Welcome to the Seneca County Genealogical Society
The Seneca County Genealogical Society is an active chapter of OGS, with many talented and knowledgeable members who volunteer to assist researchers at all levels. Our members cover a wide range of ages and interest from beginners to advanced, including students from the high school genealogy club, as well as older adults who have been doing genealogical research for a long time. We specialize in Seneca County, Ohio, research but we can also help with other research needs.
Our meetings are on the first Tuesday each month, except for July, August, and December, and you do not need to be a member to attend. All are welcome to join us to hear some great speakers! You can also read about upcoming SCGS events and see other genealogy-related announcements on our FACEBOOK page.
You can CONTACT US with your questions and comments but we have no staff for extensive research. We look forward to connecting with you and helping you with your genealogical journey!
Upcoming Events - (In Person Meetings)
free to the public, you need not be a member to attend
Meetings held in the Frost Kalnow Room
Tiffin Seneca Public Library
77 Jefferson St., Tiffin
6:30 p.m.
May 6, 2025 - “The Ancestral Trails of Vince Falter” by Jim Stultz
General Vincent Eugene Falter’s (1932-2024) adult life took him from enlisted man to officer, to husband and family man, to retired major general in the Army, to military consultant, to family genealogist. With 2 published family genealogy books, and thousands of ancestors in his database, Jim will be looking at his genealogical trail of ties to Seneca and surrounding counties, as well as back to the “old country”. Family names include Falter, Schaarf, Kihm, Groff, Omlor, Studer, Thom and Kirian.
The public is always invited to these free talks.
6:30 pm Tiffin Seneca Public Library, 77 Jefferson St. Tiffin.
Frost Kalnow Room
Past Meetings Information:
April 1, 2025 Brian Foos
A Personal History on Funerals and Funeral Homes in the Area
Brian, of Foos and Foos Funeral Home, is part of a fifth generation family which has owned funeral homes assisting families with funeral care in the Seneca, Sandusky, Huron and Erie county
area for over 165 years. Genealogists have always been interested in the death of their ancestors for all the clues they left behind in obituaries, death certificates and funeral records. Mr. Foos will give us an overview of his family's long history of the undertaking business.
March 4, 2025 – Maria McNeal Rawson, Tiffin Wilderness Bride
by Fran Fleet
Fran, a long-time SCGS Member, will give a program on her direct ancestor, the Wilderness Bride, Maria Gregory McNeal Rawson (1808-1899) who married as a teenager, once lived in a Fort Ball blockhouse as a young bride, widowed with 3 children at 24 and played a large part in Fort Ball/Tiffin’s history from its very beginnings.
Feb.4, 2025 “A Tour of FamilySearch, In-person and Online”.
by Ruth King
Handout at bottom of this page
Seneca County Genealogical Society’s newsletter editor will share photos of what is available at The FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, based on her recent research trip there. She will also demonstrate how to best utilize the free FamilySearch.org website from home, for free! It can be also be used to find and translate records from local Family Search affiliate libraries using your own home computer.
This a great in-person program for beginners in family history and experienced genealogists.
January 7, 2025
“Cemeteries in Genealogy Research”
with Krista Horrocks of the Ohio History Connection
Hunting for an ancestor’s gravestone can be an exciting adventure or a frustrating series of dead ends. When we find our ancestor’s gravestone, we are often in awe, as it can give important birth, death, and marriage dates. But just because that information is written in stone doesn’t mean it is always correct! Join Krista Horrocks, cemetery preservationist for the Ohio History Connection, for a pre-recorded program on how cemeteries and gravestones can help, or hinder, your genealogical research. Originally recorded for the Ohio Genealogical Society November 2024
November 5, 2024
Applying Google Earth Pro to Family History
by Rhonda Hoffman of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library
Google Earth Pro can help you get a better idea of what your ancestors' lives were like and help you share information about your ancestors in an engaging way. You can virtually visit ancestral homelands, track your ancestors' movements, add photos and details of their lives, and overlay historical maps. And, whatever projects you create can be shared with family members for them to view whenever they want. Google Earth Pro is a free application that you can install on your home computer
This is an online program that will be shown at our meeting. An excellent 14-page handout is available and a link to it will be provided at the meeting.
