Lincoln County, Nevada Genealogy

United States Nevada  Lincoln County



County Courthouse
Lincoln County Courthouse 181 Main Street Pioche, Nevada 89043 Phone: 775-962-5390 County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1873

Parent County

 * Up until 1821 - New Spain controlled land that later would become Arizona and Nevada. Some records of early settlers may have been sent to an archives in Seville, Spain.
 * From 1821 until 1846 - Mexico had jurisdiction over the land that later would become Arizona and Nevada. Some records of this period may have been sent to archives in Mexico City.
 * From 1846 to 1863 - New Mexico Territory included land that later would become Arizona and southern Nevada.
 * In 1852 - New Mexico Territory set up counties that stretched east and west from the Texas border to the California border, including land that became Arizona and southern Nevada. Present-day Nye County, Nevada was once part of Taos, and Rio Arriba counties of New Mexico. There is a small chance that a few records from 1846 to 1963 may  have been sent to courthouses in their respective New Mexico counties.
 * 29 December 1863 Arizona's three judicial districts were established by the Arizona Territory Organic Act from the western half of New Mexico Territory. All previous counties were dissolved, and eventually four new counties were created in the new Arizona Territory.
 * By November 1864 Mohave County was created by the Arizona legislature as an original county from parts of the 2nd and 3rd Judicial Districts. A part of the 2nd Judicial District eventually became part of Nevada. Some records from 1863 to 1871 may have been sent to the Mohave County, Arizona offices.
 * 22 December 1865 Pah-Ute County was created by Arizona from part of Mohave County. Some records from 1865 to 1871 may have been sent to the Pah-Ute County offices. When Pah-Ute County was disbanded those records were probably transferred to either Mohave County, Arizona, or to Lincoln or Nye counties in Nevada.
 * 18 January 1867 Pah-Ute County, and Mohave County, Arizona Territory west of the Colorado River and west of 114° west longitude were given to Nevada by the U.S. Congress. This area became the southern part of Lincoln, and Nye counties, and eventually Clark County, in Nevada. In 1871, after many petitions Arizona ceased to claim this land.

1866--Lincoln County was created 26 February 1866 from Nye County. County seat: Pioche <ref name="HBG"

Boundary Changes
On 5 May 1866 the United States Congress passed a bill extending the eastern Nevada boundary by one degree of longitude to its present position on the 37th meridian. As a result, Lincoln County increased in both size and population. Residents of Panaca, a small farming community established by Mormon pioneers, were most affected by the change. By law, they were officially residents of Lincoln County, Nevada. However, because the area had not been surveyed, Panaca residents contended they still belonged to the Utah Territory and they refused to pay taxes to Lincoln County. Consequently, a long bitter dispute ensued. Eventually, the conflict was settled by the court system in 1871. Since that time, Panaca has been recognized as one of Lincoln County's most enduring communities.

Lincoln County boundaries were modified on three other occasions. In 1867, a portion of the western edge of Lincoln County was ceded to Nye County. In 1875, the northern boundary was adjusted following the acquisition of the northeast corner of Nye County. But the largest boundary adjustment occurred in the year 1909, when Lincoln County was split in half and Clark County was formed from the southern half.

Populated Places

 * Cities and Towns: Alamo| Ash Springs | Caliente | Hiko | Panaca | Pioche | Rachel | Ursine


 * Ghost Towns: Acoma | Angle City | Atlanta | Barclay | Big Trees | Boyd | Bristol Well | Brown | Bullionville | Carp | Caselton | Cold Spring | Crestline | Crossroads | Crystal Springs | Delmar | Eberhardt | Eccles | Elgin | Etna | Fay | Flat Nose | Galt | Groom Lake| Helene | Horseshoe Bend | Hoya | Indian Cove | Islen | Jackrabbit | Joseco | Kyle | Logan City | Mendha | Mud Springs | Ninemile Rocks | Pony Springs | Prince | Rose Valley | Rox | Stine | Strawberry Hill | Sundown | Tempiute

Neighboring Counties
Clark | Nye | White Pine | Beaver County, Utah | Iron County, Utah | Millard County, Utah | Washington County, Utah | Mohave County, Arizona

Cemeteries

 * Find A Grave.com has burial information for the following Lincoln County cemeteries: Alamo, Barclay, Bullionville, Caliente City, Castle Family, Conway Veterans Memeorial, Davidson Family, Delmar Catholic, Delmar Helene, Hackett Family, Hiko Area, Hiko, Panaca Memorial Park, Pioche Boot Hill, Pioche Catholic, Pioche Masonic, Pioche Public, Rachel, Richardville, Schofield, Spring Valley, and Woodworth.
 * BillionGraves has photos, transcriptions, and Google maps of the following cemeteries: Saint Laurence Catholic Cemetery

Census
Transcriptions of many Lincoln County federal census records are available online as part of The USGenWeb Project. Click on the links below to search a particular census.

