Vital Records Archives:

• Butler County Record Center and Archives
  123 North Third St.
  Hamilton OH 45011-2759
  Phone: (513) 887-3437
  The Records Center is the main repository for county records from such departments as Probate Court, County Recorder, Clerk of Courts, and County Commissioners. (* Footnote)
  

  • Birth Records 1856-1857, 1867-1908
  • Death Records 1849-1850, 1856-1857, 1867-1908
  • Testamentary Records 1803-1961
  • Will Records 1803-1963
  • Estate Packets 1803-1923+
  • Marriage Records 1803 - 1923+
  • Estate Inventory Records 1803-1923+
  • Supreme Court Records 1803-1842
  • District Court Records 1852-1858
  • Common Pleas Records 1822-1932
  • Tax Duplicates 1820-1923+
  • Code Records 1853-1905
  • Grand Lists 1848-1919
  • County Infirmary Records 1840-1920
  • Tax Assessors' Reports 1826-1855
  • Naturalization Records 1804-1900s
  • Commissioners Minutes 1803-1990
  • Book of Estrays (Strays) 1803-1815
  • Chancery Records 1815-1863
  • Plat Maps 1836-1895
  • Will Records 1803 - 1923
  
  

• Butler County Health Department
  301 South Third Street
  (corner of Third and Ludlow)
  Phone: (513) 863-1770
  
  Birth and death records for Butler County townships can be found at this office. Their records start in 1909.
  
  
• City of Hamilton Health Department
  1 Renaissance Center
  345 High Street - Third Floor
  Phone: (513) 785-7080
  
  This office has birth and death records from 1913 to the present for events occuring within the Hamilton City limits.
  
  
• City of Middletown Health Department
  One Donham Plaza
  Middletown, OH 45042
  Phone: (513) 425-7851
  
  This office has death records for events occuring within the City of Middletown.
  
  
• USGenWeb Archives & Census

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Courthouse

• Butler County Clerk of Courts
  315 High St., 5th Floor 
  Hamilton, OH 45011 
  Mon-Fri 8:30am - 12:00pm
  1:00pm - 4:30pm 
  Email

• Butler County Recorder
  Administration Building
  130 High Street 2nd Floor
  Hamilton, OH 45011
  Phone: 513-887-3192
  
  The Butler County Recorder has the following books and much more, they have been back scanned and are available online by entering the book and page reference.
  

  Deed Books 1026-1810
  Mortgage Books 1060-1399, 1815-2622
  Lease Books 43-79
  Lien Books 23-78
  Power of Attorney Books 10-39
  Release Books 36-78, 111-321
  Misc. Books 51-147
  Partnership Books 1-21
  

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Libraries

The Lane Libraries

Refer to the web page: https://www.lanepl.org/local-history-genealogy

• Hamilton Branch
  300 North Third Street
  Hamilton, Ohio 45011
  (513) 894-7156
  The George Cummins Local History Room houses many items of interest to researchers. All available Butler County census microfilms and printed indexes can be found there. The library also has the most extensive collection of Hamilton, Ohio newspapers including:

  Butler County Democrat, weekly, 1870-1891, 1893-1909
  Hamilton Daily Republican, 1892-1895
  Daily Republican News, 1898-1919
  Hamilton Daily Democrat, 1886-1897
  Hamilton Evening Democrat, 1897-1903
  Hamilton Evening Journal, 1908-1937
  Hamilton Daily News-Journal, Journal-News, 1938-present
  Hamilton (Evening) Sun, 1902-1906
  Hamilton Intelligencer, 1821-1825, 1828-1840, other years available
  Hamilton Telegraph, weekly, 1848-1862, 1867-1917
  Hamilton True Telegraph, 1868-1869
  
  Also available are many Hamilton City Directories, city, county, church, and business histories. The library is considered the foremost repository for historical and genealogical printed material related to Hamilton. (* Footnote)
  

