The Anderson Allyn Room Collection at the Geauga County Public Library

The Anderson Allyn Room, located on the lower level of the Chardon Branch of the Geauga County Public Library, maintains an extensive collection of Geauga County genealogy and local history resources. It is open during library hours. Reference desk library staff members are available to help with questions.

The Allyn Room collection focuses on Geauga County people and history. Resources are on hard copy, microfilm and digital on the genealogy server. The Allyn Room volunteers extract old and current Geauga County obituaries and index them at rbhayes.org Ohio Obituary index.

A few of our resources for Geauga County include family group sheets, cemetery inscriptions, tax maps, vital records for certain years (birth, marriage and death records), township, county and regional histories, microfilmed Geauga County historical newspapers, probate/estate records, tax records, oral history transcripts, family histories, Chardon yearbooks, newspaper articles and other materials on Geauga County topics (i.e., Maple Festival and maple products, Underground Railroad, Interurban and old railroads, etc).

A more complete list can be found at the GCPL website at https://divi.geaugalibrary.net/genealogy/.

The genealogist is a specialist on Geauga County records and research, but is available by appointment to help anyone get started in family history research. Consult the GCPL website for genealogy classes taught at the various GCPL Branches.

Anderson Allyn Room
(Genealogy and Local History)

The genealogy department at Geauga County Public Library provides a wide array of resources and information to help people find records that help them piece together their genealogical profiles. View the resources in the listings below.

To reach the Reference Desk
GCPL Chardon Branch
440-285-7601
Email: history@geaugalibrary.net.

Ohio RB Hayes Obituary Index

http://index.rbhayes.org/hayes/index/

Vital Records

Vital records

Birth and death records: (1867-1908) book index, records on microfilm. No official birth or death records exist before 1867.

For Geauga County births or deaths after Dec. 20, 1908, contact the Geauga County Board of Health, Vital Statistics:

Geauga County Health District
Attn: Vital Statistics
470 Center St. Bldg. #8
Chardon, Ohio 44024
(440) 279-1902

People born in any county in Ohio can obtain a certified copy of their own birth records at the Geauga County Health Department.

Marriage Records

Marriage licenses: (1825-1919) book index, records on microfilm
Marriage records: (1806-1919) book index, records on microfilm.

For marriage records after 1919, contact the Geauga County

Probate Court (440-279-1830).

Cemetery Records

Geauga County cemetery records
Burials for each township arranged alphabetically by surname and by lot/section; updated in
2011/2012. Does not include Western Reserve Memorial Gardens in Chester Twp. or All Souls
Cemetery in Chardon Township, which must be contacted separately. See below.

Geauga County cemetery records: print version of above, located in Anderson Allyn Room
Western Reserve Memorial Gardens: (440) 729-9465
All Souls Cemetery: (440) 286-7151

Census Records

Federal census: (1820 – 1930), Geauga County only. Early years include a few other counties. Indexes are in books. Records are on microfilm (also available online through Ancestry Library version or through Family Search). 1890 Soldiers and Sailors Pensions, Geauga County: print version of a special federal census enumeration with index.

City Directories

(1912, 1937, 1960—1999) covering Chardon and Geauga County; not all years

Court Records

Estates (Probate packets): (1805-1917) book index, records on 147 rolls of microfilm
Probates (Probate ledger books*): (1806-1955) book index, records on microfilm