Why look outside Ohio?
Most early Ohio settlers were born somewhere else. Their parents' wills, their baptisms, their first land deeds, and their fathers' tax lists stayed behind in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, and the other states that border Ohio. Families also moved back and forth across these lines for generations, so one family's records can be split across two states.
Each state in this series gets its own set of episodes: how the border was formed, the Ohio counties it shaped, and where to find that state's records for your Ohio family.
Choose a State
Pennsylvania to Ohio
The Border That Built a State. The Pennsylvania line, the Point of Beginning, and the border counties of Columbiana, Jefferson, Belmont, and Harrison.
View Episodes →Free cheat sheet (PDF):
Episode 1: Pennsylvania Before Ohio
Kentucky to Ohio
Across the River. Families who crossed the Ohio River north from Kentucky into southern Ohio, and the Kentucky records that followed them, starting with Kentucky statehood.
Watch the Playlist →Free cheat sheet (PDF):
Episode 1: Kentucky Before Statehood
Virginia & West Virginia to Ohio
The River That Built a State. Virginia's claim to the land, river-crossing settlement, Limestone Landing, researching Virginia records, and the 1863 split that created West Virginia, then county by county along the Ohio side of the river.
Watch the Playlist →Free cheat sheet (PDF):
Virginia & West Virginia: One State Becomes Two
Indiana to Ohio
The Line on the Map. Ohio's western border, the Gore, and the 1803 line, and the families who lived on both sides of it, starting with Indiana statehood.
Watch the Playlist →Free cheat sheet (PDF):
Episode 1: Indiana Before Statehood
Michigan to Ohio
The Strip and the Strait. The northern border, the Toledo Strip, and Detroit, where early records for northwest Ohio families may sit on the Michigan side, starting with Michigan statehood.
Watch the Playlist →Free cheat sheet (PDF):
Episode 1: Michigan Before Statehood