In celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the Tracer, Hamilton County Genealogical Society added back issues from 2001 through 2007 to the Members Area of the HCGS website. Members can now view issues of the Tracer from March 2001 to the present online. The Tracer PDFs can be downloaded and are searchable.

Forty years of Tracer articles (1979-2018) are included in the Tracer article indexes. The indexes are organized by topic and are also searchable by author, keyword title, or year. Each entry includes the year and month of publication.

Members can access all issues from 2001 forward on this website. Tracers published between 1979 and 2000 are only available in print or on the CD and DVD (The Tracer and Gazette, 1979-2008) for sale in the HCGS online shop.

The Tracer is the quarterly journal of the Hamilton County Genealogical Society (HCGS). Published in March, June, September and December, it contains 32 pages of information about Hamilton County records, indexes, finding aids, repositories, church histories, and case studies, as well as local genealogy and HCGS news, upcoming events, book reviews, and Public Library acquisitions.

Awards

The Tracer is the 2019 winner of the National Genealogical Society Newsletter Competition in the category of Major Genealogical and/or Historical Society (over 500 members). The NGS Award Committee used the following criteria – interest, variety, and originality of the material; quality of the writing and editing; readability; and attractiveness – when making its decision. The 2019 award was presented by Ben Spratling, NGS president, to Eileen Muccino, Tracer editor, on May 8 at the NGS Conference in St. Charles, Missouri (photo on right). The publication also won the award in 2021.

The Tracer was the 2014 winner of the National Genealogical Society Newsletter Competition in the category of County or Local Genealogical or Historical Society. The Tracer was also honored with this award in 2007.

In 2011 and 2013 The Tracer won the Frances Dana Gage Award for Outstanding OGS Chapter Newsletter, awarded by the Ohio Genealogical Society. The NGS and OGS awards are based on material interest, variety and originality, genealogical interest, writing and editing quality, readability and attractiveness, and overall publication makeup.

Access

Issues of The Tracer are available from 2001 to date in the Members Area. 1979-2008 issues are available for purchase in the HCGS Shop & Support store.

Indexes

Cumulative and annual surname indexes contain all surnames published in a genealogical context for most years between 1979 and 2013. These surname indexes are on the Queries page.

Two subject indexes cover articles in the 1979-2008 and 2008-2018 issues.

Submissions

We encourage article submissions on topics concerning Hamilton County, Ohio, genealogy and history. Articles should inform readers about research in genealogical records, databases, or repositories of local interest or discuss historical events that impacted the lives of our Hamilton County ancestors.

If you are interested in submitting an original article, please send a query to Eileen Muccino, HCGS Tracer Editor, at tracer@hcgsohio.org with the topic and how the article will inform readers about Hamilton County genealogy or history.

The editor reserves the right to accept or reject any material submitted. Genealogical advertising is accepted; contact the editor for details.

page modified: 2023-03-17 RTB