Research Databases

African American Heritage is a digital resource exclusively 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 pertaining to African Americans. It provides users a dedicated, user-friendly resource that not only brings together records critical to African American family research, but also connects them to a community of research experts, whose mentoring and assistance can frequently be the difference between research success and futility.

Online access to approximately 270 U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African American experience. This unique collection, which includes papers from more than 35 states, features many rare and historically significant 19th-century titles.

You must have a Washington County Public Library card to use this resource.

Features more than 170 wide-ranging periodicals by and about African Americans. Published in 26 states, the publications include academic and political journals, commercial magazines, institutional newsletters, organizations bulletins, annual reports  and other genres. These diverse periodicals—which have shaped, and in turn been shaped by, African American culture—will enable new discoveries on lives of African Americans as individuals, as an ethnic group and as Americans.

You must have a Washington County Public Library card to use this resource.

Created from the Library Company’s acclaimed Afro-Americana Collection—an accumulation that began with Benjamin Franklin and steadily increased throughout its entire history—this unique online resource will provide researchers with more than 12,000  printed works. These essential books, pamphlets and broadsides, including many lesser-known imprints, hold an unparalleled record of African American history, literature and culture.

You must have a Washington County Public Library card to use this resource.

Easily search and browse millions of genealogies, obituaries, marriage and birth announcements and more from 1652 to the present. Includes historical newspapers, books and documents, along with modern obituaries and the Social Security Death Index.

You must have a Washington County Public Library card to use this resource.

U. S. Census records; military records; court, land and probate records; vital and church records; directories; petitions for naturalization; passenger lists and more. 

Fold3 provides convenient access to military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served.

U.S. Census from 1790-1930, Revolutionary War Pension Records & Bounty-Land Warrant Application files, Freedman's Bank Records, and U.S. Serial Set.

A genealogy database containing census, military, and immigration records as well as passenger lists. It also includes US and Nordic public records and much more.

You must have a Washington County Public Library card to use this resource.

Searchable newspaper pages, dating as far back as the 1700s, from all over the world.

Onsite library use

Remote use

You must have a Washington County Public Library card to use this resource.

Historical newspapers archive from the 1700s-2000s 3,000+ news titles from the U.S. and around the world.

You must have a Washington County Public Library card to use this resource.

Database containing death certificates of persons that died in Ohio from 1913-1937.

Ohio History Central is an evolving, dynamic online encyclopedia that includes information about Ohio's natural history, prehistory, and history. Ohio History Central is perfect for anyone wanting to learn more about Ohio! Ohio History Central was researched and written by staff at the Ohio History Connection.

Project to bring together digital versions of historical collections from more than 330 archives, historical societies, libraries, and museums. Search or browse more than 26,000 primary sources dating from prehistory to the present. Take the Ohio Memory Challenge. Read essays about Ohio topics. Create your own scrapbook.

Passenger and Immigration Lists Index (PILI), provided by Gale, covers more than 5 million names of persons who immigrated to North American between the late 1500s and mid 20th Century.

In library use only.
Political genealogies from the United States and around the world.

Find prices for antique & collectible furniture, pottery, silver, glass, clocks, lighting, paintings & prints, plus much more.

You must have a Washington County Public Library card to use this resource.

 Large scale street plans; including building outlines, property boundaries, and building use - produced by the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company from 1867 to 1970. Locate buildings and neighborhoods. See a neighborhood "as it was". Study the growth of towns and cities. Identify the impact of new developments

Database containing: Ohio Department of Health Death Certificates, 1913-1944; Ohio Department of Health Death Certificates, 1954-1963; Ohio Department of Health Stillborn Death Certificates, 1913-1935; Ohio Department of Health Stillborn Death Certificates,1942-1949; Columbus Board of Health Death Certificates, 1904-1908; Ohio Girls Industrial School, 1869-1943; Ohio Boys Industrial School, 1858-1944