Nye County, Nevada Genealogy

Guide to Nye 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 in honor of James W. Nye, Governor of Nevada Territory and later United States Senator from Nevada. It is located in the south-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Nye County Courthouse 101 Radar Rd PO Box 1031 Tonopah, NV 89049-1031 Phone: 775-482-8127 Nye County Website County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1860. County Recorder has land records.

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

Boundary Changes

 * Parent County: created 16 February 1864 from Esmeralda
 * County seat: Tonopah
 * 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:

Other locations identified as being in this county or with different links

History Timeline

 * Until 1821 - New Spain controlled land that later would become Nevada. Some records of early settlers may have been sent to an archives in Seville, Spain, or to archives in Mexico City.
 * In 1821 - Mexico obtained jurisdiction over the land that later would become Nevada. Records of this period may have been sent to archives in Mexico City.
 * 18 Aug 1846 - During the war with Mexico, the US took control of Santa Fe and proclaimed sovereignty over the land that later became the New Mexico Territory. Look for records in the National Archives and Records Administration, the Mexico Archives and the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives.
 * 4 July 1848 - In the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Mexico ceded all of present day Nevada. Look for records in the National Archives and Records Administration, the Mexico Archives and the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives.
 * 9 Jan 1852 - New Mexico redefined the boundaries of previous counties and created new ones to cover all the land within its territory. The land that would someday be southern Nye County was once part of Taos, San Juan (1861-1862 only), Rio Arriba, Santa Ana, Bernalillo, Valencia, and Socorro counties of New Mexico.  Look for records in Dona Ana County, Socorro County, Bernalillo, Rio Arriba, Taos, and Valencia counties.
 * 24 Feb 1863 - The US created the Arizona Territory from the western half of New Mexico Territory. All previous counties were discontinued for this new territory. Look for records in the Arizona State Library and New Mexico State Records Center and Archives
 * 10 Nov 1864 - Mohave County was created as one of the four original counties in Arizona. This county named for the Mojave Indians. Look for records in Mohave County.
 * 22 December 1865 - Pah-Ute County was created by Arizona out of the north part Mohave County. Look for records in Mohave County.
 * 18 January 1867 - A large portion of Pah-Ute County and a smaller portion of Mohave County was given to Nevada by the US government. Nevada used the land to increase Lincoln and Nye counties. Utah opposed this transfer of land by creating Rio Virgin County which extended out of Utah, covering a large portion of southern Lincoln and Nye counties. Arizona opposed loosing this land, twice petitioned Congress for repeal of the law. Up thru 1868, representatives from Pah-Ute county attended the Arizona legislature. Look for records in Mohave County AZ, Washington County UT, Lincoln County NV and Nye County NV.
 * 18 February 1871 - Arizona discontinued Pah-Ute County, finally accepting the loss after exhausting all legal remedies. The remainder of Pah-Ute County AZ was restored to Mohave County AZ. Look for records in Mohave County AZ

Cemeteries
The following web site has additional information on Nye 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.
 * 1860  at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; Nevada was included in both the 1860 New Mexico and Utah Territory Censuses.
 * 1860 Nevada, Compiled Census Index, 1860-1910 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1862-1863 1862-1863 Nevada Territory Tax List - Index
 * 1875 Nevada State Census, 1875 at Ancestry($), 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.

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
 * 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 Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available.

Local Histories

 * Amargosa, Nevada. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 3 (1994-1995) - v. 3, no. 2 (summer 1994)..
 * Bullfrog. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 3 (1994-1995) - v. 3, no. 2 (summer 1994)..
 * Carrara and the Mining Camps of Bare Mountain. By Alan H. Patera. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 9, no. 1 = no. 33 (2010). At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * Funeral Mountains: Mining Camps and Mines. By Alan H. Patera. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 6 (1999-2002) - v. 6, no. 4 = no. 24 (2002). At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * Gold Mountain, Nevada.By Alan H. Patera. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 7 (2002-2004) - v. 7, no. 3 = no. 27 (2004). At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * Mud Springs Station : Nye County, Nevada. By Alan H. Patera. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 4 (1995-1996) - v. 4, no. 1 (spring 1995). At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * Preserving the Glory Days: Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of Nye County, Nevada. c1981. By Shawn Hall.  Reno, Nevada : University of Nevada Press. Google Books;.
 * The Reveille District. By Alan H. Patera. Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 8 (2005-2008) - v. 8, no. 4 = no. 32 (2008).  At various libraries(WorldCat).
 * Sagebrush Chronicles [of] Nye County. c1972. By David Basso. Sparks, Nevada : Dave's Print. & Pub..
 * Tybo, Nevada. By Alan H. Patera.  Journal Article: Western places : a chronicle of western settlement - v. 2 (1993) - v. 2, no. 4 (winter 1993).  At various libraries(WorldCat).

Online County Histories
 * A History of the Tonopah Area and Adjacent Region of Central Nevada 1827-1941. c2011. By Lucile Rae Berg. Tonopah, Nevada : Nye County Press. Online at: Internet Archive;.
 * Births, Deaths and Miscellaneous Information: Gleaned from "Round Mountain Nugget", 1908-1909. c1964. By Nona Parkin. N.p. : n.p. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library;.
 * Historic Legends of Nye and Esmeralda Counties. c197? By Fred S. Cook.  Pahrump, Nev : The Printery. Online at:  FamilySearch Digital Library;.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Nevada - shows boundary changes for Nevada Counties
 * Historical Maps and Atlases of Nevada - maps and atlases of Nevada

Online Collections
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
 * 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
 * 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 - Free; 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

Birth

 * 1871-1992 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 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
 * 1956-2005 Nevada Marriage Index 1956-2005 at Ancestry ($)

Death

 * 1871-1992 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Records of deaths and burials in Nye, Esmeralda and Mineral Counties with index. Sources include newspapers and funeral homes.

Divorce

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

Family History Centers

 * Beatty Nevada Family History Center
 * Gabbs Nevada Family History Center
 * Pahrump Nevada Family History Center
 * Smokey Valley Nevada Family History Center
 * Tonopah Nevada Family History Center

Libraries

 * Gabbs Community Library 602 Third Street Gabbs, NV 89409 Phone: 775-285-2686

Museums

 * Central Nevada Museum/Historical Society PO Box 326 1900 Logan Field Road Tonopah, NV 89049-0326 Phone: 775-482-9676 Fax: 775-482-5423 Email: [mailto:cnmuseum@citlink.net cnmuseum@citlink.net]

Societies

 * Central Nevada Historical Society 1900 Logan Field Road PO Box 326 Tonopah, NV 89049
 * Nevada State Genealogical Society PO Box 20666 Reno, NV 89515-0666 Website
 * 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 Fax: 775-688-2917 Website
 * 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.
 * Nevada Genealogy Network
 * - 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