1870 Census | 1880 Census | 1880 Mortality Schedules | 1890 Special Census | 1900 Census | 1900 Indian Census

FamilySearch Record Search

For more information about Nevada census records, see the Nevada Census records page available on the FamilySearch Wiki.

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Alamo
 * Caliente
 * Panaca
 * Pioche

History

 * Gillies, Richard E. A History of Lincoln County, Nevada, 1776-1874. Salt Lake city, Utah: University of Utah, 1959.


 * Harris, Mary N. Porter. Settlement of Lincoln County and White Pine County, Nevada, by Utah Pioneers. [Salt Lake City, Utah]: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 2006.


 * Hulse, James W., Jean Giguet, and Anna Dean Kepper. Lincoln County: Land of Many Frontiers. [S.l : s.n.], 1981.


 * Hulse, James W. Lincoln County, Nevada, 1864-1909: History of a Mining Region. Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press, 1971.


 * Roske, Ralph Joseph and Marta Planzo. An Overview of the History of Lincoln County. Las Vegas, Nevada: University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 1978.

Land
Lincoln County Courthouse Recorder/Auditor 181 Main Street Pioche, Nevada 89043 Phone: 775-962-5495 Hours: M-F 8am-5pm; Closed on legal holidays

Record Highlights: Real estate deeds, mortgages, mining deeds and notices, maps, and early vital records (births, marriages, and deaths). Note, only births and deaths prior to 1911 are accessible to the public. Researchers can also access bound volumes of early Lincoln County newspapers, such as the Pioche Daily Record, 1872-1876.

On-site researchers can obtain photocopies of documents from the recorder's office. Photocopying cost have been set at $1.00 per page. Researchers are also allowed to take digital photographs of documents, however, a $1.00 fee is assessed for each photograph taken.

Migration
Early migration routes to and from for emigrant settlers included:


 * Mormon Trail 1846 to 1869 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah
 * Mormon Trail to Southern California 1847 from Salt Lake City, Utah to Los Angeles, California
 * Union Pacific Railroad 1869 Ogden, Utah (among others) to Omaha, Nebraska

Online Resources

 * World War I Draft Registrations

Newspapers

 * Scott, Patricia A. "Obituaries Published in the Pioche Daily Record, 1872-1878." Database. NVGenWeb.org. Lincoln County Nevada Heritage Collection. http://www.nvgenweb.org/lincoln/PDRobits.txt: 2010.


 * The Lincoln County Record is the official newspaper of Lincoln County. It is published weekly every Thursday. The paper's roots trace back to the early 1870s. Over the course of its history, the paper has been known by several titles: The Ely Record,1870-1872; Pioche Daily Record, 1872-1876; Pioche Weekly Record, 1877-1900; Lincoln County Record, 1900-1905; Pioche Weekly Record, 1906-1908; Pioche Daily Record, 1908-1925; Lincoln County Record, 1925-1932; Pioche Record, 1932-1968; and since 1968, the newspaper has been titled the Lincoln County Record.

Vital Records
Lincoln County Courthouse County Clerk 181 Main Street Pioche, Nevada 89043 Phone: 775-962-5390 Hours: M-F 9am-5pm


 * 485 marriages from 22 Jan 1872 to 20 Jun 1900 are listed on the Western States Marriage Index.

Societies and Libraries
Caliente Branch Library 100 Depot Avenue Caliente, Nevada 89008 Phone: 775-726-3104

Alamo Branch Library 100 South First West Alamo, Nevada 89001 Phone: 775-725-3343

Lincoln County Library 63 Main Street Pioche, Nevada 89043 Phone: 775-962-5244 Hours: M,T,Th 10am-3pm; W 1pm-6pm

Museums
Lincoln County Historical Museum 69 Main Street Pioche, Nevada 89043 Phone: 775-962-5207 Hours: Daily 10am-1pm and 2pm-4pm; Closed major holidays Admission: Free

Million Dollar Courthouse 25 Lacour Street Pioche, Nevada 89043 Phone: 775-962-5182 Hours: Open April to October 10am-4pm Admission: Free

Record Highlights: The museum houses several early original record volumes including tax records, license books, school ledgers, deed indexes, and more. Of particular interest is the grantor/grantee index to Lincoln County Deeds, 1871-1873.

For a brief history of the "Million Dollar Courthouse," see the Lincoln County Courthouse entry found in the Online Nevada Encyclopedia.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Alamo-Hiko Nevada Family History Center
 * Panaca Nevada Family History Center

Web Sites

 * The Lincoln County NV GenWeb Project, a member of The NVGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project


 * Official Website of Lincoln County, Nevada