Genealogy
WPPL's Genealogy Databases
Are you interested in genealogy? Are you a veteran researcher or are you just getting started? This page includes a list of special resources that the library subscribes to for any user. Below are some guides not only for beginners, but that also include local sources of records that will be critical for your research.
Now Collecting Memories and Stories for the Veterans History Project
WPPL is joining the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project and will begin collecting oral histories from veterans living in the area. The mission of the Veterans History Project is to collect, preserve and make accessible the personal accounts of American wartime veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans in their own words and better understand the realities of war.
Best Practices and Sources of Records
How to Begin
WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU KNOW
Fill in a family chart— you, your parents, grandparents…
Add birth, marriage, and death dates and places. Estimate dates, or years if you are unsure.
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Cuyahoga County online research
Ancestry
Marriage Records 1810 - 1973
Death Index Ohio 1908-1932, 1938-1944, 1958-2007
Birth & Christening Index Ohio 1800-1962
Naturalizations - Petition Index U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio 1855-1967
How to access
Ancestry Library Edition is available for free at the library or for a fee you can subscribe to access at home
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*Note Some of these records are also online
Cuyahoga County Archives
Atlases: Cuyahoga County, 1852, 1874, 1892, and 1903
Atlases: City of Cleveland, 1881 and 1898
Birth records, 1849-1908
Cleveland City Directories, 1837-1939 (not inclusive)
Death records, 1840-1908
Divorce case files, 1876-1882, Court of Common Pleas
Ohio Supreme Court records, 1811-1858
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