Oct. 1, 2024 – Meeting Changed!!
Our Oct 1st Tuesday meeting has been changed. On Tuesday, please note that the program will start at 6 pm (not 6:30) and be Beyond Camelot: The Life and Legacy of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
The Frost Kalnow Room was inadvertently double-booked and the Library’s Foundation Series will be having this interesting talk on Jackie Kennedy, so we decided to postpone our meeting for this talk.
The program we were planning on having will be rescheduled for the spring of 2025: Gary Wiley of Cherry City Honey, Bellevue, who was going to give a program on the Amazing World of Ohio Beekeeping, featuring Henry Quirin, the famous Queen Bee breeder of Bellevue. Date to be announced.
September 3, 2024
Leonard Skonecki
Fostoria Firsts and Uniques
The Seneca County Genealogical Society’s speaker for Tuesday September 3rd, 2024 will be Leonard Skonecki of Fostoria. It will be at the Tiffin Seneca Public Library’s Frost Kalnow Room at 6:30 pm.
Skonecki was president of the Fostoria Area Historical Society for more than 15 years and now serves on its board of directors. He helps with fundraisers for the historical society, and he was in six DVDs produced about the history of Fostoria
His talk “Fostoria Firsts and Uniques” will touch on many unknown, interesting facts about Fostoria including inventions, railroad firsts and Dillinger’s connection to the town.
Leonard Skonecki of Fostoria, who takes part in many activities in his hometown, has been named the Ohio District 5 Area Agency on Aging, Inc.'s 2023 Seneca Outstanding Senior Citizen and helps with city tours every year for the Fostoria Rail Festival
May 7, 2024
6:30 Frost Kalnow Room, Tiffin Seneca Public Library
Becky Hill
German Migration to Seneca County and Northwest Ohio
When and where did our many German ancestors come from before Seneca County?
Were they immigrants directly from the "Old Country" or were they earlier immigrants who came to America even before the Revolution and then migrated here?
Becky will attempt to answer these questions and more as she explores the very large population of Seneca County families with German roots.
Becky is an officer of the Society and the retired Head Librarian of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library
January 2, 2024:
Emily Rinaman
Seneca County Digital Library: 24/7 access to Seneca County's Historical Items
6:30 - Frost Kalnow Room, Tiffin Seneca Public Library
Emily will explain the current status of the Seneca County Digital Library -- starting with a brief overview of what it is, why it's useful and how they have been updating the website the last few years.
https://www.ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p15005coll27. This is a wonderful free site that all Seneca County researchers should be familiar with.
November 7, 2023 - 6:30 pm
Dr. Roy Zinn -
"The story of John Van Meter and Associated History of Ohio Country."
John Van Meter was a white child captured by Wyandots near the Ohio River ca. 1783 and received land in Eden Township when Seneca County was organized. Roy will give background on the Ohio Country prior to that time along with the story of John's life. He was first a Wyandot and then a Mohawk with his life being intertwined in the Native American history of this area through their removal starting in 1828 thru 1843. The Van Meter Reserve was in Eden Township, Seneca County as seen in this 1864 map (above).
Dr. Zinn is a retired veterinarian with interests ranging from the Seneca County Park District to the Civil War, Genealogy and the Seneca County Bicentennial.
Here is the link for the entire 1864 wall map of Seneca County OH
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4083s.la000673/?r=-0.347,0.072,1.363,0.79,0
The meeting will be at the Tiffin Seneca Public Library's Frost Kalnow Room at 6:30 pm. The public is welcome to this free event
BELOW: Click on photo to see link to program or handout:
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SENECA COUNTY
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