• Smith Library of Regional History:
  A Department of the Oxford Lane Public Library
  441 S. Locust St.
  Oxford, OH 45056
  Phone: (513) 523-3035
  Smith Library of Regional History opened in 1981 and was named for William and Ophia Smith. Their published works and personal papers formed the nucleus of the collection. Financial gifts from the Smith family helped build this addition to the Oxford Lane Public Library. The Smith Library has materials on the history of the City of Oxford and surrounding townships, all of Butler County, Southwestern Ohio, and for some topics the entire State of Ohio. General historical studies on the Old Northwest Territory and the Ohio River Valley are also included. Emphasis is placed on the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The collection is non-circulating. The collection includes but is not limited to the following (* Footnote):

  • County histories for nearly all Ohio counties and a few from other states
  • Census indexes for Ohio and select other states
  • Biographies of prominent men and women from the area
  • Travel journals and narratives describing the region in the early days
  • Theses and dissertations on wide variety of subjects ranging from Ohio's underground railroad to Miami Valley paper manufacturing.
  • Teachers' guides for instruction in local and regional history
  • Yearbooks from local public schools, private schools, colleges, and Miami University
  • Books on regional architecture, the Civil War, church histories, family histories, and related subjects.
  • 50+ periodical subscriptions including: Ohio History, Traces of Indiana and Midwest History, Queen City Heritage, Hoosier Genealogist, Old Northwest
  • Maps: fire insurance, topographic, county atlases
  • Photographs: individuals, families, residences, businesses from Oxford area
  • Oxford Village Records
  • Oxford Township Records
  • Oxford Business Records
  • Church Records
  • Cemetery Records
  • Records of Oxford Clubs and Organizations
  • Oxford Telephone Directories
  • Manuscripts: diaries, letters, scrapbooks, postcards, notes, typescripts
  • Newspapers: Oxford, Hamilton, and Cincinnati
  • Census microfilms for local Ohio counties and a few Indiana counties
  • City Directories for Hamilton and Cincinnati (1860-)
  • microfilmed Butler County birth, marriage, death, will, and deed records
  
  

  MidPointe Library System

  Refer to the web page: https://www.midpointelibrary.org/
• Middletown Branch
  125 South Broad Street
  Middletown, Ohio 45044
  Phone: 513-424-1251
  

  In the past the Middletown Branch Library housed the Genealogy and Ohio History Room. Emphasis has been changed to East Butler County.
  Resources included (* Footnote) :

  • Histories for Middletown, Butler County, and Ohio, in Ohio Room.
  • MidPointe Historic Book Collection is now available online.
    
  • Family Histories, The library has a small collection of family histories which have been donated.
  • Butler County Atlases are now available online.
    
  • Middletown City Directories: 1891 through 2000 are now available online.
    
  • Middletown Newspapers and some pre-1900 Butler County newspapers on microfilm
    
  • Early Marriage Records of Butler County 1803-1847, Ohio. 3 volumes., in Ohio Room.
    
  • Middletown Journal Obituary index: 1981-1991, in Ohio Room.
    
  • Middletown Journal Obituary index: 1992-1994 are now available online.
    
  • Cemetery Records: earliest times to 1960 by Hazel Stroup, are now available online.
    
  • Middletown Pioneer Cemetery 1827-1987. 1 volume. in Ohio Room
  • Church Records by Hazel Stroup, are now available online.
    
  • Birth Records : 1856-1908 - by Helen F. Moore, Births Recorded in Butler County, Ohio. 7 volumes are now available online.
    
  • There is much more to explore in the Midpoint Digital Archives Online, Yearbooks, Family Histories, Photographs, Oral Histories & More, Search your surnames.
    

