Archives & Library
Ohio History Connection
800 East 17th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43211
Phone: 614.297.2510
FAX: 614.297.2546
Email: reference@ohiohistory.org
Have you found a collection that we haven't labeled as LGBTQ+ in our catalog, but maybe we should have? Please let us know! You can contact us at gohi@ohiohistory.org.
Rainbow Banners at the Ohio Statehouse, 1995. Stonewall Union Records, MSS 1150 AV
Many of the historical LGBTQ+ collections at the Ohio History Connection are part of the Gay Ohio History Initiative (GOHI). GOHI is a special initiative of the Ohio History Connection that collects, preserves, and shares the history of LGBTQ+ Ohioans. The GOHI collections include organizational records, photographs, personal papers, publications, museum objects and oral history recordings that tell the stories of individuals and the broader LGBTQ+ community in their own words. For more information, visit the GOHI website.
Researchers are encouraged to search the Archives and Printed Materials catalogs and Ohio Memory for more materials related to the LGBTQ+ community in Ohio.
Identity is a tricky and personal thing. It is always best to define a person in the way that they define themselves, past or present. But LGBTQ+ history can present some problems. Many historical figures have had their identities left out of the historic record. LGBTQ+ ancestors did not conceptualize of gender and sexuality in the same way as we do, or with the same words -- but we have to use words we understand to write about them.
If we let these problems stop us, a large number of LGBTQ+ folks will be missing from our research. When you are ready to write about what you have found, here are a few ideas on how to make inferences in a respectful and informed way.
See also: Interpreting LGBT History at Museums and Historic Sites by Susan Ferentinos and "Queer Possibility" by Margaret Middleton
Know of a resource we should include here? Email us at gohi@ohiohistory.org!