History + Genealogy

African American Heritage is a digital resource devoted to African-American family history research. This collection was created in partnership with leading African-American genealogists and recognized leaders in genealogical information to develop a comprehensive mix of resources, records, and tools specifically about African-American genealogy.

Trace your genealogy using historical records. U. S. Census records; military records; court, land, and probate records; vital and church records; directories; petitions for naturalization; passenger lists and more. You must be in the library to access this database.

Biographies, obituaries, and photographs of thousands of individuals – both living and deceased. This database provides the full text of the articles, page images, and abstracts (including biographical profiles, feature articles, interviews, essays, book reviews, performance reviews, speeches, or obituaries) from today's leading magazines and journals.

Explore Clark County, Ohio history. Each collections includes a wide range of ephemera collected by the Library over the years. These resources are works-in-progress, so be sure to revisit the site periodically for new collections and entries. 

Fire Insurance Maps online (FIMo) is a research portal to find and view high-definition, color Fire Insurance Maps, Real Estate Atlases, Plat Books, and other historical maps showing building structures, building construction details, property ownership, property uses, and other useful information. The high definition, color and gray-scale images display important historical details not visible on black and white map scans. Only Ohio maps are available.

Fold3 Library Edition is the premier collection of historical military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served from the Revolutionary War through recent conflicts. It contains millions of records from world-class archives, many of which are exclusively available on Fold3 Library Edition.

Explore your family history with the premier collection of U.S. obituaries and death notices for in-depth genealogical research from 1704 – today. HeritageHub helps you easily identify relatives, uncover new information and potentially unknown family members. Includes deep coverage from all 50 states, hard-to-find content from the mid 1900’s, and original obituary images. Access is available 24/7.

HeritageQuest® Online is a comprehensive treasury of American genealogical sources—rich in unique primary sources, local and family histories, and finding aids.

An index to over 3,500,000 obituaries, death & marriage notices & other sources from Ohio from the 1810s to the present day. Actual obits may be ordered from over 60 partner libraries; only Hayes Library has online ordering.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps provides access to over 40,000 large-scale maps for towns and cities in Ohio drawn between 1882-1962, which can be used to estimate potential risk to urban structures. These maps are also a source of historical and genealogical information.