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Genealogy and Local History

Photo of Pumpkins at Gypsum Canning Co.

Pumpkins at Gypsum Canning Co., Railroad St. Young lady in white apron is Margaret (Kolesar) Chimo. 1910. Photo donated by Margaret Chimo, Port Clinton, to Ottawa County Historical Society "Old Photos" Collection.

The library strives to collect and preserve materials of historical or genealogical importance to Port Clinton and Ottawa County. This collection contains city directories, historical atlases, collections of oral histories, books, and microfilm. In addition, the library makes available a number of research databases of interest to genealogists and others.

Periodicals on Microfilm

The following local newspapers are available on microfilm at the library.

Requests for copies of obituaries, microfilm look-up, and research can be made through the Ottawa County Genealogical Society

Research Databases and Resources

Ancestry.com
A genealogical research database that includes church records, passenger lists, immigration records, and more. This database is accessible only from computers in the library, and is made available to patrons through the generous support of the Friends of the Ida Rupp Public Library.

Center for Archival Collections
The Center for Archival Collections (CAC) is an archives and manuscripts repository within University Libraries at Bowling Green State University. The primary mission of the CAC is to actively acquire, preserve, and make accessible to researchers historical materials in Northwest Ohio.

FamilySearch
The International Genealogical Index database contains approximately 600 million names of deceased individuals. An addendum to the International Genealogical Index contains an additional 125 million names. These names have been patron submitted or extracted from thousands of original birth, christening, and marriage records.

HeritageQuest
Features three significant genealogy resources: the complete U.S. Census, 1790- 1930; the fully searchable Periodical Source Index (PERSI) with more than 1.6 million citations from 6,500 genealogy periodicals; and HeritageQuest’s online collection of more than 25,000 family and local history books. This database is made available to patrons through the generous support of the Friends of the Ida Rupp Public Library.

Ohio Death Certificate Index
Maintained by the Ohio Historical Society, this database indexes death certificates of persons who died in Ohio in 1913-1944. Useful for determining date of death and certificate number. Using the index information, a researcher can later obtain a copy of the certificate itself, which holds further information.

Ottawa County Genealogical Society
The Ottawa County Genealogical Society, a chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, collects and preserves historical records, and makes such records available to members and the general public. The Ottawa County Genealogical Society also offers obituary and microfilm look-up as a service.

Ottawa County Historical Society / Keeper’s House
The website for the Keeper’s House committee of the Ottawa County Historical Society, information is also available about OCHS publications. The Keeper’s House is the oldest surviving home in Ottawa County, Ohio, and was home of the first three lighthouse keepers of the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the Great Lakes.

Obituary Index
Dating from the 1830s to the present, this index contains more than 700,000 obituaries, death and marriage notices and other sources from Ohio. This database is maintained by the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
Historic fire insurance maps, including maps of Port Clinton, Lakeside, and Marblehead. Digitized maps detail the historic homes and buildings of Ottawa County.

2006 Ida Rupp Public Library | 310 Madison Street | Port Clinton, Ohio 43452 USA | 419-732-3212