Nye County, Nevada Genealogy

United States

Nevada

Nye County

Guide to Nye County, Nevada ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Nevada Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Tonopah Organized: February 16, 1864 Parent County(s): Esmeralda Neighboring Counties Churchill  • Clark  • Esmeralda  • Eureka  • Inyo (CA)  • Lander  • Lincoln  • Mineral  • White Pine See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The county was named in honor of James W. Nye, Governor of Nevada Territory and later United States Senator from Nevada. It is located in the south-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Nye County Courthouse
101 Radar Rd
PO Box 1031
Tonopah, NV 89049-1031
Phone: 775-482-8127
Nye County Website

County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1860.
County Recorder has land records.

Nye County, Nevada Record Dates

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.

Known Beginning Dates for Major Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1887	1860	1887	1860	1864	1860	1850
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1911. General compliance year is unknown.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

• Parent County: created 16 February 1864 from Esmeralda
• County seat: Tonopah
• Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Nevada - shows boundary changes for Nevada Counties
• Nevada Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library
  

Populated Places

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:

Unincorporated communities
Amargosa Valley Carvers Crystal Currant Duckwater	Hadley Manhattan Mercury Round Mountain Scotty's Junction	Sunnyside Tybo Warm Springs Yomba
Census-designated places
Beatty Gabbs	Pahrump	Tonopah (county seat)
Ghost towns
Belmont Bonnie Claire Bullfrog Berlin Cactus Springs	Carrara Gold Center Ione Lockes Nyala	Pioneer Potts Rhyolite Warm Springs

Other locations identified as being in this county or with different links

Adaven Ashton Barcelona Summit Basic Brucite Bull Fork Bull Frog Camp Desert Rock Crows Nest Darroughs Hot Springs Farmer Station Flowers Camp Gabbs Golden Arrow Goldyke

Grantsville Hot Creek Hot Springs Jefferson Johnnie Labbe Camp Lodi Lodi Tanks Manhattan Manse Mellan Millett Morey Pactolus Pahrump

Pritchards Station Ralston Reese River San Pedros Silverbow Springdale Steigmeyer Sugar Bunk Tonopah Valley View Washington

History Timeline

• Until 1821 - New Spain controlled land that later would become Nevada. Some records of early settlers may have been sent to an archives in Seville, Spain, or to archives in Mexico City.
• In 1821 - Mexico obtained jurisdiction over the land that later would become Nevada. Records of this period may have been sent to archives in Mexico City.
• 18 Aug 1846 - During the war with Mexico, the US took control of Santa Fe and proclaimed sovereignty over the land that later became the New Mexico Territory. Look for records in the National Archives and Records Administration, the Mexico Archives and the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives.
• 4 July 1848 - In the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Mexico ceded all of present day Nevada. Look for records in the National Archives and Records Administration, the Mexico Archives and the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives.
• 9 Jan 1852 - New Mexico redefined the boundaries of previous counties and created new ones to cover all the land within its territory. The land that would someday be southern Nye County was once part of Taos, San Juan (1861-1862 only), Rio Arriba, Santa Ana, Bernalillo, Valencia, and Socorro counties of New Mexico. Look for records in Dona Ana County, Socorro County, Bernalillo, Rio Arriba, Taos, and Valencia counties.
• 24 Feb 1863 - The US created the Arizona Territory from the western half of New Mexico Territory. All previous counties were discontinued for this new territory. Look for records in the Arizona State Library and New Mexico State Records Center and Archives
• 10 Nov 1864 - Mohave County was created as one of the four original counties in Arizona. This county named for the Mojave Indians. Look for records in Mohave County.
• 22 December 1865 - Pah-Ute County was created by Arizona out of the north part Mohave County. Look for records in Mohave County.
• 18 January 1867 - A large portion of Pah-Ute County and a smaller portion of Mohave County was given to Nevada by the US government. Nevada used the land to increase Lincoln and Nye counties. Utah opposed this transfer of land by creating Rio Virgin County which extended out of Utah, covering a large portion of southern Lincoln and Nye counties. Arizona opposed loosing this land, twice petitioned Congress for repeal of the law. Up thru 1868, representatives from Pah-Ute county attended the Arizona legislature. Look for records in Mohave County AZ, Washington County UT, Lincoln County NV and Nye County NV.
• 18 February 1871 - Arizona discontinued Pah-Ute County, finally accepting the loss after exhausting all legal remedies. The remainder of Pah-Ute County AZ was restored to Mohave County AZ. Look for records in Mohave County AZ

Resources

Bible Records

Listed below are resources for Bible records specific to Nye County. To find more resources, go to the Nevada Bible Records page.

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Nye County, Nevada online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com NVGenWeb NVGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Billion Graves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Nevada Cemetery Records FamilySearch Places
See Nevada Cemeteries for more information

The following web site has additional information on Nye county cemeteries.

• Interment.net Nevada cemetery records by county.

