Lake County, Ohio Genealogy
Guide to Lake County, Ohio ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
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County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The county name was derived from its location on the southern shore of Lake Erie.[3] It is located in the Northeastern area of the state.[4] Lake County was created from Geauga County with one township (Willoughby) from Cuyahoga County. It is the smallest county in the state.
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Lake County Courthouse
47 North Park Place
Painesville, OH 44077-3414
Phone: 440-350-2657
Lake County Website
Clerk has court records from 1840 at 25 N. Park Place.
Probate Judge has marriage and probate records at 25 N. Park Place.
County Recorder has land records[5] at 105 E. Main Street, basement Bldg D.
Lake County, Ohio Record Dates[edit | edit source]
Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1867 | 1840 | 1867 | 1840 | 1839 | 1840 | 1820 |
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
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Painesville Twp. records before the early 1900s were damaged or lost due to flooding.
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Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
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Populated Places[edit | edit source]
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county: [9]
| Cities | ||
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| Villages | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Census-designated places | ||
| Townships | ||
History Timeline[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
Bible Records[edit | edit source]
For an extensive list of resources for Bible Records see Ohio Bible Records.
- Bible transcriptions at OHGenWeb. Also contains church histories and minister records.
Biographies[edit | edit source]
- 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) Online at Google Books, FamilySearch Digital Library
- Biographical History of Northeastern Ohio, embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake: ... (Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1893) online at FamilySearch Digital Library
- Biographies on OHGenWeb.
Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
Census Records[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1840 | 13,719 | — |
| 1850 | 14,654 | 6.8% |
| 1860 | 15,576 | 6.3% |
| 1870 | 15,935 | 2.3% |
| 1880 | 16,326 | 2.5% |
| 1890 | 18,235 | 11.7% |
| 1900 | 21,680 | 18.9% |
| 1910 | 22,927 | 5.8% |
| 1920 | 28,667 | 25.0% |
| 1930 | 41,674 | 45.4% |
| 1940 | 50,020 | 20.0% |
| 1950 | 75,979 | 51.9% |
| 1960 | 148,700 | 95.7% |
| 1970 | 197,200 | 32.6% |
| 1980 | 212,801 | 7.9% |
| 1990 | 215,499 | 1.3% |
| 2000 | 227,511 | 5.6% |
| 2010 | 230,041 | 1.1% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
Church Records[edit | edit source]
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.
List of Churches and Church Parishes
- early to 1907 Churches, Ministers and Bibles at OHGenWeb - including Congregational, Episcopal, Baptist, Church of Christ, and Presbyterian
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Kirtland
- 1833-1842 Mormon Vital Records Extraction at Ohio GenWeb - Marriages and Deaths abstracted from Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine from original Latter-day Saint newspapers of the day.
Lutheran
- Records of Resurrection Lutheran Church, Painesville, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).
- Lake County Ohio by Ancestry ($). All U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 Results
Court Records[edit | edit source]
Directories[edit | edit source]
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]
Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]
Genealogies[edit | edit source]
Guardianship[edit | edit source]
Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]
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.
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for this county. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see Ohio 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). Online at Google Books, FamilySearch Digital Library
- Lake County's 125th Anniversary Souvenir Album, 1840-1965, (Painesville, Ohio: The Telegraph, 1965) Online at FamilySearch Digital Library
- Stith, Bary Oyler, Lake County, Ohio: 150 Years of Tradition, (Northridge, California: Windsor Publications, 1988). FHL book 977.1334 H2s
- Ohio Indexes at EveryNameIndex.com — Select the county.
Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- Maps of Ohio (1788-1940) at MapofUS.org
- Stranahan, H.B., Corey, G.D., Atlas of Lake County, Ohio (Cleveland, Ohio: H.B. Stranahan & Co., 1898) online at FamilySearch Digital Library
- FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
Migration[edit | edit source]
Military Records[edit | edit source]
- 1888-1919 Ohio Soldier Home Records, 1888-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
Revolutionary War
- New Connecticut Chapter (Painesville, Ohio), DAR, A record of the revolutionary soldiers buried in Lake County, Ohio with a partial list of those in Geauga County (Columbus, Ohio: The Champlin Press) 1902. Online at FamilySearch Digital Library
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
World War I
- 1914-1919 Ohio, World War I Statement of Service Cards, 1914-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- 1914-1918 Ohio, World War I, Enrollment Cards, 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
- 1916-1920 Ohio, WWI Index and Return Cards, 1916-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
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.
