Find Perry County Genealogy Records

Perry County genealogy records start in 1818 when the county was created from Fairfield, Muskingum, and Washington Counties. New Lexington is the county seat. The courthouse at 105 N. Main Street holds the core records for family research in this part of southeast Ohio. Birth, death, marriage, land, and probate records are all available through the county offices. This guide gives you the details on where to look and what you can find for Perry County genealogy.

Perry County Genealogy Record Sources

The Perry County Probate Court at 105 N. Main Street in New Lexington is the primary office for genealogy records. The court keeps birth and death records from 1867 through 1908, marriage records from 1818, and probate files from the same year. Wills, estate inventories, guardianship records, and adoption files are all in the probate collection. Most records are open to the public, though some adoption files have restricted access.

Birth records before 1867 were not required by Ohio law, so you will not find them at any county office. The Clerk of Courts holds divorce records and other court files from 1818. Civil and criminal case records can provide family details that you won't find in vital records alone. Property disputes, name changes, and guardianship cases all went through the courts.

The Perry County Recorder maintains land records from 1818. Deeds, mortgages, and surveys are filed there. Land records are key for anyone tracing how families moved through Perry County over the years.

Perry County Vital Records

Birth and death registration in Perry County followed Ohio's statewide pattern. The Probate Court kept these records from 1867 until December 1908. After that, the Ohio Department of Health took over. If you need a birth record from after 1908, contact the state. Death records between 1908 and 1953 are housed at the Ohio History Connection in Columbus. Deaths after 1953 are with the state health department.

Marriage records at the Perry County Probate Court date all the way back to 1818. These early entries are some of the oldest records in the county. Under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3705, vital records must be filed and maintained according to state standards. The marriage records include names, dates, and often the officiant. Later records add details like ages, birthplaces, and parents' names that are very useful for building a family tree.

Probate records from 1818 round out the picture. Wills can name children, grandchildren, and other relatives. Estate inventories list property and possessions. These records fill in details that vital records alone can not provide.

For records before 1867, Perry County has no official birth or death registrations. That gap is common across Ohio. Church registers from local congregations, cemetery transcriptions, and family bibles are the best sources for that period. The Chronicling America newspaper archive also holds Ohio papers that may contain Perry County birth notices, obituaries, and marriage announcements from the mid-1800s. Census records from 1820 forward help place families in Perry County by decade and can confirm names, ages, and birthplaces. The 1850 census was the first to list all household members by name, which is a key turning point for genealogy research here.

Perry County Libraries and Archives

The Perry County Historical Society in New Lexington holds local history collections that complement the courthouse records. They have photographs, manuscripts, and published histories covering families and communities across Perry County. For researchers who have already checked the courthouse, the historical society is the next logical stop.

The Perry County Historical Society website shows their collections and research services available to genealogy researchers.

The Perry County District Library maintains genealogy and local history collections. Like many Ohio county libraries, they hold unique items such as old newspapers, obituary indexes, and donated family papers. A visit or a call to the library can turn up material you might not expect. Libraries in rural Ohio counties sometimes have one-of-a-kind collections from local families that have been donated over the years. These may include hand-written family records, old photographs, and personal documents that never made it into any government office.

Online, the Ohio Memory digital library lets you search for Perry County items from home. This free resource includes digitized photographs, maps, and documents from collections across the state.

Ohio Resources for Perry County

The Ohio Genealogical Society keeps indexes for all 88 Ohio counties. Their library in Bellville holds census abstracts, tax records, and vital record indexes that cover Perry County. Membership gives access to their full database. The FamilySearch wiki page for Perry County lists available records and research tips for free.

The OhioGenealogy.org website connects you to county-level resources statewide. The Ohio History Connection Vital Records Guide is useful for figuring out where a specific record type is held based on its date. If you need to order a birth certificate for a Perry County ancestor born after 1908, you can do it through the state health department. The state fee is $21.50 per search as of January 2025, per ORC 3705.24. County offices in New Lexington set their own rates for copies of marriage records and probate documents. Online orders to the state take about three weeks, while mail orders run four to six weeks.

Nearby Counties

Perry County shares borders with several other Ohio counties. Records for ancestors near the county line may have been filed in a neighboring county.