcribing cemetery tombstones was one of the first projects WCGS embarked on back in 1981. We have a series of cemetery books available for purchase from the headstone readings. We are in the process of updating these records and obtaining digital images for all existing tombstones in our county. The cemetery indexes have been loaded to this website while the digital images have been loaded to the Warren County US Gen Web site. If you would like to help digitize tombstones from our cemeteries, please email us. We are also trying to obtain copies of cemetery ledger books, and funeral home records to have a more complete listing at each cemetery regardless of whether or not a tombstone exists.

A- We have extensive military records in our library and have published quite a few books with information on servicemen for specific wars. Check our publications page for a complete listing of our military books available for purchase.