Meeting Dates
First Saturday of the Month
(no regular meetings January, June, July, August, October)
10:00 a.m. until 12 Noon (unless otherwise noted)
Held at the Portage County Historical Society
*Programs are free and open to anyone interested
in doing family research or Portage County history.
Portage County Historical Society
6549 N. Chestnut St., Ravenna, OH 44266
The Historical Society is located next to the Ravenna High School and just south and across the street from Maple Grove Cemetery.
WELCOME TO PCCOGS
We welcome you to the website of the Portage County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. You're invited to explore our pages and consider becoming a member of our society. PCCOGS is a non-profit organization formed in 1972. Everyone is welcome from beginner to expert genealogist.
Genealogy Society | Portage County | Ohio
United States | Portagecountyohioogs
First Settlers of Portage County
2019-2020 Calendar
Telling It All: Presenting Your Family History will be the topic from this avid genealogist with more than 20 years of research experience. Join us as she shares how sharing your research can be done in a variety of fun and entertaining ways. Create a story that your family can't wait to hear.
September 7th
Speaker: Mary Jamba
Mary lectures nationally and locally on a variety of topics. She currently serves as trustee and education chair of the Ohio Genealogical Society, immediate past president of the Greater Cleveland Chapter of the OGS, Program Chair of the Western Reserve Historical Society Genealogical Committee, Treasurer of the Great Lakes Chapter of APG and the DNA User Group Leader at the Computer Assisted Genealogy Group Cleveland. Visit her on the web at https://dutchnsuch.com.
October 5th
First Settlers & Chapter Annaul Luncheon
Cal's Restaurant, 8301 Windham St., Garrettsville, OH 44231
11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Chapter members and a guest are welcome to attend. We will have four members to induct into the First Settlers of Portage County group this year. We'll be ordering direct from the menu and individuals are responsible for meal payment (Chapter pays for inductees). To RSVP, please email pccogs@embarqmail.com or call 330-274-2677 and leave a message. You may also leave a message on our Facebook page. Please reply by September 30th.
To view the menu or for more information, please visit www.calsfamilyrestaurant.com.
Our earliest pioneers came into a vast wilderness with wild animals, no shelter, and miles between settlers. They cleared the land, built roads and homes, and laid the foundations for the prosperous and beautiful county we have today.
Members of the Portage County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society may submit an application to be recognized as a First Settler of Portage County. You must be able to document and prove your relationship to the ancestor and that he or she resided in Portage County by December 31, 1840.
Applications must be received by June 1 of the year in order to be eligible for membership for that year. There is a $15.00 fee required when the application is submitted. The chapter holds an annual luncheon honoring the approved applicants in October. Recipients receive a certificate and a free lunch. Applications may be downloaded by clicking the button below or by writing to First Settlers, P.O. Box 821, Ravenna, OH 44266.
Join the rolls of proud members who honor their Portage County forebearers. These family names have been approved as ancestors of the members of First Settlers of Portage County: Abel, Atkinson, Barnes, Boles, Braucher, Breck, Chapin, Chittenden, Colton, Eatinger, George, Gillett, Grate, Hall, Heard, Hollister, Hoon, Hoot, Jones, Kenneley, Kent, Krumrein, Ladd, Long, McCall, Miller, Moore, Morrison, Morton, Neall, Osborn, Palmer, Parsons, Patterson, Pettijohn, Plumb, Rees, Russell, Schmitt, Shirtliff, Smith, Thatcher, Thomas, Viets, Warner, Weldy, Williams, and Wilson.
November 2nd
Research Day at Portage Historical Society
The library has added many items for genealogy research. Learn how to use the facility to its best advantage. If new to genealogy, we will help you get started in your research. Tours of library files, how to use the microfilm reader, and a lot more. Members are encouraged to bring flash drive to make use of new microfilm reader.
December 7th
Speaker: Roger Marble
DNA and a Genealogy software demo.
Roger is a past member Board of Trustees OGS, member of Society of Mayflower Descendants, First Settlers of Ashtabula Co. OH, NEHGS, various chapters of OGS, and a past President of Summit County Chapter OGS. In addition to presenting at OGS conferences and chapter meetings, he has delivered seminars from Oregon to Massachusetts and Wisconsin to Georgia.
January
No Meeting
February 1st
Speaker: Sunny Morton
Join us as this popular lecturer for the global genealogy community presents "Finding the Truths in Old Family Stories". Sunny is a Contributing Editor at Family Tree Magazine and the author of hundreds of articles and blog posts. She is an official FamilySearch blogger and past Contributing Editor at Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems Podcast.
April 4th - MEETING CANCELLED
Speaker: Chris Staats
We'll hear about "The Rest of the Story: Getting to Know Your Ancestor" from this member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, chapter representative for the Great Lakes APG chapter, and Seminar Chairperson for the Western Reserve Historical Society's Genealogical Committee.
March 7
Speaker: Brian Rhinehart
Join us for this presentation "Was My Ancestor In The Civil War? Ten Tips to Help Find Him". Hooked on genealogy since 1999 when he began his family research, Brian offers his expertise and research services specializing in Civil War ancestry records at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the National Genealogy Society and the Association of Professional Genealogists. He is also the Vice President of the Ohio Genealogy Society and of the Portage County (Ohio) Genealogy Society, and a Trustee of the Portage County (Ohio) Historical Society.
https://www.facebook.com/RhinehartRoots/
Portage County, Ohio
The name Portage comes from an Old Indian Path called Portage Trail, which ran between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers.
In June 1807, Portage County separated from it's parent county, Trumbull, and in June 1808 the first election was held. The last change to the county's boundaries occurred in 1840 when Summit County was erected from the western part of Portage.
The present townships are: Atwater, Aurora, Brimfield, Charlestown, Deerfield, Edinburg, Franklin, Freedom, Garrettsville, Hiram, Mantua, Nelson, Palmyra, Paris, Randolph, Ravenna, Rootstown, Shalersville, Streetsboro, Suffield, and Windham
(click on specific township's name to
go to their Historical Society's page or visit
Portage County Historical Society's page)
May 2nd
Speaker: To Be Announced