Genealogy Resources at Akron-Summit County Public Library



The Akron-Summit County Public Library is located in Akron, Ohio. It was founded in 1874. The Akron-Summit County Public Library is comprised of a Main Library, 17 community branches, and a Mobile Services division.

The Special Divisions Collection houses the library’s genealogy and local history materials. They hold a variety of sources in multiple formats. Their collections are primarily focused on Ohio and the states surrounding it, but they also actively collect materials for the states of the eastern seaboard, New England, and the South.

Some of their resources include:

Akron Beacon Journal Obituary Indexes (1937 – present)
The indexes contain the names of deceased individuals and the date(s) their obituaries were published in the Akron Beacon Journal.

Akron Beacon Journal Subject Indexes (1841-1939)
These subject indexes exclude 1846-1848. Only partial indexes exist for some years prior to 1890. The indexes include births, marriages, and deaths as well as articles.

Online Akron City Directories (1859-1969)
These directories list the people living in the Akron area as well as local businesses. In many cases, the entry for a person provides spouse and employment information. Many city directories also contain a section listing the residents by address instead of name. This can be useful when researching the history of your house.

Summit County Census Indexes
The library offers free access to Federal Population Schedules from 1790 to 1940 through three databases: Ancestry Library Edition, as well as Heritage Quest and My Heritage / World Vital records.

Genealogy & Local History Databases
* Local History Database
* Newspaper Archive Academic Library Edition
* Ohio Obituary Index
* Polly Paffilas Recipe Index
* Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
* World War II Database
* Historic Map Works

Summit Memory
It is a countywide, collaborative effort to make available some of the remarkable local history collections maintained by their partner institutes. Summit Memory makes digital collections available with the intention that they be used for nonprofit educational, research, or personal use.

Local Records
* Cemetery Records of Summit County Research Guide
* Summit County Veterans’ Burial Card File Collections
* Edwin Shaw Hospital – Briar Hill Cemetery Records Collections
* Mount Peace Cemetery, Akron, Ohio – Interment Records, 1880-1916
* Springfield Township Cemetery Transcriptions
* St. Vincent Cemetery Transcriptions
* Summit County Index to Ohio State Penitentiary Prisoner Registers, 1840-1938
* Summit County Naturalization Records from the Summit County Clerk of Courts
* Ohio Death Certificates (1908-1953) are available free from Family Search
* Ohio Death Certificates (1954-1963) are available for $7 from Ohio History Connection
* Maps and Atlases of Akron and Summit County are available from Summit Memory’s Online Map Room

Related Articles at FamilyTree.com:

* The BYU-Idaho Genealogy Library is Shutting Down

* Rowan Public Library Edith M. Clark History Room

* Genealogy Resources at Waco-McLennan County Library

< Return To Blog

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.