Licking County Records & Archives Blog

  We return to records from the Licking County Children’s Home for April’s “Living in the County Archive”. This month we are looking at one of our more fragile books from 1889-1901, “Licking County Children’s Home Visitor Log”. Many records from the 19 th and 20 th century were made with wood-pulp paper, a highly acidic material, which is likely to deteriorate more rapidly over time unless handled properly. Acids tend to break down in the presence of heat, light, and moisture in the air. Combine that with years of oils from the different hands that wrote in the pages in the record, and the general wear-and-tear of being used more frequently, this record requires a little more care than some of the Archive’s other materials. Keeping the record in our archive, which is temperature controlled and maintained by a dehumidification system, helps to keep this record from further decline. However, due to this book’s already fragile state it is kept in an archival box designed to fit th...

  The Licking County Records and Archives is always thankful for all of our volunteers; the time they dedicate to make our collections more accessible for the public and preserve the history found in our records is greatly appreciated. This March, we are feeling especially lucky for Jon Emler, who has recently finished transcribing the Children’s Home Registers of Admittance and Indentures volumes. So for “Living in the County Archive” this month, we are featuring the Children’s Home Registers of Admittance and Indentures. We will examine what these records are, where they came from, and why they are important. The Register of Admittance and Indentures for the Licking County Children’s Home would have been the tracking method for all children admitted in to the Children’s home. The volumes include the name of the child being admitted, their gender, race, age, place of birth, parents, if the parents are living or deceased, the date of their admittance, as well as the date of inden...

  It’s time for another “Living in the County Archive”, where we take a look at a new record series examining what it is, where it comes from, and why it’s important. For the month of February, and in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we are unveiling Marriage Consent and Return records. These records originate in Probate Court where couples still go to obtain a marriage license before their big day and copies of their marriage certificate after.     The above image is of a “marriage record” or “marriage license”; the process to obtain this record was similar to the process we go through today. This record is kept by the county and lists the names of the couple being married; it also declares that they are old enough to marry, that they are not married to someone else, that they aren’t closely related, and that there is no other legal reason they should not be married.  The “return” as pictured below is the slip of paper returned to the county after the marriage...

  It’s a New Year and a new series for Record of the Month! “Living in the County Archive” will feature a different record series housed within the Licking County Records and Archives each month. We will examine what each record is, where it comes from, and why it’s important. For the month of January, our spotlight is on Will Records. Originating from Probate Court, Wills are a legal document addressing a person’s last wishes and how they want their property distributed after their death. These documents have a lot of historical value when conducting genealogical research because these records typically list the names of a spouse and children. This information helps us to trace and verify familial linage. Licking County Record and Archives houses some of the County’s historical loose will packets beginning in the mid 1830’s and in to the mid 1960’s. Here we have a will packet from 1950: On this sleeve we can see when the will, when the application for Probate, and when the h...

  Record of the Month! For the month of November, in honor of Veteran’s Day, we are featuring a Civil War Discharge for First Sargent George Washington Preston of the 76 th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company C.   The formal discharge record displayed here was unearthed in a box of other records at the Licking County Records and Archives Center. George Washington Preston was born November 10, 1839 in Newark, Ohio and was the second oldest of eleven siblings. His parents Jacob L. Preston and Elizabeth Sophia Harding owned a farm near Chatham in Newton Township. They were devoted Methodists and regularly attended services. George was approximately 20 years old when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina in April of 1861, sparking the beginning of the Civil War. Shortly after the attack George enlisted and was mustered into the 76 th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company C. In his three years of service, George fought in several major battles, includi...

Record of the Month! As the days grow shorter and a slight chill sets in, many of us wistfully think of witches, ghouls, and things that go bump in the night. The month of October, with the ancient holiday of All Hallows’ Eve has long been associated with macabre tales and ghostly fables that terrify. In that tradition, this month we are featuring tales of archival terror! Below are two true tales to make any archivist or lover of historical objects tremble with fear... The Storm! Image courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Central Library  ‘Twas a dark and stormy day in the year 2018; the archives staff had just settled into a newly renovated facility. Despite the weather, the staff continued with their work conducting research, fulfilling record requests, and digitizing records. Late in the day, the winds began to howl and the clouds swirled and darkened. A flash and thunderous rumblings signaled that a tempest was brewing. The rains fell in sheets dre...

  Record of the Month! Last month we featured the Student Resources page from the Licking County Records & Archives website, along with a brief research/writing guide. As a follow up, for the month of September we are taking a look at how records from the Licking County Records & Archives collections can be used to tell larger historical stories. Government records are not typically thought of as “juicy” sources of information for historical research in the same way as personal diaries, letters, etc. are, because the language often used in government forms is very tedious. However, government records can not only provide a wealth of historical detail, but also serve as a consistent source of data due to their propensity to change slowly over time. Pictured here is a sampling of entries from the Historic Jail Registers dating between 1928 and 1932. A study of the Historic Jail Registers hints to several larger events in American history. Furthermore, the registers can ...