Lyon County, Nevada Genealogy

United States Nevada  Lyon County

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

Historical Facts

 * Parent County: created 25 November 1861 as an original county
 * County Seat: Yerington
 * Neighboring Counties: Churchill | Douglas | Mineral | Mono County, California | Ormsby | Storey | Washoe | Carson City (Independent City)

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

Cemeteries

 * LDS Cemetery Records


 * US Vol. 5 page 273 - Old Fort Churchill Cemetery (7 miles south of Silver Springs)


 * Dayton Cemetery Inscriptionssponsored by USGenWeb


 * Pictures of tombstones in the Dayton Cemetery

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


 * California Trail 1844 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California
 * Truckee (River) Trail 1844 crossed the Forty Mile Desert to the Truckee River to follow it west past Reno, Nevada to Donner Pass to Emigrant Gap to Sutter's Fort (Sacramento, California). The exact route varied over the years, the most used being the Nevada City Road and Auburn Emigrant Road combination.
 * Carson (River) Trail 1848 (aka Mormon Emigrant Trail) crossed the Forty Mile Desert past the west side of the Carson Sink to pick up the Carson River near Fallon, Nevada up to Hope Valley and Red Lake. The Devil's Ladder then climbed 700 feet (210 m) in half a mile so ropes, chains, and pulleys were required to lift the wagons. Carson Pass was followed by the relatively easy West Pass (Kirkwood, California) and then on to Pollock Pines, Placerville, and Sutter's Fort, California
 * Walker River-Sonora Road 1852-1854 from the Carson Trail south to the Walker River along the base of the Sierra Nevada until it ascends to Sonora Pass and then down to Strawberry and Sonora, California


 * Central Pacific Railroad since 1869 from Ogden, Utah to Sacramento, California
 * Central Overland Trail 1859-1869 from Salt Lake City, Utah to Carson City, Nevada through central Nevada on a route south of the Humboldt River]

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

Courthouse
Lyon County Courthouse 27 S Main Street PO Box 816; Yerington, NV 89447 Phone: 775.577.5043 County Recorder has marriage and land records from 1862. County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records from 1890.

Family History Centers

 * Fernley Nevada Family History Center
 * Silver Springs Nevada Family History Center
 * Yerington Nevada Family History Center

Libraries

 * Dayton Valley Branch Library 321 Dayton Valley Rd Dayton, NV 89403 Telephone 775-246-6212


 * Smith Valley Public Library 20 Day Ln Wellington, NV 89444 Telephone 775-465-2369


 * Central Library 20 Nevin Way Yerington, NV 89447 Telephone 775-463-6645

Societies

 * Wellington Historical Society P. O. Box 36 Wellington, NV 89444


 * FORT CHURCHILL Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution Fernley, Nevada


 * Nevada State Genealogical Society Mailing Address: P.O. Box 20666 Reno, NV 89515-0666


 * Clark County Nevada Genealogy Society PO Box 1929 Las Vegas, NV 89125-1929


 * Nevada Historical Society 1650 North Virginia Street Reno, NV 89503 Telephone: 775-688-1190 Fax: 775-688-2917


 * Tri-State Genealogical Society ARIZONA, CALIFORNIA, NEVADA PO Box 21902 Bullhead City, AZ 86439


 * Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK)


 * Nevada Genealogy Network

Marriage
Over 447 marriages from 3 Jan 1862 to 23 Nov 1887 are listed in the Western States Marriage Index.

Websites

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