Site Author:  Robert W. Penry. September 8, 2024

Madison County Courthouse

HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, OHIO 2024 & BEYOND

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Chapter 1 - Introduction

Histories of Madison County Ohio were written in 18831915 and 1976.  There is also a Wikipedia article about the county’s history. The three written books are available at the Madison County Historical Societyy and the Madison County Genealogical Societyy, both located in London, Ohio. The first two histories are available online. The first two editions were written by subscription. The publisher hired college students who traveled around the county offering the book if you subscribed by paying a fee. You could have information about your family and it would be added to the  book before publishing. The first two are very important for genealogical research. The early histories continued many pages of information common to all Ohio counties published. The 1883 edition finally gets around to saying something about Madison County on page 272. The third history contains many important county images, especially of long-since torn down buildings, schools, businesses, homes and old cemetery images. Well worth the visit. In addition, a very valuable source providing multiple website links for Madison County information is Madison County, Ohio Genealogy • FamilySearch. 

So why this book in 2024? The problem with published paper history books are that they are obsolete the day they are published. The 1976 book, although interesting and valuable has no history after 1976. If I were to write a book today called future history of Madison County, it would be a work of fiction. No one can see into the future. Time moves on. This online book can be constantly updated as events occur. It will never be completed. I work on it daily and will continue to do so, adding events and expanding. I plan to leave it to to the Madison County Historical Societyy in my will, who then can continue the history as long as desires by paying the annual fee for the domain (madisonhist2024.net) and the editing software. I can also allow others to add information by granting them access, making this website a joint venture. Another reason is my love of history, and the desire to leave a legacy, a book that might be used by teachers and those doing historical research or by anyone who wants to know more about the place they live.

About your author. I hold a degree in history education and have taught at high schools and universities. I am a member of the Madison County Retired Teachers Association. I spent three years researching family history at the Welsh National Library in Aberystwyth, Wales and hold a research permit for the National Archives. I also have a genealogy and history website: https://penrygenealogy.com, and lecture on family history as an officer in the Madison County Genealogical Societyy. The role of the historian is to present and interpret history. Writing a 100% unbiased history is impossible. The philosophical, political, national, and moral viewpoints of the author always affect the presentation. If you interested in my own viewpoints and how they might affect this history, please click here:  My Philosophy 

The information source for this book, is varied.  Part is my own knowledge and research from living here. Wikipedia articles, and photos is another. The previously mentioned Madison County histories, County Libraries, Madison County Historic Societyy, Madison County Genealogical Societyy, and my visits to communities and businesses to obtain first-hand information are all sources and the reasons for my update of the history of Madison County, Ohio. 

“Ite in pace et fruere hoc libro.”

Author - Robert W Penry (2024 image)
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