I. Introduction.
Sometime in the mid-1840's, an unknown draftsman created the set of sectional maps, covering 20 townships, that became published as the Plat Book of ca 1845 of Huron County, Ohio. The copy we hold is a reproduction of the orginal which was published in 1985 under the sponsorship of the Kinologists of the Firelands Historical Society.
I have transcribed initially the names of landowners whose surnames begin with the letters A and B. This will be the first block of names to be published on the HCC/OGS home page through the work of Judy Kelble. In due course, the rest of the names will follow and be published by Judy. I have transcribed the names exactly as given in the Index to our book, with obvious misspellings, warts and all. I have made no effort to make corrections.
I hope when this online Index is completed, it will prove a useful resource for those who don't own the publication, and are attempting to identify forebears who were among the early settlers of Huron County, Ohio. Once this online Index is complete, I will no longer accept requests for look ups in the 1845 Plat Book. However, I will continue to do look ups in the Atlases of 1873 and 1891 of Huron County, Ohio.
II. Explanation of format.
A. Name of Landowner (First column).
In many cases, only an initial is given for the first name of the property owner. In some cases, a person may be shown with initial only, for one lot, while he may be listed with the full first name corresponding to the same initial, for a nearby lot.Thus in these cases it's sometimes possible to deduce the first name when only the initial letter is given. In cases of an estate, the words hrs or heirs of may follow the owners name.
B. Name of Township in which Property is Owned (Second column).
At the time of publication of the 1845 Plat Book, there were 20 townships in Huron County, Ohio, including Ruggles township which became part of Ashland County, Ohio in 1846. Consequently, while land ownership for Ruggles township is listed in the 1845 Plat Book, it is not seen in the Atlases of 1873 and 1891.
The Index, and our transcription, lists the following codings for the names of the Townships:
| BR= Bronson | CL=Clarksfield | FA=Fairfield | FI=Fitchville |
| GF=Greenfield | GW=Greenwich | HA=Hartland | LY=Lyme |
| NE=New Haven | NL=New London | NO=Norwich | NW=Norwalk |
| PU=Peru | RC=Richmond | RG=Ridgefield | RU=Ruggles |
| RY=Ripley | SH=Sherman | TO=Townsend | WA=Wakeman |
C. Number of Section - Number of Lot Combined (Third column).
Each township in Huron County is five miles square, and divided into 4 sections, numbered counter- clockwise 1 through 4, beginning in the southeast quadrant.
The lots within a given section are usually numbered 1 up to 99, but in some sections of some townships the lot numbers may run beyond 100.
The first digit of the combined Section-Lot is the section number (1,2,3, or 4). The following 2 or 3 digits is the lot number. Consecutively numbered lots in the same section held by the same owner may be shown with a hyphen. Non-consecutively numbered lots in the same section may be separated by commas. Single digit lot numbers are preceded by 0.
For example: 102, 107, 109-111 indicates that lots 2, 7, 9, 10, and 11 are owned by a given settler in section 1 of the township. While 4122-4123 indicates that lots 122 and 123 are owned by a settler in section 4 of the township.
D. Page Number of Plat Book Containing Map of Section (Fourth Column).
In the Plat Book of 1845, a map of each section of the four sections in a township is displayed on a separate page. In the Atlases of 1873 and 1891, all four sections of a township are displayed on one page.
The map referred to by the Page Number shows the names of the land owners, the location of the lots owned with acreage, and some roads, streams and other landmarks.
Search for surnames in the following groupings. There are no names starting with Q or X in the 1845 Platmap.
FIRST find your ancestor in the above index. Then you will be able to find the actual plot of land they owned within Huron County, OH. The lot number usually appears in the middle of the lot, with the amount of acreage owned posted close by, often just below the lot number. There are many images to be loaded and they will be loaded here as they become available. Please do not ask for specific ones. If the image you are looking for is not listed, it is not loaded. There will eventually be a complete collection listed here.
Patience is a virtue. :~)
as of 08 Feb 2001