Esmeralda County, Nevada Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named for the Spanish word for emerald. It is located in the northeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Esmeralda County Courthouse PO Box 547 Goldfield, NV 89013-0547 Phone: 775-485-6367 Esmeralda County Website County Clerk and Treasurer Office has marriage records from 1898, divorce and probate records from 1908, court records from 1907 and naturalization records from 1904.

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

Boundary Changes

 * Parent County: created 25 November 1861 as an original county
 * County seat: Goldfield
 * 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:

Cemeteries
The following web site has additional information on Esmeralda county cemeteries.


 * Interment.net Nevada cemetery records by county.

State and Territory Census Records

 * 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  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 ($), index
 * 1862-1863 1862-1863 Nevada Territory Tax List - Index
 * 1875 Nevada State Census, 1875 at Ancestry.com ($), 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
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * 1864-1916 (*); County Recorder at FamilySearch Catalog — index and images

Directories

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

Land and Property Records
For more information see Nevada Land and Property
 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 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 Patents at Nevada State Library and Archives and Public Records — index and images

Local Histories

 * Aurora, Nevada. By Larry Poag. Journal Article. FamilySearch Catalog.
 * Gold Mountain, Nevada: including: Oriental (Old Camp), Tokop, Thorp and Bonnie Clare. c2004. By Alan H. Patera. Lake Grove, OR (P.O. Box 2093, Lake Grove 97035) : Western Places..
 * History of Esmeralda County, Nevada. c1968. By M. B. Aston. Seattle, Washington : Shorey Book Store..

Online County Histories
 * Historic Legends of Nye and Esmeralda Counties. c197?. By Fred S. Cook. Pahrump, Nev : The Printery. Online at: FamilySearch Book;.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- 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
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 World War I World War II Korea War Vietnam War Other Conflicts For further information see Nevada Military Records.
 * 1861-1865  at FamilySearch — index- How to Use this Collection
 * 1863-1866 Nevada Civil War Volunteers, 1863-1866 ($) at Ancestry — index
 * Nevada - Soldiers of the Great War
 * Nevada Casualties of World War II
 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
 * Nevada Military Killed in Action in Korea
 * U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Korean War for Nevada
 * Nevada Military Killed in Action in Vietnam
 * The Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Nevada
 * Vietnam Conflict Casualty Lists - Nevada
 * Nevadans Killed in Action - Operation Enduring Freedom & Operation Iraqi Freedom

Naturalization and Citizenship

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

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; 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

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 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.

Birth

 * 1871-1992  at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
 * 1887-1922
 * 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 at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
 * 1956-2005 Nevada Marriage Index 1956-2005 at Ancestry ($)

Death

 * 1871-1992  at FamilySearch — index and images- How to Use this Collection
 * 1887-1922
 * Records of deaths in Esmeralda County, as well as records of deaths in other places where deceased was buried in Esmeralda County. The records also include deaths in Mineral and Nye Counties. Records are from various sources including newspapers and funeral homes. Searchable by alphabetical index.

Divorce

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

Libraries

 * Goldfield Public Library P. O. Box 430 Goldfield, NV 89013 Phone: 775-485-3236

Societies

 * Goldfield Historical Society Box 393 Goldfield, NV 89013 Phone:775-485-3560 Email: [mailto:goldfieldhistorical@gmail.com goldfieldhistorical@gmail.com] Website Facebook Page
 * Nevada State Genealogical Society P.O. Box 20666 Reno, NV 89515
 * Clark County Nevada Genealogy Society PO Box 1929 Las Vegas, NV 89125-1929 Website
 * Nevada Historical Society 1650 North Virginia Street Reno, NV 89503 Phone: 775-688-1190
 * Tri-State Genealogical Society For Arizona, California, Nevada PO Box 21902 Bullhead City, AZ 86439 Website

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * - 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