Recent searching

I know it has been awhile since I last posted a blog, but "better late than never."  Today I tried searching my dad on some new features that HeritageQuest has.  I access HeritageQuest through the library where I work.  Other libraries subscribe to this as well.  Anyway, I came up with lots of hits that were not exact.  One was a former ob/gyn I saw back when I was pregnant with my son.  Same last name but no relation to us as far as I know.  The first name was similar to my father's but not exact.

There were several books about the Stauffer line but then again, no relation to our family.  I am stuck on that side with only my 1G grandparent.  So I am unable to go back any further on that line.  A cousin had researched that line, too, and that was all the further she was able to go.

At one point I considered going to the state where he was born, but alas, there are no birth records for the time period in which he was born.

So giving that up, I started working on one of his daughter's lines on familysearch.org.  I was able to locate her son's spouse in a marriage record.  But adding her using that record was an impossibility.  I ended up adding her manually.  I need more practice with familysearch.org but there just aren't enough hours in the day!

No such luck in Ohio

I am trying to locate a document that would tell who my great great grandparents are.  This is easier said than done.  It seems that in Ohio, where he was born there may not be a birth record that has his parents' names on it.  It wasn't state law to record births until 1867.  Unfortunately, my great grandfather was born in 1825.  To top it off his first name is a common one - John.  It may also be recorded as Johnathan, or Jonathan or any variation thereof.  The last name is fairly common as well and has numerous variations.

My next thought was to search for a marriage record, but alas, "Marriage records prior to 1895 (in Ohio) generally do not give the name of the parents."  I found this at:
http://www.ohiohistory.org/collections--archives/archives-library/research-guides by clicking on "view" under "marriage records."

I was all set to go do some research at the "Ohio History Connection" in Columbus, OH until I read the information about birth and marriage records.  From what little I know about searching family history, records in the early 1800s are nearly impossible to find.  If only they knew then what we know now!

Here's what I know so far thanks to my cousin Rosemary:
Johnathan J Stauffer married Eva (Eve?) Meyer (Myer?, Moyer?) Kemp on May 2, 1852 in Ross County, Ohio.  He was born in Fairfield County, Ohio on February 2, 1825.  He died in Franklin County, Iowa on April 11, 1899.

(Italics still need to be verified.)