Lake County, Colorado Genealogy

United States  Colorado Lake County

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

County Courthouse
Formerly Carbonate Co. Name changed to Lake 10 Feb 1879 County Clerk has marriage records from 1869, land records from 1861 and some burial records 1885-1903 Clerk District Court has divorce, probate and court records

County Seat
Leadville

Parent County
1861--Lake County was created 1 November 1861 as an original county. When it was divided in 1879, the part which is Lake County today was known as Carbonate County for a brief period. Chaffee County was known as Lake County during this same time period before its name became Chaffee.

Neighboring Counties



 * Chaffee
 * Eagle
 * Park
 * Pitkin
 * Summit

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

Cemeteries
Lake County’s Public Library’s website has links to records of Lake County’s cemeteries.

Interments in the “Old” Leadville Cemetery began in 1877. The Evergreen Cemetery opened up in November of 1879; some graves were moved from the “Old” Leadville Cemetery to the new Evergreen Cemetery. A Catholic cemetery, St. Joseph’s, opened in the mid 1800s. Some graves were moved from the Catholic section of the Evergreen Cemetery to St. Joseph’s.

1877-1879 Old Leadville Cemetery Records: Original Leadville Cemetery- (alphabetical order by last name) Evergreen (Leadville, Colorado) Cemetery Records: 1879-1981 Evergreen Cemetery (A-G) (alphabetical by last name) 1879-1981 Evergreen Cemetery (H-O) 1879-1981 Evergreen Cemetery (P-Z) Evergreen Cemetery Walking Tour Who’s Where in Leadville’s Evergreen Cemetery(abbreviations, sample page, key map and 13 sectional maps)  St. Joseph’s Records: 1888-1981 Catholic Cemeteries (alphabetical order by last name following the page of Catholic cemetery list.) Who’s Where in Leadville’s Catholic Cemeteries (contains abbreviations, sample page, key maps, maps of St. Joseph’s, Holy Cross, Granite, and Twin Lakes Cemeteries)

Census

 * 1860-1940 Colorado Census Records from 1860 to 1940 at FamilySearch.org — index/images

Court Records
Numerous records are available at Colorado Archives. To use this link scroll down the page to where it asks for Record Type. Click there and scroll down the list to the records you want and select. The next field asks for county. Select the county you want and then click on Search. You can narrow the search by adding the additional information it asks for.

Probate Records
Online Records
 * 1875–1974 Colorado Wills and Probate Records 1875-1974 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

School Records
1880-1903 Colorado State Archives has put an index to the School Census for District No. 6 for the years 1880-1903 on-line.

Archives
1880-1903 Lake County School District #6 1883-1884 Lake County Justice of the Peace Cases 1883-1910 Leadville School Census 1893-1900 Lake County School District #12 1909 Lake County Births to 1909 1952-1958 Lake County School District #15

Family History Centers

 * Frisco Colorado Family History Center
 * Aspen Colorado Family History Center
 * Eagle Valley Colorado Family History Center

Libraries
Lake County Public Library 1115 Harrison Ave Leadville, CO 80461 Telehone: 719-486-0569 Lake Co. Public Library website

Societies
Leadville Heritage Museum Association 102 E 9th St PO Box 962 Leadville, Colorado 80461 Telephone: 719-486-1878 Website

Vital Records

 * Colorado Vital Records Search
 * Lake County, Colorado Obituary Collection Free from GenealogyBuff.com. From Various Funeral Homes in the Leadville and surrounding area.

Birth
Birth records may become public records when 100 years have elapsed after the date of birth. EXCEPTION: The birth record of any individual who is known to be currently alive will remain confidential even if they are 100 years of age or greater.

Marriage

 * 1853-2006 at FamilySearch.org — index/images
 * 1859-1900 Colorado Marriages, 1859-1900 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1864-1995 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1900-1939 Colorado, Statewide Marriage Index, 1900-1939 at Ancestry.com — index $

Death
Death records may become public records when 75 years have elapsed after the date of death.

Web Sites

 * Lake County, Colorado Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Lake County, Colorado Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)