Since December 20, 1908, Ohio state law has required the recording of all births on standard birth certificate forms. Prior to that date Ohio counties and some cities began keeping birth records. Birth records at Hamilton County Probate Court run from 1863 to 1908. The City of Cincinnati also created birth records from 1874 to 1912. Many births were not recorded, but registration improved by the turn of the 20th century. Church baptismal records provide supplemental information, particularly for births prior to these dates and births not registered. Birth dates and parentage can sometimes be determined from Death Records, Death Notices and Obituaries, and Cemeteries.

See Guardianships and Orphanages for alternative sources of birth information, including adoption records.

19th century baptismal records

The five HCGS books, Selected Hamilton County, Ohio, Church Baptism Records – Early through 1899, contain indexes of Protestant baptisms in Hamilton County, mostly in Cincinnati. Roman Catholic baptisms are not included due to Archdiocesan policy. Each entry in the index includes a reference to the source microfilm. To obtain information from these books:

Purchase the books from the HCGS shop.
Request research from HCGS Research Services.

Search the books in a local library: several branches of the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County (PLCH) including the downtown Main Library, the Cincinnati History Library & Archives (CHLA), and the Cincinnati Family History Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (LDS).
Check WorldCat to find the books in other libraries. Click on the specific volume title, scroll down, enter your zip code and click on Find Libraries.

To obtain information from the original records:

Visit PLCH, CHLA or LDS to view and copy the original baptismal records from microfilm. The source microfilms referred to in the index for the original baptismal records are available at PLCH, CHLA, and LDS.
Obtain copies of Roman Catholic baptismal records from the Historical Archives of the Chancery of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

See Hamiton County Churches and Synagogues by Lee Ann McNabb which has information on churches indexed in the Selected Baptism Records series as well as those not indexed.

1863 - 1908 civil birth records

Images of birth record index cards for the City of Cincinnati from 1874 to 1912 are in a searchable database, Cincinnati Birth and Death Records, 1865-1912, created by the University of Cincinnati Archives & Rare Books Library.
Hamilton County Probate Court recorded births from 1863 to 1908. The best source for these records is Ohio, County Births, 1841 – 2003, a searchable FamilySearch database. Probate Court’s Birth Records (1863-1908) has a typed index rather than a search engine. Each record spans a single line across two pages, so scroll down to see the next page.
Delayed birth registrations for births as early as the 1860s are in Ohio, County Births, 1841 – 2003. Filed between 1941 and 1964, these records contain extensive details. The FamilySearch index brings up the first page of the record. Go forward one page to see the second page of the record and more information.

Post-1908 birth records

The Ohio Department of Health holds birth certificates from December 20, 1908 to the present. Vital Records has instructions and forms for ordering a birth certificate from the state office. However, if you know where the person was born within Hamilton County, such as within the cities of Cincinnati or Norwood or elsewhere in the county, you can also order the certificate from:

City of Cincinnati Health Dept.

City of Norwood Health Dept.

Hamilton County Public Health Dept.

Members of the Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS) can search an online database of 4,544,402 indexed county births from January 1, 1940 to December 31, 1998. Log into the site and go to Ohio Birth Index 1940-1988.

The FamilySearch database, Ohio, County Births, 1841 – 2003, contains searchable delayed birth registrations filed between 1941 and 1964 to prove earlier birth dates.
Images of 1941-1994 registrations are on the Hamilton County Probate Court site.

page modified: 03/15/2017

Salmon P. Chase

Salmon P. Chase moved to Cincinnati at the age of twenty two to practice law. He became known for his defense of slaves attempting escape on the Underground Railroad. In Jones v. Van Zandt Chase argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that the Fugitive Slave Act was unconstitutional. He served as governor of Ohio and U.S. Senator, and in 1864 Chase was appointed by Abraham Lincoln as the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.