Finding aid for the Ashtabula County, Ohio, Records

History of Ashtabula County, Ohio

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.

Scope and Content

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.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

The 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.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 2065 Ashtabula County, Ohio, Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Detailed Description of The Collection