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Historical Societies

• Butler County Historical Society
  327 N. Second Street
  Hamilton OH 45011
  Phone: 513-896-9930
  Email: info@bchistoricalsociety.com
  
  

  Butler County Historical Society is home to many materials and collections available to the public at the Benninghofen House. The research library contains the following materials of interest to genealogists (* Footnote) :
   

  • Surname Index of over 5,000 local persons
  • Butler County Marriage Records 1803-1847 and 1853-1858
  • Butler County Birth Records March 1856 to March 1857 and 1867-1872
  • Butler County, Ohio Cemetery Records, Volumes 1-12 (this series covers most graveyards in the county)
  • Hamilton, Ohio City Directories 1858, 1861-62, 1875, 1876, 1884, 1893, 1899, 1900- 1976
  • Middletown, Ohio City Directories 1891, 1917 to 1966, 1988
  • Butler County, Ohio Directories 1873, 1883, 1920, 1955
  • Obituaries 1908-1930 (in binders)
  • Marriages, Deaths and Divorces copied from old newspapers (in binders)
  • Personal Tax Books 1847-1900's
  • Plat Maps 1836, 1875, 1895, 1910, 1914, 1930
  • John Woods Court Papers (containing references to early Hamiltonians, 1799-1854)
  • Hamilton High School Annuals 1898-1951
  • Account Books and Ledgers from businesses including those operated by Traber, Finley, Owens, and Deuscher
  • Butler County Census 1860, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920
  • Old newspapers on microfilm: Venice Graphics, 1887-1910; Butler County Press, 1900-1946; Deutsche-Amerikaner, all available issues; Hamilton True Telegraph, 1861-1870; Hamilton Herald, 1885-1887; Hamilton Daily Democrat, 1887-1888; Western Telegraph, 1841-1843
  • Civil Docket Books 1922, 1925, 1927
  • D.A.R. Patriot Index
  • Official Roster of Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in Ohio
  • Roster of Ohio Soldiers, 1861-1866, War of the Rebellion
  • Official Roster of Ohio Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, World War I, 1917-1918
  • Books on Butler County and its early pioneers
  • Files on early businesses, churches, institutions, etc.
  • Photographs of people, places and businesses

• Middletown Historical Society
  120 N Verity Pkwy
  Middletown, Ohio 45042
  Phone: 513-424-5539
  
  
• Madison Township Historical Society
  Pleasant Ridge U.M.C.,
  1052 Middletown-Eaton Rd.,
  Middletown, Ohio
  
  
• Morgan Township Historical Society
  6464 Okeana Drewersburg Rd.
  Okeana, OH 45053
  Phone: 513-738-0845
  PO Box 20
  Shandon, OH 45063
  
  
• West Chester ~ Union Township Historical Society
  Meetings: MidPointe Library West Chester
  9363 Centre Pointe Drive
  Email: westchesterhistory@gmail.com
  Phone: (513) 874-4373
  
  
• Liberty Township Historical Society
  Phone: (513) 678-8346
  Email: ltfd81@aol.com
  The Hughes Schoolhouse
  6040 Princeton Road
  Hamilton, Ohio 45011
  
  
• Trenton Historical Society Museum
  17 E. State St.
  Trenton OH 45067
  Phone: (513) 907-8814
  Email: trentonhistoricalmuseum@gmail.com
  
  
• Monroe Historical Society
  12 Elm Street
  Monroe, Ohio 45050
  Phone: 513-539-2270
  Email: Info@MonroeOhHistoricalSociety.org
  P.O. Box 82
  Monroe, OH 45050
  
  
• Ross Township Historical Society
  4243 Hamilton Cleves Road
  Fairfield, Ohio 45014
  Phone: (513) 738-1414
  
  
• Reily Township Historical Society
  Meetings: 6061 Reily Millville Road
  Oxford, Ohio 45056
  Phone: (513) 593-9212
  Email: reilyhistoricalsociety@gmail.com
  
  

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(* Footnote) Much of the holdings information on this page was compiled in 2004 by David J. Endres of the now disbanded Southwest Butler County Genealogical Society. Please let us know if there have been changes since 2004.