- 1800-1977 Ohio, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Lake County newspapers often contain genealogical value including obituaries, births, marriages, deaths, anniversaries, family gatherings, family travel, achievements, business notices, engagement information, and probate court proceedings.
- For more online Ohio newspapers index and images, see Ohio Newspapers.
- 1793-late 1900s Newspapers at Ohio History Connection — Select county .
- 1881-1900 Index to Birth Notices at Ohio GenWeb - index to birth notices in the Painesville Telegraph
- 1897 Willoughby Township Mortuary Report at OhioGenWeb - from The Willoughby (Ohio) Independent.
- Early-late 1900s Newspapers at Ohio Memory — sort by County, City, Time Period, and more.
- Newspapers at Ohio GenWeb - index to newspapers at top; scroll down for Obituaries
- Evening and Morning Star at BYU Digital Collections
- Painesville Telegraph and Telegraph Republican at Google News
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
- 1850-1975 Cleveland Necrology File and News Index at Cleveland Public Library - index and abstracts
Other Records[edit | edit source]
Periodicals[edit | edit source]
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
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 Lake County Probate Court. Records include wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, marriage, adoption, and birth and death records (1867-1908 only). The records may give the decedent's date of death, name of spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.
See Ohio Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.
Online Probate Indexes and Records
- 1786-1998 Ohio Wills and Probate Records 1786-1998 at Ancestry ($) — index and images.
- 1789-1996 Ohio Probate Records 1789-1996 at FamilySearch.org — How to Use this Collection.
- 1806-1940 Probate Court Records at Ohio GenWeb - Links to online probate, guardianship, estates and other probate records.
- 1840-1846 Probate Records, Vol. A: 1840-1842; Vol. B: 1842-1846 at USGenWeb Ohio Archives.
- Wills at USGenWeb Ohio Archives.
School Records[edit | edit source]
Social Security Records[edit | edit source]
- 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
- 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
Tax Records[edit | edit source]
Ohio tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses before 1820 or to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned taxable property were listed, many residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties.
Online Tax Indexes and Records
- 1800-1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
- 1800-1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at MyHeritage ($) — index
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Marriages were usually recorded from the formation of the county and are held at the office of the County Probate Court. Divorce records are located with the county Clerk of Courts.
Any existing birth and death records from 1867 through December 19, 1908 are located at the County Probate Court. The Ohio Department of Health has birth records filed after December 20, 1908 and death records filed after January 1, 1954, while the Ohio History Connection houses death records from December 20, 1908 through December 31, 1953.
Birth[edit | edit source]
- 1841-2003 Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
- 1867-1908 Probate Birth Records Index at Ohio GenWeb - births from the Probate Court.
- 1867-1908 Corrected and Delayed Birth Records Index at Ohio GenWeb
- 1867-1908 Perry Township Birth Records 1867-1908 at OHGenWeb Archives
- 1867-1908 Registrars Birth Report at Ohio GenWeb - miscellaneous non-probate births.
- 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry ($) — Index
- 1959-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1959-1998 at MyHeritage - index ($)
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- 1789-2013 Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- 1840-1915 Probate Marriage Records Index at Ohio GenWeb - This index includes marriages from Vol. A-K, and 12-14 and part of 15.
- 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage ($) — index
Death[edit | edit source]
- 1833-1967 Ohio, Church and Civil Deaths, 1833-1967 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
- 1840-2001 Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.
- 1867-1908 Probate Death records at Ohio GenWeb.
- 1867-1908 Registrar's Death Report at Ohio GenWeb - miscellaneous non-probate deaths.
- 1867-1908 Perry Township Death Records 1867-1908 at Ohio GenWeb.