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1870	1,087	—
1880	1,875	72.5%
1890	1,290	−31.2%
1900	1,140	−11.6%
1910	7,513	559.0%
1920	6,504	−13.4%
1930	3,989	−38.7%
1940	3,606	−9.6%
1950	3,101	−14.0%
1960	4,374	41.1%
1970	5,599	28.0%
1980	9,048	61.6%
1990	17,781	96.5%
2000	32,485	82.7%
2010	43,946	35.3%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

The first enumeration for Nevada before it was a state in 1864, was in the 1850 Census in both New Mexico and Utah Territories, but the area had not been divided into counties. Those living there may be in the Utah 1851 Census. For 1860, Nevada was again enumerated in New Mexico and Utah Territories. A partial state census exists for Nevada in 1862 and 1863 and a full state census exists for 1875. See links listed below.

State and Territory Census Records

• 1850 United States Census, 1850 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; Nevada was included in both the 1850 New Mexico and Utah Territory Censuses. - How to Use this Collection
• 1860 United States Census, 1860 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; Nevada was included in both the 1860 New Mexico and Utah Territory Censuses. - How to Use this Collection
• 1860 Nevada, Compiled Census Index, 1860-1910 at Ancestry ($), index
• 1862-1863 1862-1863 Nevada Territory Tax List - Index
• 1875 Nevada State Census, 1875 at Ancestry($), index

Federal Census Records

Federal Censuses were taken for the state of Nevada starting in 1870. Although, those living in south-eastern Nevada in 1870 may be enumerated in Utah or Arizona because of disputed boundaries with Nevada. For links to Federal Census indexes, see Nevada Census.

Church Records

Most church records are held by individual churches. For contact information, check a phone directory, such as SearchBug or Dex Knows. Some denominations are gathering their records into a central repository. For more information about these major repositories, see Nevada Church Records.

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Directories

• 1868-1869 Nevada Directory 1868-1869 at Ancestry ($), index only, includes settlers of Nevada.

Emigration and Immigration

• Nevada Emigration and Immigration

Funeral Homes

• Lee Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Pahrump
• Pahrump Family Mortuary in Pahrump

Land and Property Records

The county recorder's office keeps land records once the land was transferred to private ownership. Abstracts and indexes for these records are generally available at the county courthouse.

In the FamilySearch Catalog, land records for Nevada are listed in the Place Search under: NEVADA, Nye – LAND AND PROPERTY

• 1796-1907 U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
  
• 1863-1908 U.S. Homestead Records 1863-1908 at Ancestry.com ($), index and images
• Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available.

For more information see Nevada Land and Property

Local Histories

County histories may include biographies of early settlers and residents, church and school information, and local military regiments at the time of publication.

• Amargosa, Nevada. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 3 (1994-1995) - v. 3, no. 2 (summer 1994). At various libraries(WorldCat).
• Bullfrog. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 3 (1994-1995) - v. 3, no. 2 (summer 1994). At various libraries(WorldCat).
• Carrara and the Mining Camps of Bare Mountain. By Alan H. Patera. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 9, no. 1 = no. 33 (2010). At various libraries(WorldCat).
• Funeral Mountains: Mining Camps and Mines. By Alan H. Patera. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 6 (1999-2002) - v. 6, no. 4 = no. 24 (2002). At various libraries(WorldCat).
• Gold Mountain, Nevada.By Alan H. Patera. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 7 (2002-2004) - v. 7, no. 3 = no. 27 (2004). At various libraries(WorldCat).
• Mud Springs Station : Nye County, Nevada. By Alan H. Patera. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 4 (1995-1996) - v. 4, no. 1 (spring 1995). At various libraries(WorldCat).
• Preserving the Glory Days: Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of Nye County, Nevada. c1981. By Shawn Hall. Reno, Nevada : University of Nevada Press. Google Books; At various libraries(WorldCat).
• The Reveille District. By Alan H. Patera. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 8 (2005-2008) - v. 8, no. 4 = no. 32 (2008). At various libraries(WorldCat).
• Sagebrush Chronicles [of] Nye County. c1972. By David Basso. Sparks, Nevada : Dave's Print. & Pub. At various libraries(WorldCat).
• Tybo, Nevada. By Alan H. Patera. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 2 (1993) - v. 2, no. 4 (winter 1993). At various libraries(WorldCat).

Online County Histories

• A History of the Tonopah Area and Adjacent Region of Central Nevada 1827-1941. c2011. By Lucile Rae Berg. Tonopah, Nevada : Nye County Press. Online at: Internet Archive; At various libraries(WorldCat).
• Births, Deaths and Miscellaneous Information: Gleaned from "Round Mountain Nugget", 1908-1909. c1964. By Nona Parkin. N.p. : n.p. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; At various libraries(WorldCat).
• Historic Legends of Nye and Esmeralda Counties. c197? By Fred S. Cook. Pahrump, Nev : The Printery. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; At various libraries(WorldCat).

