Hancock County OHGenWeb
History & Genealogy

Welcome!

Hancock county is available for adoption. If you would like to become the coordinator for this county, please contact the State Coordinator

I hope to be able to add more resources to the pages of Hancock County soon, so check back often. I don't live in Hancock County, I can't do lookups, but I will add what I have as time permits.

If you find anything wrong with any of the pages on this site please don't hesitate to let me know. If you have any new ideas of what you would like to see on this site you can also contact the State Coordinator.


Short About

The Hancock County, OHGenWeb is a proud part of the OHGenWeb and The USGenWeb Projects. You can Learn more About us. If Hancock County is not the County your looking for look at The OHGenWeb County Selection Page.


History

Hancock County was named after John Hancock, the Revolutionary War hero. It was first populated as far back as 1769 when Jean Jacques Blanchard, a Frenchman, settled in the area. He was a tailor by trade. The city of Findlay was founded in 1812 and was named after Colonel James Findlay of the Ohio Frontier Army. A stockade, called Fort Findlay, was the earliest development and stood just west of the location where the Main Street Bridge crosses the Blanchard River. The fort was abandoned after the war of 1812 but remained as a settlement for the pioneers of the area. In the 1880's gas and oil was discovered in the area which caused rapid population growth.

HANCOCK COUNTY was formed April 1, 1820, named from John Hancock, first President of the Revolutionary Congress. The surface is level; soil is black loam, mixed with sand, and based on limestone and very fertile. Its settlers were generally of Pennsylvania origin. [1]


County Facts

Created: March 1, 1828,
Parent County: Wood County
Named for: John Hancock,the first signer of the Declaration of Independence.
County Seat: Findlay, Ohio

Neighboring County Links


Queries

Mailing List

OHHANCOC. A mailing list for anyone wishing to discuss history, research, ancestors relating to Hancock County, Ohio, choose one. You must be a subscriber to post to the list. To subscribe, include the word "subscribe" (without quotes) in the body of an e-mail message to either the mail mode or digest versions. In "mail mode", you will receive each message separately. In "digest mode", you will receive one file with all of the messages for the day (depending on the activity).

This page was last modified: May 28, 2018 7:42 PM.


Bibliography

Historical Collections of Ohio: An Encyclopedia of the State, Volume 1 By Henry Howe (1889) Page 867