| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Ashtabula County, Ohio |
| Title: | Ashtabula County, Ohio, Records |
| Dates: | 1811-1870 |
| Extent: | 2.40 linear feet (6 containers) |
| Abstract: | Ashtabula County is a northeastern Ohio county created in 1807. The collection consists of census records, election poll books, wolf-scalp payment certificates (1811-1828), subpoenas and warrants (1830s) issued by justices of the peace, marriage licenses (1832-1840), and tavern licenses (1842). |
| MS Number | MS 2065 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English |
Ashtabula County is located in the far northeastern corner of Ohio, bounded by Pennsylvania, Lake Erie, and the counties of Geauga, Lake, and Trumbull. The first white men to settle within its present-day boundaries came west with the party of surveyors led by Moses Cleaveland in 1796. Other settlers, principally from the New England area, soon followed. The first church in the area was organized in 1801 in the settlement of Austinburgh under the auspices of the Reverend Joseph Badger, and the first school was organized in 1806 in the settlement of Kingsville Run by Miss Rebecca Cowles. On January 22, 1811, the area was formally organized into Ashtabula County with the county seat located in the settlement of Jefferson.
The population of the county, primarily composed of farmers, continued to grow. The population doubled between 1820 and 1830 from 7,369 in 1820 to 14,584 ten years later. In 1831, the Grand River Institute was formally organized in Austinburgh to "educate pious young men for the gospel ministry" and is the oldest educational facility in the Western Reserve.
Even though Ashtabula had named its county seat after Thomas Jefferson, the county was generally anti-Democratic. It was strongly abolitionist in sentiment, producing two well-known congressional abolitionists, Joshua R. Giddings and Benjamin Wade. Giddings, and early settler of Wayne township who served in the House of Representatives from 1839-1869, was a member of the Republican party from its inception. Wade, a citizen of Andover township, served in the United States Senate from 1851-1869.
In 1834, with the support of these two men, the county formed its own Anti-Slavery Society which was a link in the Underground Railroad. One of the first "managers" of this society was Gaius W. St. John. St. John was also a land agent, a justice of the peace, and one of the original trustees of the Grand River Institute.
The Ashtabula County, Ohio, Records, 1811-1870, consist of census records for each of 28 townships (1843), election poll books, wolf-scalp payment certificates (1811-1828), subpoenas and warrants (1830s) issued by justices of the peace, marriage licenses (1832-1840), and tavern licenses (1842).
This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of Ashtabula County, Ohio, in the nineteenth century, particularly governmental administration, legal issues, and licensing issues there. Genealogists will find the census reports, wolf scalp lists, poll books, and marriage licenses useful. The collection includes a statement certifying the number of free white male inhabitants in Ashtabula Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio, for 1815 and 1819.
None.
Related MaterialThe researcher should also consult MS 3242 Ashtabula County, Ohio, Records, Series II; MS 2118 Ashtabula County, Ohio, Land Records; MS 3398 Ashtabula County, Ohio, Census Records; and MS 5312 Ashtabula County, Ohio, Population and Non-Population Census Schedules.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 2065 Ashtabula County, Ohio, Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Ashtabula County, Ohio, Records 1811-1870 |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Census lists with index 1811 1815 1819 1823 1827 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Census lists 1835 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3-5 | Census lists 1843 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | Poll books 1811 1816 | |||||||||
| 2 | 2 | Breakdown, certification of election vote 1844 | |||||||||
| 2 | 3 | Poll books 1858 | |||||||||
| 2 | 4-6 | Poll books 1862-1870 | |||||||||
| 2 | 7 | Marriage licenses, 42 marriage licenses (clerk's copies) signed by Sam Hendry, Clerk and several deputy clerks 1832-1840 | |||||||||
| 2 | 7 | Applications for tavern license 1842 | |||||||||
| 2 | 8 | Tax assessments 1837-1840 1842 | |||||||||
| 2 | 8 | Road tax receipts 1842 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 3 | 1-6 | Dues notes 1818-1819 1828-1842 | |||||||||
| 3 | 7-8 | Receipts 1819 1832-1849 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 4 | 1-5 | Fieri facias (writs of execution after judgments obtained in legal actions for debts or damages) 1832-1842 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 5 | 1-4 | Summons 1832-1841 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 6 | 1 | Affidavits 1833 1836-1841 | |||||||||
| 6 | 2 | Bill of particulars 1832-1833 1836-1837 1841 | |||||||||
| 6 | 2 | Capias (arrest warrents) 18345 1836-1841 | |||||||||
| 6 | 2 | Complaints 1836-1837 1840-1841 | |||||||||
| 6 | 3 | Mittimus (warrants for prison commitment) 1840-1841 | |||||||||
| 6 | 4 | Moulsen, Samuel, due notes, invoices, notes, and letters (primarily to O. H. Fitch) 1818-1853 | |||||||||
| 6 | 5 | Scire facias (judicial writs requiring defendant to appear in court to prove why and existing judgement should not be executed) 1833 1837 1839-1842 | |||||||||
| 6 | 6-7 | Subpoenas 1832-1833 1836-1841 | |||||||||
| 6 | 8 | Trial transcripts 1833 1836-1837 1839-1840 | |||||||||
| 6 | 9 | Venditioni exponas (writs of execution demanding the sale of of goods) 1834 1836-1842 | |||||||||
| 6 | 10 | Wolf scalp oaths 1811-1828 | |||||||||
| 6 | 11 | Miscellaneous documents 1826-1841 1858 | |||||||||