Tri-State Genealogical & Historical Society

Research

The Tri- State Genealogical & Historical Society was founded as a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history of the Tri-State area (OH, PA, WV). One of our goals is to help families trace their family history. This is often a complicated and difficult task. The information below is intended to help you in making the search for your ancestors as rewarding as possible.

Membership in the Society is open to anyone interested in the history of the Tri-State area. Members receive priority in having their requests answered so please mention your membership status when making a request. However, members pay the same research fees as non-members.

Making A Request

To start your research, send a check or money order for $10.00 (non-refundable) along with a SASE with your inquiry. We will check our resources and send you a report of what is available. You can then advise us as to how you wish us to proceed. We urge you to ask for one surname at a time and to include as much information as possible concerning that name. Photocopying charges are $.10 per copy and return postage is added (unless an adequate SASE was sent). If your request for information will require what appears to be an excessive amount of time, and you have not sent money in advance or specified a limit to your search, we will contact you by letter or e-mail to seek your authorization to proceed at the standard rate. Explain your request in a simple, uncomplicated way. Cover all necessary information. Be as brief as possible. Print or type your letter if possible. Always put your name on all correspondence.

The fee you pay is based on the time we spend on the search, not the results. While many searches produce results, some do not. You should understand you might pay for a search that will not produce the results that you want. We will make every effort to help you. Please remember that we are all volunteers, non-profit and operate on a severely limited budget, so be polite, patient and generous with your donations. Please allow 3 to 6 weeks for a reply.

What We Need To Know

Since our holding are extensive, we are capable of developing considerable information on many individuals. It is important that you let us know exactly what you want to know. You must be specific in the information that you are seeking! For example, do you want birth, baptism, marriage and death records? There is a wide range of information that we can seek, so a specific request on what type of information you need would be helpful. One good technique is to form a list of questions you want answered. Please do not say, "anything you can find on this name", in the instance of a common name, your bill would be quite large!

The more we know about the person or family you are seeking information on, the more clues we will have to search for him or her. Tell us everything you know about the individual or family: full name, time period of their life, places of residences, religious affiliation, occupation, etc. If you already have had some research done and have certain information, please state so. This will reduce the chance of getting information that you already have.

What We Can Search

Records in our library including county histories, family files, obituaries, cemetery records and census records. We have all the census years for Hancock County, WV, Columbiana County, Ohio and Beaver County, PA in addition to other selected counties. East Liverpool Newspapers - Copies of obits, wedding anniversaries, etc. are $2.00 each. The dates that are available for newspapers are: May 23, 1861 - present time, except for 1923 (These papers are not available in our library but are acquired by one of our volunteers from The Carnegie Library, therefore the $5.00 minimum research applies to an obituary request). We regret that due to the lack of volunteers, the high cost of gasoline and a change in the handling and cost of public records, we are no longer doing courthouse research. For information from the courthouse, write: Hancock County WV- Hancock County Courthouse, P.O. Box 367, New Cumberland, WV 26047 (Phone (304) 387-1314); for Columbiana County, Ohio write Columbiana County Courthouse, 105 South Market Street, Lisbon, Ohio 44432 (Phone (330) 424-9511); Beaver County, PA write Beaver County Courthouse, 800 Third Street, Beaver, PA 15009 (Phone (724) 728-5700).

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