If your family touched Cuyahoga County, the Archives likely holds pieces of their story. In this presentation, Tom will walk through what’s available, where to find it, and how to read it like an investigator.

• Probate & estates: wills, guardianships, and how to trace property and relationships

• Land & taxes: Photos of your childhood home, deeds, tax duplicates, and maps/plats to pinpoint homes and businesses

• Court & citizenship: dockets, naturalization records, and name/spelling pitfalls

• Vital & special collections: marriage records, coroner’s case files, and more

• Arrest Cards: Looking to unravel a family rumor? and much more…

CVGS member Tom Kaschalk was born and raised on the southeast side of Cleveland and graduated from Cleveland State University with a B.A. in Political Science and a Genealogy Certificate. After had a lengthy corporate career which involved moving across the United States, he returned back to the “LAND” a few years ago and founded My Cleveland History. He is the author of Cleveland's Neighborhood Taverns: A Pub Crawl through History and the upcoming Cleveland’s Ohio City Neighborhood, scheduled for release in March 2026. Tom is also a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Ohio Genealogical Society, and the Polish Genealogical Society of Greater Cleveland.