Lake County, Ohio Genealogy

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

Ohio Online Genealogy Records

Lake County, Ohio Record Dates

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties 20 March 1840.
 * County Seat: Painesville

Description
The county name was derived from its location on the southern shore of Lake Erie. It's county seat is Painesville and was founded March 6, 1840. It is located in the Northeastern area of the state.

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:

Neighboring Counties
Ashtabula County • Geauga County • Cuyahoga County

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

Note: Painesville Twp. records to after 1900 were damaged or lost due to flooding.

Biography
Lake County OHGenWeb Website

See ''History Hall. . .'' Website

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

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


 * 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.

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


 * Western Reserve Historical Society, Lake County Chapter, Lake County History, (Ohio: Western Reserve Historical Society, Lake County Chapter, 1941). Digital copy at Ancestry ($)(Indexed)


 * Stith, Bary Oyler, Lake County, Ohio: 150 Years of Tradition, (Northridge, California: Windsor Publications, 1988).

Maps

 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military

 * 1888-1919 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1914-1918 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1916-1920 - at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800-1977 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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 Morley Library Obituaries 1822

Probate Records
Online Probate Records


 * 1786 - 1998 Ohio Wills and Probate Records 1786-1998 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1789 - 1996 at FamilySearch.org — images
 * 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.

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

 * 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 415 Riverside Dr. Painesville, OH 44077, USA Telephone: 440 639 2945 Fax: 440 639 2947 Website

Societies
The Connecticut Western Reserve  was a part of northeast Ohio originally intended for settlement by Revolutionary War refugees from Connecticut. The former Connecticut Western Reserve  lands were in the modern counties of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Trumbull fully, but also in parts of Ashland, Mahoning, Ottawa, Summit, and Wayne counties in Ohio.

The Research Library at the Western Reserve Historical Society History Center  is the premier repository for Cleveland, Ohio and Connecticut Western Reserve history material. One of the principal strengths is its manuscript collections. The WRHS collection has original land records, genealogies of New England, New York, and Pennsylvania, biographies, histories, and family Bibles.

Other 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.

Online Genealogy Research Groups

 * U.S. Midwest Genealogy Research Community - FamilySearch Facebook Research Group
 * Ohio Ancestors - FamilySearch Community group, must have a free FamilySearch account to join
 * U.S. and Canada Genealogy Research - FamilySearch Community group, must have a free FamilySearch account to join
 * U.S. and Canada Genealogy Research - FamilySearch Community group, must have a free FamilySearch account to join

Taxation

 * 1800-1950 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1800-1850 Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850 at MyHeritage ($) — index

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1841-2003 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 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
 * 1908-1998 Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1998 at Ancestry.com ($) — index

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * 1789-2013 - at FamilySearch — index and images, free.
 * 1800-1958 - at FamilySearch — free; Index.
 * 1800-1942 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 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 - Mormon Vital Records Extraction

from Early Publications 1833 - 1841] Marriages and Deaths abstracted from "Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine" from original Latter-day Saint 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.
 * 1970-2003 Ohio, Marriages, 1970 - 2003 at MyHeritage ($) — index

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 Latter-day Saint newspapers of the day. Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
 * 1840-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 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.
 * 1908-1932, 1938-2018 Ohio, Death Records, 1908-1932, 1938-2018 at Ancestry.com ($) — index and images
 * 1913-1944, 1954-1963 Ohio Death Index, 1913-1944, 1954-1963 at MyHeritage ($) — index

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 - Proceedings in Common Pleas Journal J This court volume covers 1878-Feb 1881 and lists over 60 couples applying for divorces. Courtesy OhioGenWeb.

Websites

 * Lake County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Lake County OH Genealogy
 * OHGenWeb - The GenWeb site has many databases, biographies, vital records, etc.
 * Lake County birth records 1867-1908.
 * Lake County Genealogical Society projects page with the cemetery inscriptions, naturalizations and other information.
 * Lake County Genealogical Society projects page with the cemetery inscriptions, naturalizations and other information.