Jefferson County Clerk of Probate Court has Marriage Records from 1816, Birth / Death Records from 1867-1908 and Probate Records from 1819 and is located at the courthouse; Phone: 740-283-8555.The Probate Court handles the following administrative functions: the probating of wills, estate administrations (full estates and releases from administration), trusts, guardianships of incompetent adults and minors, commitment hearings for the mentally ill and mentally challenged, adoptions, birth corrections, name changes, delayed birth registrations, custodial accounts, lost heir accounts, order disinterments, and issues marriage licenses. In addition, the Court tries litigation issues in all the above matters. A unique aspect of the Probate Court is that the Probate Judge is the ex-officio Clerk of Courts, thus, the Court performs all the duties as its own Clerk of Courts (indexing, filing, docketing, etc.). The term probate comes from the Latin word probatio, meaning, to prove, wherein matters in early English religious courts were proven before an ecclesiastical judge. Early American probate courts may be traced back to English courts of chancery and ecclesiastical, or religious, courts, which had jurisdiction over the probate of wills, administration of estates and guardianships.

Jefferson County Recorder has Land Records from 1816 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: Phone: 740-283-8566, Fax: 740-283-4007. In Ohio, the Recorder , as an elected official, is charged by law with the exacting duty of keeping certain specific records which may include: deeds, mortgages, financing statements, easements, leases, federal tax liens, personal tax liens, military discharges, powers of attorney, mechanics liens, plats, recognizance liens, partnerships, living wills, zoning resolutions, etc. The practice of recording real estate documents is based on law in England which traveled to the New World with the colonists. Public land registrars were appointed in colonial America to keep accurate records. A system of registration was necessary to prove the rights of persons who first made claims to property.