Ohio Books

I've been looking for information about the W. S. George Pottery Company and this is the first place I've been able to locate not only information, but photos of the company and copies of catalog pages.

Carol Bell is, arguably, the most influential genealogist of the last generation. Prior to her retirement, she wrote, compiled, or edited numerous books and magazine articles on various aspects of Ohio genealogy, including the acclaimed Ohio Guide to Genealogical Sources. By special arrangement with Mrs. Bell, Clearfield Company is delighted to make available to the genealogy community one of her most important works, Ohio Wills and Estates to 1850: An Index

Ohio Wills and Estates to 1850: An Index began as the brainchild of Anita Short, editor of the short-lived periodical, "Gateway to the West: Ohio," who originally published some of the records found in Ohio Wills and Estates in magazine format. Following Mrs. Short's exodus from genealogy, Carol Bell took on the project to compile a statewide index to all extant inheritance records in Ohio. The author traveled to court houses throughout the Buckeye State in order to compile her index. She also enlisted a contingent of volunteers to assist with the indexing of inheritance records, which prior to 1852 were filed with the Courts of Common Pleas, in still other Ohio counties. Her remarkable publication, the culmination of a 10-year project, was the end result of that concerted effort.

Ohio Wills and Estates to 1850: An Index is probably the most important single book on early Ohio genealogy, for it references no fewer than 72,000 testators named in the will and estate records for all Ohio counties up to the year 1850. Since will records are the richest source of family relationships, researchers can use this index to access a potential tresure trove of information concerning their families.

Each index entry gives the name of the person referenced, the nature of the record (will or estate), the year of the record, the county where the record is filed, and the source of the original record wherein more information may be found. In addition to the index itself, researchers will find a list of abbreviations used in the entries, a glossary of terms common to inheritance records, and a county-by-county breakdown of inheritance record holdings and the individuals responsible for indexing them for the publication.

Ohio Wills and Estates to 1850: An Index has been off the market for a number of years; nor can it be found in electronic format on CD-ROM or on the Internet. Clearfield is proud to make the original 1981 edition available to Ohio researchers once again.

Excellent work by a well-known professional. Covers the statutory underpinnings of the system as well as case law. Highly recommended.

When the USS Shenandoah was torn apart in a storm one September day in 1925 in the heart of rural Ohio, it was one of heartbreak and spectacle. Not only did 14 men lose their lives on board the airship, but people from all over the area flooded Noble County to see the three differrent crash sites where this massive, once larger than life airship lie in pieces. The photographs are spectactular and obviously relay the fact that many people were present to document this site. In fact, my original interest in this book was that my great-grandparents were also witnesses to this crash site and I now have those original, never before published photographs. This is a great book for lovers of the airship era and historical disasters.

This book delivers what the title implies: A near-flawless history of the Ohio & Erie canal. Its chapters on the Lessee and declining years of the canal were excellent.

I loved looking over the photographs taken for these post cards. The settings, Ohio's northern shores from about a hundred years ago up to semi-modern times, shed light on how different life once was, and how much most things stay eternally the same. One thing I thought was particularly nice was that there is a lot of happiness captured in these shots. Families from other eras were photographed enjoying their time away from work and school and that spirit of joy is easily seen and felt in these snapshots of summertime landmarks and people who made use of them.

This is an excellent Social studies Book to use for Ohio homeschooling. I found this book at my library checked it out then bought from amazon. I am using it for my 4th grader.

This book is filled with great photographs, and a glimpse at the history of Ohio that we may never even consider. It is well crafted and very entertaining. The only problem is that it wasn't twice as long. This book is a great value, and a great addition to any library!

Each morning when he was a boy growing up along the banks of the Ohio River, my dad used to row across to a small farm on the Kentucky side to buy milk. Though the maps in our childhood history books portrayed the river as a nearly impenetrable boundary between North and South, ON JORDAN'S BANKS reveals its true nature as more of an Information Superhighway by comparatively studying African American life in the Ohio River Valley as a region. The book covers the period from 1861 - 1890 (and a bit beyond to the Great Depression in the epilogue.)

Drawing primarily on secondary sources, Bigham finds surprising similarities between the north and south shores during both the antebellum and postwar eras. He explores the wide ranging forms slavery (and freedom) took in various areas...for example, it seems that some slaves in Louisville possessed greater liberties than free blacks in Cincinnati. He examines the development of churches, schools (both integrated and segregated), benevolent societies and the social strata within black communities and across racial lines. He explores the evolution of free labor. And he shows that the fight for civil rights and suffrage knew no boundaries.

At times I felt statistics stalled the narrative, but this is a minor complaint and I'm not sure it could have been handled differently; there is simply an overwhelming amount of information packed into this fascinating book. I recommend it to Ohio River history buffs as well as to African American Studies.

This is a highly detailed, factual yet lively book on the United Rubber Workers union. The author, through many, many interviews and extensive research, has fashioned a book that tells the story of a truly American institution's birth, growth, heyday, decline and recovery when it merged into a larger union.

This book is useful to anyone who is interested in the American labor movement. It should be a must read for economics and American history classes.