Probate History
The First Courthouse, Belmont County, Ohio
The Belmont County Probate Court was first established in the year 1852 under the guidance of the Court’s first Probate Judge, David Harris. Judge Harris began his term in March of 1852 and served the Court faithfully for nearly six years. Since the establishment of the Probate Court there have been eighteen successors to Judge Harris, with Judge Harry L. Albright of Shadyside serving the longest with a term of 34 consecutive years. Judge Edmund A. Sargus served the shortest term of only 24 days due to his untimely death in 1967.
The Probate Court oversees a variety of matters that includes, but is not limited to, the handling of Estates, Guardianships, Trusts, Adoptions, Marriage Licenses, Changes of Name, Birth Records, and Actions involving Wrongful Deaths.
Each of the Belmont County Probate Judges and their terms are as follows:
| David Harris | March 3, 1852 – February 8, 1858 |
| Robert Cloudy | February 9, 1858 – February 8, 1864 |
| David Harris | February 9, 1864 – February 8, 1867 |
| C.W. Carroll | February 9, 1867 – February 8, 1870 |
| A.W. Anderson | February 9, 1870 – February 8, 1873 |
| C.W. Carroll | February 9, 1873 – February 8, 1879 |
| Thomas Cochran | February 9, 1879 – February 8, 1885 |
| Isaac H. Gaston | February 9, 1885 – February 8, 1891 |
| James F. Tallman | February 9, 1891 – February 8, 1897 |
| William F. Smith | February 9, 1897 – February 8, 1903 |
| John S. Cochran | February 9, 1903 – February 8, 1909 |
| John C. Nichols | February 9, 1909 – February 8, 1921 |
| Edward D. Meek | February 9, 1921 – February 8, 1925 |
| Lawrence Imhoff | February 9, 1925 – February 8, 1933 |
| Harry L. Albright | February 9, 1933 – February 8, 1967 |
| Edmund A. Sargus | February 9, 1967 – March 4, 1967 |
| Wilbur Y. Armstrong | March 31, 1967 – February 8, 1979 |
| C. Kenneth Henry | February 9, 1979 – February 8, 1991 |
| John J. Malik | February 9, 1991 – November 30, 1998 |
| J. Mark Costine | December 24, 1998 – May 4, 2018 |
| Albert E. Davies | August 6, 2018 – Present |