Genealogy/Local History Collection

On the first floor of the main library to the right of the elevator and through the Effinger doorway is a vast collection for you to browse and enjoy. The genealogy/local history collection at the Fairfield County District Library includes materials about Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio and beyond.

Whether you are interested in beginning or furthering genealogical and/or historical research, the collection at FCDL can be of assistance to you. Among the reference sources available are census, marriage, cemetery, immigration, military and partition records, family histories, ancestral charts, atlases, maps-and this is only the tip of the iceberg. The collection is available for browsing and research during library hours.

The library maintains a webpage with both descriptions of and links to genealogical websites.

The Ohio Web Library offers resources on Ohio Genealogy.

The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, Ohio hosts the Obituary Index, an online search engine that contains more than 800,000 names found in obituaries published in newspapers throughout the state of Ohio. These records are available for a fee.

The Fairfield County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society is located in Lancaster and has many sources available to the public for research as well as staff to provide assistance.

The Ohio Historical Society offers the Ohio Death Certificate Index, in which are indexed the death certificates of individuals who died in the state of Ohio between 1913 and 1944. Simple and advanced search options are provided.

The Roster of Ohio Soldiers of the War of 1812 can be searched electronically according to name courtesy of the Ohio Historical Society. Both officers and enlisted men are included.

The Church Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints offers copies of Ohio Death Certficates from 1908 to 1953 through the Family Search Labs Record Search.

With support from the Ohio Humanities Council, the Public Library of Mt. Vernon and Knox County, and the Knox County Historical Society and Museum, there is a new online resource that promises to become the largest, completely digitized collection of photographs, documents, and other artifacts relating to the African-American experience in rural Ohio. A program of the Rural Life Center of Kenyon College, the Archives represent a sustained partnership between the Black community of Knox County, Ohio and faculty and students of the College. You can visit it at: https://communitywithin.kenyon.edu/