Genealogy Services and Resources
Tracing your ancestral roots is an exciting detective saga, rebuilding the past from stories, written records, and family treasures. Did you know the Library has trained genealogy staff, access to databases, court records, the federal census, and other resources to find clues—for FREE?
Our genealogy experts are always available to assist you! Our local genealogy sources include various Stark County Courthouse records, local histories, newspapers, census, the Mormon Church (LDS), and much more. We also collect on the entire state of Ohio, as well as selected records for the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Due to COVID restrictions, our onsite services are available by appointment only. Appointments are 90 minutes and we would prefer that you make an appointment in advance. However, if you visit Main Library and there are no scheduled appointments at that time, you may be able drop in for an appointment.
Using the form to make appointments helps us to understand what you'll need when you arrive and to properly prepare for your visit to make it as successful as possible.
Rest assured that the genealogy staff and collection are still available for your research needs, and remote research are available, when possible, by phone or our online request form.
Thank you for your understanding as we offer services to accommodate our "now normal." We want to continue to be able to provide services, and mask wearing, social distancing and keeping our spaces and materials safe will help enable us to do so.
Remember, you can always call for information or use our online request form.
Genealogy Resources
- Genealogy Appointments (Masks and gloves will be required)
- Contact our genealogy experts at 330.458.2765
- Request Assistance with your tough research questions
- Historical Indexes: Every-name indexes to several major Stark County sources
- Court Offices: Stark County offices with online indexes
- Subscription Databases: Ancestry Library Edition, Heritage Quest, African American Heritage, and many more!
- Newspaper ARCHIVE (Ohio Collection) is a resource for historical and genealogical information. Their unique archive spans more than 400 years of family history, small-town events, world news and more.