Welcome to the Ohio History Connection Archives & Library Beginning Genealogy Research Guide. This guide serves as a starting point in finding print and online resources useful to the study of family history and genealogy.
If you are just starting your genealogy research, you may want to begin with yourself and work backward down your family tree. You should talk to as many immediate family members as you can and collect names, dates and places that relate to your family. Dates and places are valuable to help you find published information and locations where records may have been created. Valuable materials to begin with maybe U.S. Census Records, family bibles, vital records (ex. birth, marriage, divorce, and death) and notices in newspapers (ex. birth announcements and obituaries).
Check out our list of Research Guides to learn more about researching topics from birth and death records to newspapers and more. We'll break it down step by step to assist you in finding what you need.