Formed August 20, 1798 from Adams, Hamilton, and Washington counties — Ohio's first state capital, Chillicothe, sits here. Repository addresses, online record links, and a free printable record checklist below.
Short episodes that walk through Ross County's records, one record type at a time.
Formation · Settlers & Migration · Probate · Land · Tax · Churches · Newspapers · Where to Look
Watch on YouTube2 N. Paint St., Suite A, Chillicothe, OH 45601 · (740) 774-1179
Wills, estate/inventory records (some back to 1797), guardianships, adoptions, marriage licenses, and name changes.
2 North Paint Street, Suite E, Chillicothe, OH 45601 · (740) 702-3000
[email protected] · rosscountyohio.gov/recorder
Deeds, land/property records, and mortgages.
2 N. Paint Street, Suite B, Chillicothe, OH 45601 · (740) 702-3010
Divorces, civil suits (including partition suits that divide land among heirs), and Common Pleas journals. Before 1852, this court also handled wills and estates.
2 N. Paint Street, Suite G, Chillicothe, OH 45601 · (740) 702-3080
Current tax lists and property transfer records. Early tax duplicates are on FamilySearch and at the Ohio History Connection.
140 S. Paint St., 2nd floor, Chillicothe, OH 45601 · (740) 702-4145
[email protected] · crcpl.org/genealogy
Local history/genealogy collection, obituary indexes, city directories, and local newspapers on microfilm.
45 W. 5th St., Chillicothe, OH 45601 · Museum (740) 772-1936 · Library (740) 773-1896
[email protected] · rosscountyhistorical.org
17,000+ books and 11,000+ archival items — family Bibles, diaries, ledgers, military records, maps. Library open Tue–Thu 1–5pm; Fri/Sat by appointment.
303 S. Paint St. / P.O. Box 6352, Chillicothe, OH 45601 · (740) 773-2715
[email protected] · rcgsohio.org
A separate organization from the Historical Society — dedicated genealogical-research library with cemetery/tombstone transcriptions, obituaries, church and Bible records, census indexes.
150 E. Second St., Chillicothe, OH 45601 · (740) 779-9652
Online ordering: rossoh.permitium.com/rod
Certified birth/death certificates (deaths complete from roughly 1907) and burial permits, about $30/certificate.
Find A Grave — Ross County and RCGS's own cemetery records page — the most locally authoritative option.
Not sure which office has what? See Which County Office Holds What.
Many Ross County record books are filmed and free to view at FamilySearch (free account required).
In Full-Text Search, add Ross County, Ohio as the place to find names inside handwritten deeds, wills, and court books. How to use it.
Ross County was formed in 1798 from Adams and Washington Counties. For records made before then, search the parent counties:
Part of Ross County lies in the Virginia Military District, land Virginia set aside for its Revolutionary War veterans. It was surveyed in irregular metes and bounds, and the first owners' records follow a warrant, entry, survey, and patent trail.
Other parts of the county were federal Congress Lands or smaller special tracts. Where land was sold by the federal government, the first purchase appears as a federal patent.
Titles that covered Ross County, historic and current, with where to search each one. Not every historic title has been digitized — several survive only on microfilm.
| Title | Years | Where to Search |
|---|---|---|
| Scioto Gazette | 1800-1900 | Chronicling America (partial); microfilm — Chillicothe & Ross County Public Library |
| The Chillicothe Gazette (current paper) | 1900-present | Newspapers.com; NewsBank/GenealogyBank; local library digital archive |
| Chillicothe News-Advertiser | 1899-1943 | Chronicling America (LOC) |
| Chillicothe Advertiser | 1831-1869 | Chronicling America (LOC) |
| The Weekly Recorder | 1814-1821 | Chronicling America (LOC); Ohio Memory |
| The Supporter | 1808-1821 | Chronicling America (LOC) |
Fill in what you're looking for, print it, and take it with you to the courthouse or library.
Brick Walls & Buckeyes
brickwallsbuckeyes.com · Ross County, Ohio
Addresses and links last checked October 2026.
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