Lake County, Ohio Genealogy

United States Ohio Lake County

Guide to Lake County Ohio genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

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Lake County, Ohio
Map
Location in the state of Ohio
Location of Ohio in the U.S.
Courthouse
Address	Lake County Courthouse 47 N. Park Place Painesville, Ohio 44077 Lake County Website

Historical Facts

Beginning dates for major county records
Birth	Marriage	Death	Tax	Land	Probate
1867	1840	1867	1840	1839	1840
*For earlier dates, try... Church | Obituaries | Cemeteries

• Parent Counties: Formed from Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties 20 March 1840.
• County Seat: Painesville
• Neighboring Counties: Lake County, Ohio Genealogy residents may also have records in Geauga (south) · Ashtabula (east) · Cuyahoga (southwest) · Across Lake Erie lies Elgin County, Ontario, Canada (north)

Boundary Changes

For animated maps illustrating Ohio county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Ohio County Boundary Maps" (1788-1888) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss

Painesville Twp. records to after 1900 due to flood For a list of record loss in Ohio counties see: Ohio Counties with Burned Courthouses

Resources

Biography

Lake County OHGenWeb at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohlake

See History Hall . . . at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohlcgs

Cemeteries

Lake County Cemeteries and Index of names.

Individual cemeteries:

• Leroy Cemetery, Painesville BillionGraves

Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.

Online Grave Transcripts	Published Grave Transcripts	County Cemetery Directories
Findagrave.com	Family History Library	Findagrave.com
Interment.net	WorldCat	Names in Stone
USGenWeb	Lake Co. Gen. Society www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohlcgs	Billion Graves
Billion Graves		Epodunk
Ohio Gravestones
Names in Stone

See Ohio Cemeteries for more information.

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Ohio denominations, see Ohio Church Records.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

LDS Ward and Branch Records

• Kirtland

Congregational

• early to 1907 - First Church, Congregational, Painesville Courtesy OhioGenWeb

Lutheran

• Records of Resurrection Lutheran Church, Painesville, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Episcopal

• 1834-1874 - St. James Episcopal Church includes membership list and baptisms. Courtesy OhioGenWeb

other church information

• various years - General church information includes minister lists and some family Bible records. Courtesy OhioGenWeb

Court Records

Naturalization Records - An Alphabetical Abstract of the naturalization petitions from Lake County Probate Court (1860-1906) and Lake County Common Pleas Court (1906-1975). This includes Declarations of Intention and petitions that failed for a variety of reasons. Naturalizations between 1840 and 1860 were done in a variety of courts, which will be abstracted later.

History

Local histories are available for Lake County, Ohio Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Ohio Local Histories.

Local Histories

• Riddle, Albert Gallation, History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Pioneers and Most Prominent Men, (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Williams Bros., 1878). Digital copy at Google Books FHL book 977.133 H2wiL

• Western Reserve Historical Society, Lake County Chapter, Lake County History, (Ohio: Western Reserve Historical Society, Lake County Chapter, 1941). Digital copy at Ancestry ($)(Indexed) FHL book 977.1334 H2Lc

• Stith, Bary Oyler, Lake County, Ohio: 150 Years of Tradition, (Northridge, California: Windsor Publications, 1988). FHL book 977.1334 H2s

Land and Property

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Ohio Land and Property for additional information about early Ohio land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Maps

Military

• Civil War
  Civil War service men from Lake County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Lake County.

- 1st Regiment, Ohio Light Artillery, Battery C

- 11th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Company E

- 105th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, Companies D and K

Newspapers

Lake County, Ohio Genealogy newspapers may contain genealogical value including obituaries, births, marriages, deaths, anniversaries, family gatherings, family travel, achievements, business notices, engagement information, and probate court proceedings.

To access newspapers, contact public libraries, Ohio Genealogical Society chapters, college or university libraries, the Library of Congress, Google News, or the Ohio Memory. The Ohio Genealogical Society Obituary Database is another source of newspaper information.

For more Ohio newspaper information see the Newspaper Guides on the wiki page Ohio Newspapers.

Online Newspapers

• various years - index to Ohio Newspapers Courtesy OhioGenWeb
• various years - Select issues ofEvening and Morning Star available at BYU Digital Collections. Click on newspaper in box on right.
• various years - Painesville Telegraph and Telegraph Republican available at GoogleNews
• various years - community contributed newspaper articles Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives

Online Newspaper Abstracts

Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

Obituaries

Index 1822-current available at http://www.MorleyLibrary.org  >Genealogy > Obit Index

Probate Records 

From 1797 or the creation of the county, probate records were held by the Court of Common Pleas. After 1852, records are held by the {{{1}}} County Probate Court. See Ohio Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.

• 1790–1967 - Ohio, Probate Records, 1790-1967 at FamilySearch Historical Records – free. This collection consists of probate records and estate files from county courthouses in Ohio. The content and time period varies by county, with more records being added as they become available. This Collection will include records from 1789 to 1996. Currently, (September 2012) the collection is only searchable by browsing the images. A list of Fires that have destroyed records in the courthouses of several counties are listed on the Record Description page.
  
