Research The Johnson Family Library is available for historical and genealogical research by appointment only on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Please make an appointment at least one week prior to your visit so we can arrange to have materials ready for you. The library is located in the Lorain County History Center, 284 Washington Avenue, Elyria. The fee for assisted research on-site is $10. per hour, $5 for LCHS members. Currently, during the Covid-19 pandemic, we require that all visitors wear a facial covering and practice social-distancing within the History Center. Researchers are also required to wear gloves, which will be required. Materials will be quarantined after use Additionally, LCHS is pleased to provide research assistance to those who cannot visit the History Center. This service is $20. per hour for a maximum of three hours. If copies are requested please include an additional 50 cents for the first page, 25 cents for each additional page - this includes postage. Our research staff will evaluate your information and formulate a research strategy. We will advise you of any estimated cost beyond one hour. Please allow up to one month for receipt of the information unless otherwise arranged. We have many requests and cannot complete every task in a day. We will do our best to find an answer to your research question. If we cannot locate the information you need, it is still necessary to pay the fee. Please note our fees do not include off-site research ( Health Department, Probate Court, etc.) You can contact our library staff at library@lchs.org or call 440-322-3341 to make an appointment or for more information. Lorain County Historical Society 284 Washington Ave Elyria, OH 44035 Pay for your library and research work via PayPal! Online Resources General Sites ancestry.com (subscription required) https://www.familysearch.org/en/ (free but registration required) Vital Records (Birth, Marriage, Death) https://www.rbhayes.org/main/ohio-obituary-index/ (Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library) https://resources.ohiohistory.org/death/index.php Immigration Records http://www.immigrantships.net/ https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/ Cemetery Records https://billiongraves.com/ https://www.findagrave.com/ http://www.interment.net/data/us/oh/lorain/ridgelawn/index.htm Land Records https://www.loraincounty.com/recorder/ (only land records from 1987 to present are online but the Lorain County Recorders Office has records starting in 1824) https://www.ohiohistory.org/preserve/state-historic-preservation-office/mapping/historicatlas Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Lorain County https://www.loc.gov/maps/?fa=partof:sanborn+maps%7Clocation:ohio%7Clocation:lorain+county Historical Newspapers http://www.elyrialibrary.org/ (access to newspaperarchive.com is free through the Elyria Public Library; registration with an Elyria Public Library card required) Resources Available at the Lorain County History Center 1. Census Index for Lorain County (1850 - 1880) 2. Marriage Index (1824 - 1865)3. Marriage Applications Elyria Newspapers (1830 - 1874) 4. Index to Women in the Western Reserve before 1840 5. Obituary Index (1830 - 1874) (1875 - 1893) (1970 - 1974) 6. Master File of Lorain County Chapter Ohio Genealogical Society 7. List of First Families of Lorain County 8. City Directories of Elyria, Ohio (1859 - Current) *Incomplete* 9. City Directories of Lorain, Ohio (1891 - Current) *Incomplete* 10. Cemetery Inscriptions of Lorain County 1980 (65 of 71 cemeteries) 11. Pioneer Women of the Western Reserve (Book with Index) 12. Williams Brothers History of Lorain County (1879) 13. Wright History of Lorain County (1916 -- 2 volumes) 14. Beers Biography of Lorain County 15. Beers Biography of Huron County 16. Upton History of Western Reserve (1910 -- 3 volumes) 17. Sanborn Maps: Elyria (1915, 1925, 1933), Lorain (1910) 18. Township Maps: 1851 Tax, 1857, 1874, 1896, 1912, 1938 |