Columbiana Co., OH- Birth Records

Birth records are valuable document in our family searches. The primary location to locate these records is at the county courthouse in Lisbon. It did not become the responsibility of the county to start recording birth records until 1867. Prior to this time they are non existent unless found in other sources.

Birth records start in 1867 and run until present. Be sure to have at least a decade narrowed down when you begin your search. Birth records tend to be indexed so you will be able to not only get the name of the person you are looking for, but also people with the same last name. This is helpful is rural counties where the population was not so high. Sure there are exceptions to this search, but they are few. Common surnames in a particular area translate into common relationships.

Be patient with the courthouse folks and realize they get many requests for searches. If you plan to go in person it is always a good idea to call ahead and make sure that they will be open when you wish to go.

Tomorrow I will talk about marriages. Have a great day.

Columbiana County Ohio- History

The county of Columbiana in Ohio was formed on March 25, 1803 out of the counties of Jefferson and Washington. The land during this period of time was still inhabited by the tribes of Wyandots, Mingoes and Delawares. The county was names after the discover Christopher Columbus. The county seat is Lisbon.

A wide variety of nationalities migrated to this area including Quakers, Germans, Scotch Irish and English. We cover some of these groups in this area due to their importance to the county.

We start off with some more information on migration patterns in this area. Have a great day.

Great Lakes Sailors

The occupation of serving on a ship was a important one in the early days of Northeast Ohio. As the area developed it became much more common in cities like Ashtabula, Conneaut, Geneva and Cleveland. Inter lake trade and transportation began as early as the 1800's, but really increased once the canal system was established.

Ships in those days would start from Buffalo at the eastern end of Lake Erie. This was the western edge of the Erie canal. A common cargo at this time was moving settlers from the east to points along the northern edge of Ohio and points beyond. Eastern supplies from industrial companies were also a common cargo. They would then transport on a very regular basis to the growing areas in Ohio.

Once they arrived in Northeast Ohio they then would transport about anything that could fit in a barrel back in East. Transport of food, raw materials like wood and stone were common. The trade would help the area become more prosperous and would work as a draw for people to the area.

Life as a sailor on a ship was a difficult one during this period of time. Ships were powered by the wind and later steam. Many people from the New England area had participated in these occupations prior to moving so it was often a life style they new very well.

The National Archives has records for people that were sailors on the Great Lakes. They are much later in time, but may shed light on your ancestors. The file is RG 85 which includes 91 rolls of microfilm.

Railroad Workers- NE Ohio

Did you have a Grandpa that worked on the railroad? From about 1850 to the 1950's this was a very popular occupation for people living in Northeast Ohio. The service records and location of the railroad routes can be valuable resources when researching your ancestors. This resource is not one that is commonly consulted when looking for information on your ancestors.

When looking through a ancestors obituary or stories you may learn that one of your relatives had worked for the railroad. This information can be used to gather additional information on your ancestors work career. The following resources are excellent for completing your search.

1. Jackson, Elisabeth and Carolyn Curtis. Guide to the Burlington Archives in the Burlington Archives in the Newberry Library 1851-1901. Chicago: Newberry Library, 1940.
This book includes land office records and payroll records.

2. Kanely, Edna. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Employees, 1982.

3. National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collection, Washington DC. Library of Congress 1962-1994.
This is a excellent record of where the records are stored at almost 1400+ repositories
nationwide.

4. Taber, Thomas T. Guide to Railroad Historical Resources. United States and Canada. 4 vols. Muncy, PA: TT Taber, 1993.
Another guide for location of historical materials. Lists addresses and all is listed by state.

The largest resource for locating your railroad workers is the United States Railroad Retirement Board which was established in the 1930's and house records up to pre 1937. You need to have the ancestors Social Security Number to complete the search. You will also need persons full name, railroad they worked for, time period of employment, birth date and death date. They can be contacted at www.rrb.gov/mep/genealogy.asp

Some other sources for online research are as follows-

1. www.cyndislist.com- Extensive resource for railroad links.

2. www.cprr.org/museum/links.html.com- Site for the Central Pacific Railroad

3. www.historical.com- Extensive railroad links

In the future I will be talking about other occupations and the genealogical records they may have.

Snowy Sunday

Had some more snow over night. Going all be gone by Tuesday with a warm up. Have a great Sunday.

