Licking County Records & Archives Blog

A new display, “Transportation in Licking County: A Brief History”, is in the lobby of the county administration building.  Intern Kady Wolfe and Records Manager Sophia McGuire created the display.  Kady assisted our department with various projects, while earning her Master of Library and Information Science degree. Part of Thomas Hutchins' map, published in 1778, which showed the Ohio Country, including some Indian trails Licking County has a rich transportation history, with Indian trails, pioneer roads, river and canal traffic, the National Road, railroads, interurbans, automobiles and airports.  One of the biggest events in early county history was the opening of the Ohio Canal at “Licking Summit,” located in what is now Heath, in 1825.  The man who dug the first shovel-full of earth for this canal was New York Governor DeWitt Clinton, who earlier ensured the construction of the Erie Canal. Governor DeWitt Clinton of New York, who participated ...

On September 10, four interesting old buildings in downtown Newark will be open for free public tours:  the County Courthouse, former Pennsylvania Railroad Station, Fifth Street Gymnasium and Historic Jail.  Take advantage of this special opportunity to see these buildings, which are not normally so accessible.  Details about the tours are below, following the descriptions of each building. Construction of the County Courthouse was completed in 1878.  Trials of many infamous criminals have occurred there, and the west courtroom contains beautiful, impressive works of art.  The Courthouse is still the scene of Common Pleas trials and Juvenile/Probate hearings.  It is located on the Newark city square. Andrew Jackson and other decorative work in the West Courtroom of the Licking County Courthouse An office in the County Courthouse, ca. 1925 The building which was formerly the Pennsylvania Railroad Station is now ...

An immigrant becomes a citizen by successfully completing the process called naturalization.  Naturalization records can show not only when an alien person acquired legal citizenship, but sometimes other interesting information as well, such as the birthplace and occupation.  The names of the documents and the amount of information vary from time to time and among different counties.  During much of American history, naturalization records were filed at many different kinds of courts, including federal, common pleas and probate.  A researcher therefore might need to search multiple archives for the records of one person. Final naturalization record of Solomon Tyhurst from England, 1821, in the Common Pleas Journal Typically, the initial step in the naturalization process was when an alien filed a declaration of intention.  This legally indicated that he or she intended to go through the process of becoming a citizen.  Later, after the alien had succ...

In 2015, the Department was especially productive in scanning, records disposal, cataloging, and preparing for our eventual move to 675 West Church Street.  With very generous help from Licking County Clerk of Courts Gary Walters and his staff, we have been going full steam ahead towards that future move.  Renovations will begin this year at the Church Street building.  After that project is complete, the building will enable us to consolidate several more county government collections at one location. 675 W. Church Street, where our department will eventually move all of our operations. Records & Archives Manager Sophia McGuire has also been working regularly with other county departments to determine future records storage needs, and assist with current records management issues.  She has presided at Record-Keeper Roundtable meetings, and she has been meeting individually with county records clerks throughout this year and last. Imaging Techn...

A marriage return is a document that officially records a wedding. It is completed by the person, such as a pastor, who solemnized the marriage.   It is called a “return” because it must be returned to the court that legally records marriages.   Returns in Licking County have typically indicated the names of the bride, groom and person who solemnized the marriage, along with the wedding date.   Sometimes the names of witnesses are also included.  Older marriage returns were called "Marriage Certificates" in Licking County, because they provided the Probate Court with certification that the couple actually got married.  Today, a marriage certificate is typically the document which the court gives to a couple after they are married. A Marriage Return, sent by the minister to the Probate Court.  Note that these records were called "Marriage Certificates" in the 1920's. Marriage consents are documents proving that a parent or guardian gives consent for ...

During the late-19th and early-20th Centuries, a popular way to get around Newark was by electric rail car.  In 1889, the Newark & Granville Electric Street Railway was completed from downtown Newark to a point a little ways east of Granville.  This was one of the first "interurbans," which were electric railways that connected towns.  Interurbans became a major means of transportation in the USA until motorized bus systems developed, automobiles became more affordable, and streets and rural roads were improved. Workers digging up the streets along the southeast corner of the Courthouse Square, where several railway spikes and ties were found In the summer of 2015, a major street construction project commenced around the Courthouse Square in Newark.  In early August, workers who were digging up South Park Place and South 2nd Street found several spikes and rail ties which were the remains of the interurban railway that went alongside the square. ...

Recently some records from the Licking County Probate Court were transferred to our department.  These include some 19th-Century marriage records which will be of interest to genealogists.  They are among the small number of county government records which survived the 1875 courthouse fire, and so they can be especially valuable in tracking down ancestors who were in the county. From a page in the Marriage Record, 1808-1828 The recently-transferred marriage records include: Marriage Record, 1808-1828 Transcribed Marriage Record, 1808-1827 Transcribed Marriage Record, 1828-1879 General Index to Early Marriages, 1809-1888 The 1808-1828 volume is a recent-day compilation of pages from earlier sources, which were almost certainly the original, official records.  Because it is a compilation, it might not have a record of every marriage that was performed during that time in the county, but it does have information about thousands of marriages. Most of the...