Guernsey County, Ohio

Guernsey County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 40,792. Its is  and is named for the Isle of  in the, from which many of the county's early settlers came.

History
Guernsey County originated with one Thomas Ogier, of Les Duvaux,. During the, six thousand troops were garrisoned in Guernsey. There was considerable friction between the local population and the Russians, who were poorly rationed and often resorted to theft. Ogier was fowling in his fields one afternoon, when he surprised a Russian soldier stealing s from his. He shot at the the soldier with his, who dropped the apples and ran away. Ogier noted some blood upon the wall over which the soldier had escaped, but thought nothing of it. Later that day, he learned that the soldier had died in barracks and had reported Ogier to his commander.

Ogier, afraid of retribution, fled first to and then to, where he took a boat to the. After some time on the Eastern Seaboard, he migrated west in 1808, to present-day Ohio. After having made some success for himself in that state, he wrote home to Guernsey, encouraging others to settle. He joined an earlier group of Guernsey settlers in the town of Cambridge. Throughout his travels, Ogier kept with him his family cradle, which is now in the possession of the Cambridge branch of the American Legion.

The County was finally organised in 1810.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,368 (528 ). 1,352 km² (522 sq mi) of it is land and 17 km² (6 sq mi) of it (1.21%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (south)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 40,792 people, 16,094 households, and 11,233 families residing in the county. The was 30/km² (78/sq mi). There were 18,771 housing units at an average density of 14/km² (36/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 96.28%, 1.53% or , 0.31% , 0.30% , 0.22% from , and 1.36% from two or more races. 0.62% of the population were or  of any race. 96.7% spoke, 1.3% and 1.1%  as their first language.

There were 16,094 households out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.90% were living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,110, and the median income for a family was $35,660. Males had a median income of $30,142 versus $20,804 for females. The for the county was $15,542. About 12.90% of families and 16.00% of the population were below the, including 21.50% of those under age 18 and 12.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government
Main article: .