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
• Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Nevada - shows boundary changes for Nevada Counties
• Historical Maps and Atlases of Nevada - maps and atlases of Nevada

Military Records

Online Collections

These collections are unique to Nevada. You will find nationwide databases for military records on U.S. Military Online Genealogy Records and Nevada Military Records.

Civil War

• 1861-1865 Nevada, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection
  
• 1863-1866 Nevada Civil War Volunteers, 1863-1866 ($) at Ancestry — index
  

World War I

• Nevada - Soldiers of the Great War
  

World War II

• Nevada Casualties of World War II
  
• 1940-1945 Nevada, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection

Korea War

• Nevada Military Killed in Action in Korea
  
• U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Korean War for Nevada
  

Vietnam War

• Nevada Military Killed in Action in Vietnam
  
• The Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Nevada
  
• Vietnam Conflict Casualty Lists - Nevada
  

Other Conflicts

• Nevadans Killed in Action - Operation Enduring Freedom & Operation Iraqi Freedom

For further information see Nevada Military Records.

Naturalization and Citizenship

Please see the Nevada Naturalization and Citizenship page for state-wide information.

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1956-1991 Nevada, Naturalization Petitions, 1956-1991 at Ancestry($), index.

Newspapers

For more information, see Nevada Newspapers.

• GenealogyBank ($), contains images of Nevada newspapers
• Newspaper Archive ($), contains images of Nevada newspapers
• Chronicling America - contains images of some Nevada newspapers; searching tips
• Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
• U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper

Probate Records

Probate records may include, wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. They may include the decedent’s date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, etc. See Nevada Probate Records for additional information.

Social Security Records

• 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

Nevada tax records complement land records and can be used to supplement the years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years in the tax records. Most tax records can be obtained from the county treasurer or assessor. For more information, see the wiki page Nevada Taxation. The Family History Library does not have copies of Nevada tax records (as of June 2013).

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents.

A copy or an extract of most Nevada original records can be purchased from the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also Nevada Vital Records. For information about restrictions and costs for certificates, see the CDC Where to Write for Vital Records site.

Birth

• 1871-1992 Nevada County Birth and Death Records, 1871-1992 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
• 1975-2012 Nevada Birth Index 1975-2012 at Ancestry ($)

Marriage

• 1809-2011 Western States Marriage Index, 1809-2011 - Index, incomplete, list of counties included
• 1862-1992 Nevada County Marriages, 1862-1993 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
• 1956-2005 Nevada Marriage Index 1956-2005 at Ancestry ($)

Death

• 1871-1992 Nevada County Birth and Death Records, 1871-1992 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
• Records of deaths and burials in Nye, Esmeralda and Mineral Counties with index. Sources include newspapers and funeral homes.

Divorce

• 1968-2015 Nevada Divorce Records 1968-2015 at Ancestry ($)

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Nye County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Nevada Archives and Libraries.

Family History Centers

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

• Beatty Nevada Family History Center
• Gabbs Nevada Family History Center
• Pahrump Nevada Family History Center
• Smoky Valley Nevada Family History Center
• Tonopah Nevada Family History Center

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Nye County. For state-wide library facilities, see Nevada Archives and Libraries.

Gabbs Community Library
602 Third Street
Gabbs, NV 89409
Phone: 775-285-2686

Museums

Central Nevada Museum/Historical Society
PO Box 326
1900 Logan Field Road
Tonopah, NV 89049-0326
775-482-9676
Email: cnmuseum@citlink.net
Website
Facebook

Societies

Listed below are societies in Nye County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Nevada Societies.

Central Nevada Historical Society
1900 Logan Field Road
PO Box 326
Tonopah, NV 89049
775-485-9676
Website
Facebook

Clark County Nevada Genealogy Society
280 S Green Valley Pkwy
PO Box 1929
Henderson, NV 89012
Website
Facebook

Nevada Historical Society
1650 North Virginia Street
Reno, NV 89503
Phone: 775-688-1190
Email: shayeszorn@nevadaculture.org
Website
Facebook

Nevada State Genealogical Society
4751 Neil Road
Reno, NV 89515-0666
Website
Facebook

Tri-State Genealogical Society
For Arizona, California, Nevada
PO Box 21902
Bullhead City, AZ 86439
Website

Websites

• Nye County at Cyndi's List — a comprehensive, categorized & cross-referenced list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online
• Nye County at Genealogy Trails — volunteer transcriptions of genealogical and historical data
• Nye County at Nevada USGenWeb - free online resources for genealogical research
• Nye County at Nevada USGenWeb Archives - free online data for genealogical research
• Nye County, Nevada at Linkpendium - genealogy and family history
• Nye County, Nevada Genealogy at LDSGenealogy.com - collection of links by state, county, city, and record type
• 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.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access.

A national directory from the Library of Congress that lists of libraries around the country that have the newspapers in their collections.