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Local History & Genealogy

The Local History & Genealogy Center at the West Annex in Bryan offers researchers a wide range of resources including online databases, books, special collections, and microfilm.

Hours of Service:
Monday & Tuesday:  10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday & Thursday:  10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

You can contact the Local History Center by phone at 419.636.6734 (ext 275) or email Jane Kelly kellyja@oplin.org [1]

Ancestry library edition database [2] Heritage Quest database [3]
WCPL Local History Obituary Database [4] Ohio Death Certificate Index [5]
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map database [6] Where to Find Wiliams County Records [7]
Local History Collection information [8] More Local History Online Resources [9]

Get Started Creating Your Family History:  use the individual and family information sheets to begin recording your family's history.

AttachmentSize
Family Information Sheet.pdf [10]36.74 KB
Individual Information Sheet.pdf [11]35.82 KB

Local History Collection Information

Local History/Genealogy Book Collection:  an extensive collection of books on local, county, and state history; genealogy reference and guides; family histories; and locally produced historical publications.

Newspapers on microfilm:  including Bryan, Montpelier, Pioneer, Edgerton, and Edon.

Williams County Census Records

Williams County Cemetery Records

Williams and Defiance County Historical Atlases: including historical maps of local communities.

Obituary Index:  from Bryan & other Williams County newspapers. Find the information to request a copy of a local newspaper obituary.

Photographic archives:  our archives contains over 500 local history photographs which can be reproduced upon request.

Family history files:  over 1000 Williams County families have information files available for research purposes.

Williams County Genealogical Society holdings: including surname files.

Manuscript Files and Club Records:  including the Van Gundy historical files and various club and business records. Visit our department for more information.

Club Records List

The following is a list of club records, including some miscellaneous newspapers held at the Library. To make inquiries, please contact Jane Kelly, Local History & Genealogy Coordinator.

Box 1 of 6

  • Young Men's Reading Association Records [1877-1879]
  • Ladies Aid Society Treasurer's Book [1901-1914]

Box 2 of 6

  • Army-Navy Award invitation, program & complete transcript of broadcast over Columbia network [January 16, 1943]
  • Medical Descriptive Book, Evans Post #149 [n.d.]
  • Grand Army Journal, Evans Post #149 [1892-1912]
  • Quarterly Reports, Evans Post #149 [1883-1890]
  • Monthly Reports, Evans Post #149 [1882-1891]

Box 3 of 6

  • Evans Post #149 [1893-1896] and [1928-1932]
  • Grand Army of the Republic Records [1967-]
  • Evans Post #149, Found Records [1882-1891]

Box 4 of 6

  • Front page second section of the Bryan Times article on Lockport
  • [July 8, 1954]
  • Bryan Union Press [January 5, 1865]
  • Roll of Honor: Williams County Soldiers who died in service [1861-1865]
  • Fourth Ohio Times [March 21, 1862]
  • Hicksville Independent [June 7, 1894]
  • Ladies Home Journal [January 1893], [October 1895]
  • Scientific American supplement [January 25, 1879]
  • Chicago Herald Tribune (copy), issue 16 historic front pages as 1933 Christmas greeting to readers. [1933]

Box 5 of 6

  • Souvenir program West Unity Community [1834-1934]
  • Homeopathic Veterinary Practice [1931]
  • Bryan City Directory [1877]
  • Directory of Williams County [196-1921]
  • Directory of the World's War Heroes of Williams County [July, 4 1919]
  • Jerusalem College Term Reports [n.d.]
  • Minutes of the Bryan Normal Academy student reunion [n.d.]
  • Charles A. Bowersox: Manual of Legislative Practices in the General Assembly of Ohio School Districts ledger [1860-1866]
  • Rural Hall School teacher's report [November 27, 1871 - March 27, 1872]

Box 6 of 6

  • Nurse Committee records [1923-1938]
  • Bryan Homecoming records [1911]
  • Williams County Teacher's Association [1896-1899]
  • Williams County Horse Breeder's Association [1933-1940]

 

 

Microfilm Holdings List

Census

  • Defiance County, Ohio [1850 - 1930]
  • Erie County, New York (Buffalo City) [1900]
  • Fulton County, Ohio [1850 - 1930]
  • Henry County, Ohio [1840 - 1930]
  • Hillsdale County, Michigan [1860 - 1930]
  • Richland County, Ohio [1860]
  • Williams County, Ohio [1830 - 1930 ]

Newspapers

  • Bryan Democrat [30 Apr 1863 - 1948]
  • Bryan Press [4 Jan 1872 - 1949]
  • Bryan Times [July 1949 - present]
  • Defiance Democrat [5 Jan 1850 - 31 Dec 1859]
  • Edgerton Earth [12 Nov 1909 - 23 Dec 1987]
  • Edon Commercial [23 Nov 1912 - 27 Dec 1939]
  • Montpelier Leader Enterprise [24 Sept 1880 - 31 Dec 2003]
  • Pioneer Tri State Alliance [28 June 1879 - 26 Sept 1974]
  • West Unity Reporter [7 Jan 1880 - 18 Feb 1920 ]

