Many people have generously donated their time and research to make this project FREE. If you have data you would like to submit for the data pages, please refer to submissions.

When searching for your ancestors, if you don't find them and know they were in the county during a certain timeframe, try using just the surname. Sometimes, the given name is listed as initials only, or a middle name, or a nickname. If you have an unusual surname (sounds different than it is spelled, try the phonetic spelling. Next, investigate families with the same surnames. If you continue to go back/forward in each census, you might find them listed as siblings, or cousins, or find parents, etc.

When all else fails, try searching in the neighboring counties, where known relatives have lived, or known migration patterns for the timeframe. If you make a query, be sure to explain that you expected them to be in Wood County, but could not find them, so you are enlarging the search to the neighboring counties.

If you find data that is not consistent with yours, keep in mind, that transcriptions are submitted exactly the way it was written. So, if it is your ancestor, please don't write to ask to change the transcriptions - it is like asking to change a "legal document". Instead - submit a family biography, and note the inconsistencies such as spellings, dates, etc.