- 1908-1932, 1938–1944, and 1958–2007 Ohio Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007 at FamilySearch – How to Use this Collection
- 1908-1932, 1938-2018 Ohio, Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
- 1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($) — index
Divorce[edit | edit source]
- 1806-1839 Geauga County Supreme Court Divorces, 1806-1839 at Ohio GenWeb - An abstract of the divorce proceedings of the Ohio Supreme Court at Geauga County, mostly residents of what is now Lake County.
- 1878-1881 Divorce Proceedings at GenWeb - This Common Pleas Court volume covers 1878-Feb 1881 and lists over 60 couples applying for divorces.
- 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007 Ohio, Divorce Abstracts, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007 at Ancestry ($)
Research Facilities[edit | edit source]
Archives[edit | edit source]
Listed below are archives in Lake County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Ohio Archives and Libraries.
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries
- Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
- FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
- Kirtland Ohio Family History Center
- Western Reserve Historical Society Library - an affiliate library
Libraries[edit | edit source]
Listed below are libraries in Lake County. For state-wide library facilities, see Ohio Archives and Libraries.
Fairport Harbor Public Library
335 Vine St
Fairport Harbor, OH 44077-5799
440-354-8191
Email: askus@fairport.lib.oh.us
Website
Kirtland Public Library
9267 Chillicothe Rd
Kirtland, OH 44094-8500
440-256-7323
Website
Madison Public Library
6111 Middle Ridge Rd
Madison, OH 44057
440-428-2189
Website
Mentor Public Library
8215 Mentor Ave
Mentor, OH 44060-5786
440-255-8811
Website
Perry Public Library
3753 Main St
Perry, OH 44081-9501
440-259-3300
Email: askus@perry.lib.oh.us
Website
Wickliffe Public Library
1713 Lincoln Rd
Wickliffe, OH 44092-2499
440-944-6010
Email: ref.desk@wickliffe.lib.oh.us
Facebook
Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library
263 E 305th St
Willowick, OH 44095
440-943-2203
Website
Museums[edit | edit source]
Lake County History Center
415 Riverside Dr
Painesville, OH 44077, USA
440-639-2945
Email: research@lakehistory.org
Website
Museums & Historical Sites
105 Main St
5th Floor Nolan Building
Painesville, OH 44077
440-357-2290
Website
Indian Museum of Lake County, Ohio
Physical Address:
7519 Mentor Ave, Ste A112
Mentor, OH 44060
Mailing Address:
PO Box 883
Willoughby, OH 44096
440-951-3813
Website
Societies[edit | edit source]
Listed below are societies in Lake County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Ohio Societies.
Western Reserve Historical Society
Research Library in the History Center
10825 East Blvd
Cleveland, OH 44106
216-721-5722
FamilySearch Wiki
Website
Lake County Genealogical Society
c/o Morley Library
184 Phelps St
Painesville, OH 44077
Website
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Local Gov't Records by County at Ohio History Connection — Browse their list; records are not online.
- Custom Browse of Historical Collections at Ohio Memory — Use map or alpha bar to select county or place, then browse search options in left sidebar.
- Ohio Genealogical Society ($) — online databases
- Lake County OH Genealogy at LDS Genealogy
- OHGenWeb - The GenWeb site has many databases, biographies, vital records, etc.
- Lake County Genealogical Society projects page with the cemetery inscriptions, naturalizations and other information.
- FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection. Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.
Research Guides[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ ‘’Ohio Atlas of Historical County Boundaries;’’ Ohio: Individual County Chronologies; Copyright The Newberry Library 2007
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Ohio.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Lake County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_County%2C_Ohio accessed 2/22/2017.
- ↑ Genealogy Trails History Group, “Lake County, Ohio Genealogy and History”, http://genealogytrails.com/ohio/lake/ accessed 2/22/2017.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Ohio.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Ohio.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Ohio.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ ‘’Ohio Atlas of Historical County Boundaries;’’ Ohio: Individual County Chronologies; Copyright The Newberry Library 2007
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Lake County, Ohio," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_County,_Ohio, accessed 23 December 2018.