Recent Brickwall

Recently I received a brick wall on a family from the Cleveland area. Here is the information as I got it and some of the suggestions I gave for further research.

For over 5 years, I have been searching for the birth place of my husband's grandfather, Leopold Lucht.

Leopold was born somewhere in Prussia on 7 Jan 1859. He emigrated to the US, arriving at the port of New York on 21 Mar 1881. He settled in Cleveland, Ohio and married Emilie Potratz there on 1 October 1882. Leopold and Emilie had 13 children, 10 of whom lived to adulthood (all are now deceased).

He was an early settler of the Brooklyn area and a pioneer teamster who helped develop much of that section of the county. He was in the excavation, grading and hauling business in his early years, and with his team of horses, he did much of the grading of Brookside Park. His community was known as Brighton when he first moved there, 60 years before his death in 1952. He eventually joined the old Cleveland Railway Company and worked for 25 years as a mechanic. He was one of the founders of St. Mark's Lutheran Church, and the first services were held at his home on Roanoke. Later, he became a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church. Leopold passed away on 25 Sep 1952, at the age of 93.

Leopold supposedly told a few family members that he was from "Sitno, near Danzig", but no one is sure of the spelling or the exact location of this Sitno. Leopold's naturalization papers say "Sitnau" or "Sitnar" (not sure of the writing)

I have done everything I can think of to find his place of birth, as my goal is to continue research in Europe. Besides his naturalization papers, I've reviewed Lutheran church records and civil records for his marriage, and that of his brother Henry and sister Otillie, both of whom also immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio. I have also reviewed Baptism records for most of his children (Immanuel and St. Mark's), his ship passenger list, 1907 Voter Registration, death, cemetery, funeral home records, his death notice and obituary, and census entries for 1900 – 1930. The naturalization papers give the only written clue to his birth village or town. All of the other records simply state "Prussia" or "Germany".

There are many places in today's Poland that are named or sound like "Sitno". Recently I paid for professional research in LDS microfilm for two villages that I considered to be good possibilities. The first one was closest to Danzig/Gdansk (between Kartuzy and Zukowo) but no Lucht surnames were found there at all. My researcher then went on to check the Sitno near Vandsburg (Flatow/Zlotow) and found Lucht, Gutknecht and Potratz surnames – all of which tie into this family, but he did not find Leopold’s family. I felt strongly about that area because, even though Leopold married in Cleveland, his wife's family was from Vandsburg and his sister married a "Tesmer" from Vandsburg. I was told that his sister, Otillie, was engaged in Prussia, so I figured that if her future spouse was from that area, she couldn't have lived very far away from it. But since no records were found for this particular Lucht family, I guess I was wrong.

2. The first thing to do when doing a check for those folks that come from the same place of origin. (Germany, Prussia, Poland) Next would be using the first item and then age group. Try to follow people that seem to be in the same age group as your relative. Check a couple successive decades to determine patterns of living next to each other in the Census. Finally locate death certificates, naturalization records and obits for those individuals to determine if they give better information of where they came from.

5. All the readers of the German newspapers tended to be immigrants. As a result the news covered in the papers appealed to this group. You will find much information of daily lives and information about the areas that they came from in Europe. It would be well worth your time to check this out. I am sure the event of the church opening was covered and may offer clues. Obits tended to be better than the local English paper.

Concerning the hiring of a professional genealogist you get a much better bang for your buck if you have narrowed down to a small area where they can from. Just to let you know the $400 dollar charge is fair for the amount of the preliminary work that the professional has to do with the search.

Hopefully this gives some ideas on your own research. Please let me know if you have any further questions or ideas. Have a great Saturday.

Sandusky Public Library- Upcoming Program

I wanted to let you know about a Library Program Room on Saturday, February 2, at 2:00 p.m. as author James E. Duffey discusses his recently published book Victim of Honor: The Story of John Y. Beall and the Northwestern Conspiracy. The book is a historical novel based on the plot engineered by Confederate officer John Yates Beall to free prisoners from the Johnson's Island Civil War Prison Camp. This all happens at the Sandusky Library in Sandusky, OH.

Update on the brick walls they are starting to come in now and I should be able to profile some of these in the upcoming weeks. Thank you for your support.