Williams County,  Ohio

A USGenWeb Site

____________________________Last updated July 2005 _____

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Also consider looking for your ancestors at the Defiance County OHGenWeb site.

Williams County and Defiance County are very much intertwined.

 

Records

Where to find information in Williams County

 

Click map below for enlargement and township information

 

 

Please submit your Williams County information and suggestions/comments to: Mike SandridgeWilliams County thank you to previous webmaster Cindy Heisler Thank you.

 

A Little About Williams County and Bryan, the County Seat 

In 1840 the population of Williams County (which included part of what is now known as Defiance County)  was about 300, mostly around Pulaski, which at that time was known as Fayette. The land was a swampy wilderness owned by the American Land Company of New York. John A. BRYAN, State Auditor of Ohio and an agent for the land company, suggested that the county seat be moved from Defiance to an area closer to the center of the county. In June 1840 the establishment of a new county seat was approved. Miller ARROWSMITH completed a survey of the site in July, recorded it September 14th., 1840 and named it Bryan.

The 1860 census of Williams County shows 16,538 inhabitants with Bryan's population at 1,079.  1864 maps of Williams County show the town of Edon as Weston and a now nonexistant town called New Berlin north of Edon.   Williams Center is shown as Centre and Montpelier is divided into Montpelier and South Montpelier.

The first school house was built in 1841 and was a "private" school taught by Miss Harriet POWELL. Later it became a public school taught by A. J. TRESSLER. 

At first Bryan water was abundant due to subterranean springs and the town came to be known as the Fountain City.  However, as more wells were dug the water supply fell and now all the "fountains" are history.

 

This site is generously hosted by RootsWeb

About the OHGenWeb Project

In March and April, 1996, a group of genealogists organized the Kentucky Comprehensive Genealogy Database Project. The idea was to provide a single entry point for all counties in Kentucky where collected databases would be stored. In addition, these databases would be indexed and cross-linked, so that even if an individual were found in more than one county, they could be located in the index.

OHGenWeb is an extention of that premise.

Volunteers were found who were willing to coordinate the collection of data and generally oversee the contents of the web site for each county within the state. Contact the volunteer host cited on the county site if you have a desire to add your information to the county site's data.

 

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