• 1806-1940 - OhioGenWeb Probate records and indexes Links to online probate, guardianship, estates and other probate records available on the Lake County OhioGenWeb pages. Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
• 1840-1846 - Lake County Probate Record Index Vol. A: 1840-1842; Vol. B: 1842-1846. Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives.
• various years - community contributed wills Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives.

Probate records 1840-1902 browse-able on FamilySearch, not complete.

Finding More Probate Records

Additional probate records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Lake County, Ohio Genealogy Probate Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Repositories

Courthouse

Lake County Courthouse
47 North Park Place
Painesville, OH 44077-3414
Phone: 440.350.2657 

Clerk Court has court records from 1840

25 North Park Place

Painesville, OH 44077

Probate Judge has marriage and probate records

25 North Park Place, rear

Painesville, OH 44077

County Recorder has land records

105 Main Street

Painesville, OH 44077

Family History Centers

FamilySearch Centers are branches of the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and are located all over the world. Their goal is to provide resources for family history research.

The main FamilySearch Center for Lake County, Ohio Genealogy is the

• Kirtland Ohio Family History Center
  

For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the FHC directory. Put your town name in the top search box.

Libraries

Morley Library--Best collection of local genealogical materials.

Museums

Lake County History Center http://www.lakehistory.org

Societies

Lake County Genealogical Society This site contains links to their projects, which have a lot of information in them. Lake County Cemetery Inscriptions to 2003, Naturalization Index 1860-1975, Biographies, Index to LakeLines, Memorials and Activities. 

Taxation

Finding More Tax Records

Additional tax records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Lake County, Ohio Genealogy Tax Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Vital Records

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Marriages were usually recorded from the formation of the county and are held at the office of the County Probate Court. Divorce records are located with the county Clerk of Courts.

Any existing birth and death records from 1867 through December 19, 1908 are located at the County Probate Court. The Ohio Department of Health has birth records filed after December 20, 1908 and death records filed after January 1, 1954, while the Ohio History Connection houses death records from December 20, 1908 through December 31, 1953.

Birth

Online Birth Indexes and Records

• 1867-1908 - Lake County birth records births from the Probate Court. Courtesy OhioGenWeb
• 1867-1908 - Corrected and Delayed birth records index Courtesy OhioGenWeb
• 1867-1908 - Birth Records for Perry Township Courtesy OhioGenWeb
• 1867-1908 - Registrars Birth Report miscellaneous non-probate births. Courtesy OhioGenWeb
• 1881-1900 - Birth Notices index to birth notices in the Painesville Telegraph Courtesy OhioGenWeb

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage

Online Marriage Indexes and Records

• 1789-1994 - Ohio County Marriages available on FamilySearch, free.
• 1810-1840 - Cuyahoga County Probate and Marriage Index 1810 to Current This includes Willoughby Township in Lake County until 1840 when it splits off from Cuyahoga. Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
• 1806-1840 - Geauga County Marriages 1806-1953 This includes the current Lake County until 1840 when it splits off from Geauga. Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
• 1833-1842 - Early Mormon Vital Records Marriages and Deaths abstracted from "Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine" from original Mormon newspapers of the day. Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
• 1840-1915 - Marriages - Lake County Probate Marriage Records Index 1840-1915. This index includes marriages from Vol. A-K, and 12-14 and part of 15. Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
• 1986 to present - Lake County Marriage Index Courtesy OhioGenWeb.

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death

Online Death Indexes and Records

Death records 1867-1908 now searchable on FamilySearch

• 1833-1842 - Early Mormon Vital Records Marriages and Deaths abstracted from "Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine" from original Mormon newspapers of the day. Courtesy OhioGenWeb. 
• 1867-1908 - Probate Deaths Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
• 1867-1908 - Registrar's Death Report miscellaneous non-probate deaths, Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
• 1867-1908 - Perry Township Death Records 1867-1908 Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
• 1897 - Willoughby Township Mortuary Report Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
• 1908-1953 - Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953 Free name indexes and images at FamilySearch. Records include such information as birth date of deceased, city, county, and state of death, name of spouse if married, names of parents, maiden name of mother, name of informant, if deceased was single, married, widowed or divorced, occupation of deceased. 

Finding More Vital Records

Additional vital records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Lake County, Ohio Genealogy Vital Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Divorce

• 1806-1839 - Geauga Divorces 1806-1839 An abstract of the divorce proceedings of the Ohio Supreme Court at Geauga County, mostly residents of what is now Lake County. Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
• 1822-1898 - Index to Divorces in the Painesville Telegraph This index from Lake County Historical Society covers 1822-1849 and some up to 1898. Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
• 1878-1881 - Divorce Proceedings in Common Pleas Journal J This court volume covers 1878-Feb 1881 and lists over 60 couples applying for divorces. Courtesy OhioGenWeb.

Web Sites

• Family History Library Catalog
• http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohlake - The GenWeb site has many databases, biographies, vital records, etc.
• Lake County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Familytree101)
• http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohlake/vitalrec/probateb.html - Lake County birth records 1867-1908.
• http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohlcgs - The Lake County Genealogical Society projects page with the cemetery inscriptions, naturalizations and other information.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)