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While library staff do not conduct genealogical research for individuals, the Middletown Public Library does collect materials that help the customer conduct his or her own genealogical research.
The library has an extensive collection of historical and genealogical materials on the city of Middletown and on Butler County generally, and some others for Hamilton, Montgomery, Warren and other nearby counties.
This material is primarily in book form, but there is some on microfilm. There are also some useful databases available through the Internet.
Along with beginning genealogy books for helping the new researcher, the library has a number of sources to answer specific questions.
LIBRARY RECORDS
Birth, Death and
Marriage Records
The library doesn't carry birth,
death or marriage records for Butler County. We
do have indexes to some of this information. The records themselves are kept at the Butler County Records Center & Archives in Hamilton, unless otherwise noted.
Birth Records
: 1856-1908
Moore, Helen F. Births Recorded in Butler
County, Ohio. 6 volumes.Names are alphabetical within
each year. An index of mother's maiden name is included.
Marriage
Records: 1803-1847
Early Marriage Records of Butler
County, Ohio. 3 volumes.Names are alphabetical within
each volume. The index includes the names of both
the bride and the groom.
Cemetery Records: earliest
times to 1960.
Stroup, Hazel. Butler County, Ohio,
Cemetery Records. 12 volumes plus index.Names are
alphabetical within each cemetery. The index lists
family names only, giving the volume and page number
for each family plot. The books were published around
1964, and cover up to about 1960. They are as complete
as one person could make them.
Middletown Pioneer
Cemetery 1827-1987. 1 volume.
This is a single volume
on the cemetery called either "The Middletown Cemetery"
or "Pioneer Cemetery." It was published in 1987,
and is slightly more complete than Hazel Stroup's
Volume X, which covers the same cemetery.
Middletown
Journal Obituary index: 1980-1993.
Middletown Journal.
Obituary notices for Butler County, Ohio : extracted
from the Middletown Journal 1981 through 1991. 3
volumes.
Names are listed in straight alphabetical
order. Includes obituary date for everyone who died
in Butler County and was listed in the obituaries
(including some longtime residents who died elsewhere.)
Morrison, Debbie, compiler. Obituary Index : extracted
from the Middletown Journal. 1992 and 1993.
Updates
the Obituary Index.
The cemetery records and obituary
indexes can lead you to a death date. The records
themselves are kept at the Middletown Health Department
(for deaths in Middletown) or the Butler County
Courthouse (for deaths outside Middletown.)
Census
Records
The Middletown Library keeps microfilm of
the Butler County Census records from 1820 to the
most current (except the 1890 census, which was
destroyed in a fire.) The microfilm themselves have
no index. We have indexes to the Ohio and Butler
County census through 1880.
For reasons of confidentiality,
the full census records are not available for seventy
years, so 1930 is the latest year for which census
microfilm is available. General summary information
(number of families, etc.) is available in the Reference
section.
City Directories
The library keeps city directories
for the city of Middletown from 1891 through the
present. The directories from 1891 through 1929
are on microfilm; the others are in paper form.
City directories list families who live in the city
limits. Usually they list the names of the head
of the household and the spouse, if any. Sometimes
women have their own listing, but not always. They
usually list where the person works as well. Children
are not listed. The library also keeps city directories
from Hamilton from 1968 through the present.
Family
Histories
The library has a small collection of family
histories, which have been donated to the library
by either the author or the family.
County Histories
The
library has county history books for most counties
in Ohio, plus a few from other states. Many of these
were written in the late 1800s and were "subscription"
books; families had to pay to be listed in them.
As a result, not all families who lived in the area
are listed.
Local History
There are a number of books
written about Middletown history or the history
of various churches, schools, businesses, etc. in
Middletown. We also have histories for nearby towns
and cities, and for some big cities in neighboring
states.
Newspapers
The library keeps all the old Middletown
newspapers and some pre-1900 Butler County newspapers
on microfilm. Very few newspapers prior to 1890
were preserved. The specific newspapers we have
and the dates are listed in the back of the Magazine
and Newspaper Listing brochure. There is no index
to the newspapers.
Vertical File
The Vertical File,
sometimes called the clippings file, consists of
the filing cabinets on the far left side of the
Ohio Room. It is an alphabetical listing of clippings,
pamphlets, research papers, photographs, etc., which
are useful for family research or local planning
but are too small, delicate, etc. to be cataloged.
ONLINE SOURCES
Library Lens
This is a digitized photo collection of historical images donated by the former local educator and historian, George Crout.
For over 70 years, Mr. Crout collected historical documents, photographs, books and audiovisual materials while generating volumes of his own articles and books, all of which he donated to the Library in 2000.
The Library has worked to preserve and protect his gift, and has made a preview available to all through the Library Lens.
Social
Security Death Index online
This is a national database that lists
the names of everyone who received Social Security
and has died. This usually lists the death date
and the last known address.
Genealogy Research Form
Non-Butler
County residents can receive limited research by
e-mail from the Reference Department of the Middletown
Public Library. Butler County residents are asked
to come into the library for assistance with their
research. |
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