Miscellaneous Bryan and Ohio Newspapers

  • The Acorn (Bucyrus)
  • Birmingham Community News
  • Bloomville Gazette
  • Boardman News
  • Botkins Herald
  • Bowling Green Daily News
  • Bratenhall Times
  • Bryan Press [28 Oct 1869 - 21 Dec 1871]
  • Bryan Union Press [20 Aug 1863 - 29 Sept 1864] [6 Oct 1864 - 13 Aug 1868]
  • [20 Aug 1868 - 21 Oct 1869]
  • Brookville Town Talk
  • Buckeye Vidette [22 Apr 1880 - 10 Nov 1881]
  • Equal Rights [4 Oct, 11 Oct, 18 Oct 1848]
  • Fountain City Argus [25 May 1876 - 31 Jan 1878] [7 Feb 1878 - 13 Nov 1879]
  • The Northwestern (Bryan) [6 Mar 1846 ] [29 Oct 1847 - 21 Jan 1848]
  • Press & Leader [14 Aug 1862 - 13 Aug 1863]
  • The Republican Standard (Bryan) [5 Jan. 1856] [7 May 1857 - 24 Dec. 1857]
  • Spirit of the Age (Bryan) [7 Dec 1848, 4 Jan 1849; 15 Nov 1849]
  • Union Press [31 Jan 1862 - 1 Aug 1862]
  • Weekly Family Visitor (Bryan) [5 Dec 1850 and 2 May 1850]
  • West Unity Equal Rights [13 June 1849 and 18 July 1849]
  • Williams County Gazette [12 Aug 1858, 11 Nov 1858, 10 Feb 1859,
  • 31 Dec 1857 - 1 Sept 1859]
  • Williams County Leader [27 Oct 1859 - 29 Aug 1861] [3 Oct 1861- 31 July 1862]

Williams County, Ohio Court Records (listed by box #)

# 1 - Clerk of Courts -
Common Pleas Appearance Docket [1852 - 1857]
Journal # 3 1/2 [1844 - 1848 ]

# 2 - Clerk of Courts -
Common Pleas Journal # 4 [1848 - 1857]
Chacery Record # 2 [1846 - 1856]

# 3 - Clerk of Courts -
Common Pleas General Index # 1 [1825 - 1878]
Common Pleas General Index # 2 [1846 - 1854]

# 4 - Clerk of Courts - Supreme Court/District Court
Complete Record [1833 - 1846]
Complete Record Vol. 2 [1846 - 1860]

# 5 - Probate Court -
Civil Docket Vol. 1 [1859 - 1878]
Civil Docket Vol. 2 [1878 - 1887]

# 6 - Probate Court -
Naturalization Record
Loose Material [1836 - 1839] [1842 - 1922 - 1929]

# 7 - County Home Registers [1874 - 1912] [1874 - 1955]

# 8 - County Recorder - Deed Records
Vol. 49 Nov 1881 - June 1882
Vol. 50 June 1882 - Feb 1883

# 9 - County Recorder Deed Records
Vol. 51 Feb 1883 - Aug 1883
Vol. 52 Aug 1883 - Mar 1884

# 10 - County Recorder Deed Records
Vol. 53 Mar 1884 - Oct 1884
Vol. 54 Oct 1884 - May 1885

# 11 - County Recorder Deed Records
Vol. 55 May 1885 - Jan 1886

Williams County, Ohio Probate Records (listed by box #)

# 1 - Ad. Bonds [1845 - 1852] [1858 - 1871]
# 2 - Administration Records [1852 - 1859] [1825 - 1830]
# 3 - Administration Docket [1858 - 1891]
# 4 - Civil Docket [1861 - 1887] [1878 - 1887]
Probate Execution Docket [1856 - 1868]
# 5 - Gr. Bonds and Letters [1865 - 1873]
# 6 - Assignment Records [1881 - 1928]
# 7 - Guardians Bonds [1857 - 1865]
# 8 - Executors Bonds [1858 - 1886]
# 9 - Administrator, Executor, and Guardian Accounts [1856 - 1863] [1862 - 1868]
# 10 - Administrator, Executor, and Guardian Accounts [1861 - 1869] [1869 - 1871]
# 11 - Administrator, Executor, and Guardian Accounts [1871 - 1876] [1874 - 1876]
# 12 - Administrator, Executor, and Guardian Accounts [1874 - 1877] [1878 - 1880]
# 13 - Administrator, Executor, and Guardian Accounts [1877 - 1882] [1878 - 1883]
# 14 - Administrator, Executor, and Guardian Accounts [1874 - 1877]
# 15 - Administrator, Executor, and Guardian Accounts [1852 - 1864] [1872 - 1875]
# 16 - Probate Records [1864 - 1868]
# 17 - Real Estate Records [1852 - 1864] [1872 - 1875]
#18 - Real Estate Records [1878 - 1882] [1878 - 1886]
# 19 - Inventory and Sale Bills [1856 - 1864] [1863 - 1868]
# 20 - Inventory and Sale Bills [1868 - 1874] [1873 - 1881]
# 21 - Inventory and Sale Bills [1881 - 1883] [1883 - 1888]
# 22 - Probate Journal [1852 - 1864] [1864 - 1868]
# 23 - Probate Journal [1868 - 1871] [1871 - 1875]
# 24 - Probate Journal [1875 - 1878] [1878 - 1880]
# 25 - Probate Journal [1880 - 1882] [1882 - 1885]
# 26 - Probate Journal [1885 - 1887] [1887 - 1890]
# 27 - Record of Births and Deaths [1867 - 1879] [1879 - 1891]
# 28 - Marriage Records [1852 - 1864] [1864 - 1868]
# 29 - Record of Births and Deaths [1892 - 1943] [1893 - 1941] [1893 - 1909]
# 30 - Marriage Records [1868 - 1878]
# 31 - Marriage Records [1881 - 1889] [1889 - 1895]
# 32 - Marriage Records [1895 - 1899] [1899 - 1903]
# 33 - Marriage Records [1903 - 1908 (Vol. # 9)] [1908 - 1913 (Vol. # 10)]
# 34 - Marriage Records [1913 - 1918 (Vol. # 11)]
# 35 - Will Records [1809 - 1852] [1858 - 1872]
# 36 - Will Records [1872 - 1883] [1883 - 1889]
# 37 - Will Records [1889 - 1893] [1893 - 1897]
# 38 - Will Records [1897 - 1901] [1901 - 1906]
# 39 - Will Records [1906 - 1911] [Index]

