This website was created by people interested in the “pioneers” who came to Ohio in the late 1700s and early 1800s. In many cases, the main sources of information about those people are land and census records. In order to understand land and census records from those times, you need some understanding of how the land in Ohio was surveyed and how the boundaries of counties and townships changed over time. The starting point for this is the Northwest Ordinance.
Needless to say, Ohio has a rich history that began long before the Northwest Ordinance. Some small part of that may be described here from time to time as background information. However, much of this earlier history was not recorded at the time it occurred, and understanding it requires professional expertise. This website is an amateur venture intended to inform and entertain by sharing selected stories about people, places and events that unfolded during and after the time when Ohio became part of the United States of America.
If you have come to this website researching your family tree, you may end up reading about people who, as it turns out, are not part of that tree. In order to be sure of that, you may end up learning quite a bit about such people. In the process, you may recognize that they are interesting in their own right, that they share a place in history with your own ancestors.
Looking forward, you may discover other people who shaped the present and future of Ohio (and other places): keepers of farms, producers of food, pilots of boats, refugees from oppression, founders of towns, hewers of wood, boilers of salt, cutters of stone, pavers of streets, miners of coal, smelters of iron, builders of railroads, preachers and teachers who inspired others to become better and do more, immigrants seeking opportunities, processors of pork, weavers of wool, shapers of steel, drillers of wells, vulcanizers of rubber, inventors of airplanes, mothers and fathers of children, makers of medicines, givers of healthcare, writers of books, workers in factories, pilots of spaceships, singers and songwriters, developers of ion engines, coders in cubicles — and the list goes on. There are many kinds of pioneers.