Miscellaneous Records

  • Civil and Criminal Court Cases in Williams County [Oct 1824 - 1900]
  • Defiance County Commissioner's Journal [1845 - 1867]
  • First Presbyterian Church Minutes [1872 - 1951] [1898 - 1946]
  • Pulaski Township Board of Education Records
  • Minutes 1853 - 1887
  • Minutes 1911 - 1914
  • Minutes 1923 - 1941
  • Minutes 1941 - 1954
  • School Register 1900 - 1901
  • Annual School Reports 1917 - 1919
  • Annual School Register 1919 - 1921
  • Enumeration of School Age Youth
  • Williams County Treasurer's Tax Duplicates [1827 - 1905 ]

 

 

Local History Databases & Online Resources

Obituary Index Search [12]: name search our online index created here at the Local History Center at the Williams County Public Library

Ancestry.com [13]:  find census, birth, marriage, death records, newspaper & historical stories, photos, historical maps, and other media. (IN LIBRARY USE ONLY)

HeritageQuest Online [3] (For Home Access you will need your library card number)

Ohio Death Certificate Index [5] : Database containing death certificates of persons that died in Ohio from 1913-1937.
 
Ohio History Central [14]:  An evolving, dynamic online encyclopedia from the Ohio Historical Society.

Ohio Memory [15]: Project to bring together digital versions of historical collections from more than 330 archives, historical societies, libraries, and museums.
 
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps [6]: Large scale street plans – including building outlines, property boundaries, and building use - produced by the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company from 1867 to 1970 
 
Shin Surname Index [16] provided by WCGS

Williams County Historical Society [17]

Williams County Genealogical Society [18]

Center for Archival Collections [19]:  Bowling Green Ohio's center for Northwest Ohio history.

Where to Find Williams County Records

Here are some other resources available for finding records in Williams County.

Births & Deaths  
1867 to 1908 Williams County Records Center
107 W. Butler Street
Bryan, OH 43506
1909 to present Williams County Health Department
310 Lincoln Avenue, P.O. Box 146
Montpelier, OH 43543
Williams County Cemetery Records
Township Trustees oversee cemeteries for the respective townships For names contact:
Williams County Recorders Office
1 Courthouse Square
Bryan, OH 43506
Williams County Marriage & Divorce Records
2 December 1824 to December 1903 Alphabetized abstracts of marriage records by Williams County Genealogical Society [18] are located in the Williams County Public Library.
from 1824 to 1996 Williams County Records Center
107 W. Butler Street
Bryan, OH 43506
from 1997 to present Williams County Probate Court
1 Courthouse Square
Bryan, OH 43506
Divorce Records Clerk of Common Pleas
1 Courthouse Square
Bryan, OH 43506

Source URL: http://www.mywcpl.org/local

Links:
[1] mailto:kellyja@oplin.org
[2] http://ancestrylibrary.proquest.com/
[3] http://www.oplin.org/heritagequest
[4] http://obits.mywcpl.org/
[5] http://www.ohiohistory.org/dindex/
[6] http://www.oplin.org/sanborn
[7] http://www.mywcpl.org/findingcountyrecords
[8] http://www.mywcpl.org/content/local-history-collection-information
[9] http://www.mywcpl.org/localhistonline
[10] http://www.mywcpl.org/sites/default/files/LHfamily.pdf
[11] http://www.mywcpl.org/sites/default/files/LHindividual.pdf
[12] http://obits.mywcpl.org
[13] http://www.ancestrylibrary.com/default.aspx
[14] http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/index.php
[15] http://www.ohiomemory.org/
[16] http://www.wcgs-ogs.com/shinn.html
[17] http://www.williamscountyhistory.org/
[18] http://www.wcgs-ogs.com/
[19] http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/cac/