Lawrence County, Ohio Genealogy

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

Historical Facts

 * Parent Counties: Formed from Gallia and Sciota Counties 21 December 1815.
 * County Seat: Ironton

Description
The county was named for James Lawrence, naval hero in the War of 1812. It's county seat is Ironton and was founded December 1815. It is located in the Southcentral area of the state.

Neighboring Counties
Scioto County •  Jackson County  •  Gallia County  •  Wayne County, West Virginia  •  Cabell County, West Virginia  •  Boyd County, Kentucky  •  Greenup County, Kentucky

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.

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

History
This county was named for Captain James Lawrence, commander of the frigate Chesapeake during the War of 1812 who said "Do not give up the ship".

Local Histories

 * Lawrence County Historical Book Committee, History of Lawrence County, Ohio, (Waynesville, North Carolina: Don Mills, 1990).


 * Ohio Genealogical Society, Lawrence County Chapter, History of Lawrence County, Ohio, (Waynesville, North Carolina: County Heritage, 2004).


 * A Story About Lawrence County, Ohio: Historical Background, (Huntington, West Virginia: Paul Brown Publishing, 1966).

Land and Property



 * 1790-1907 - Bureau of Land Management database Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives.

Maps



 * Maps of Ohio (1788-1940)

Military
Civil War


 * Civil War service men from Lawrence County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment)that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that had many men from Lawrence County.


 * - 4th Regiment, Ohio Cavalry, Companies G and I
 * - George's Independent Company, Ohio Cavalry

Newspapers
Online Newspapers


 * The Ironton Tribune

Online Newspaper Abstracts


 * various years - community contributed newspaper articles Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives.

Newspaper Extracts and Abstracts in Book Form

Probate
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.
 * 1847-1941 - Will Index, 1847-1941 Courtesy OhioGenWeb and The Lawrence Register.
 * 1863-1919 - Will Indexes Vols. 1-10. Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives.
 * various years - community contributed wills Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
 * various years - community contributed wills Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives.

Repositories
Lawrence County Health Department

2120 South 8th Street Ironton, OH 45638 PHONE: 740-532-2172 HOURS: M-F 8:00 – 4:00


 * The Health Department has county births and deaths certificates from 1909-present. The indexes are at Briggs Lawrence County Public Library, Hamner Room.
 * You must obtain copies of certificates at the Health Dept.
 * Copies are $18.00

Give staff the name of the person and the year of death/birth. You do not have to know the month and day.

Courthouse
Lawrence County Courthouse 111 North 4th Street Ironton, OH 45638 Phone: 740.533.4300 Probate Court has birth records 1864-1908, marriage records from 1900, death records1868-1933 and probate records from 1817; County Health Department has birth and death records from 1908; Clerk Court has court records from 1817 and divorce records from 1819; County Recorder has land records from 1817

Family History Centers

 * Ashland Kentucky 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
Briggs Lawrence County Public Library- Hamner Room Local History and Genealogy Department 321 South Fourth Street Ironton, OH 45638 PHONE: 740.532.1124 FAX: 740.532.4948 [mailto:genealogy@briggslibrary.org genealogy@briggslibrary.org] www.briggslibrary.com/hamner/aboutus.htm

Hours : Mon-Thurs 9am – 8:30pm; Fri-Sat 9am – 5:30pm

Summer Hours : Mon-Thurs 9am – 8:30pm; Fri 9am – 5:30pm Saturday 10am-3pm

Closed Sundays

 Area Records on Microfilm 


 * Federal Census 1820-1880 (surrounding counties)
 * Wills 1847 – present
 * 1890 Special Census (surrounding counties)
 * Births &amp; Deaths1868 – 1938
 * Federal Census 1900-1930 (surrounding counties)
 * Marriages1817 – present
 * Early Court Records (Incomplete)
 * Newspapers 1850 – present
 * Sanborn Insurance Maps
 * Some Early Furnace Records
 * Some Early Court Records
 * Tax Duplicate Records 1817 &amp; 1822
 * Death Indexes from Ohio Department of Health 1908-1944, excluding 1933-1937

 Special Collections 


 * First Families of Lawrence County
 * Woodland Cemetery Records
 * Tombstone readings from area cemeteries
 * Family History Center
 * Some early Church Records
 * Vertical Files of area History
 * Ironton City Directories (Incomplete)
 * Yearbooks (incomplete)
 * Birth Indexes 1909-present
 * Death Indexes 1909-present

Briggs Lawrence County Public Library does not perform genealogical research, which is requested by phone, letter or e-mail. We will return all such requests to the sender, and will respond with a list of the names of local researchers obtained from the Lawrence County Genealogical Society, who can perform those services.

The staff at Briggs Lawrence County Public Library will continue to assist all persons who visit the Phyllis Hamner Local History and Genealogy Room located at the Main Library in Ironton, Ohio.

Museums
The Lawrence County Museum has certification by the Ohio Association of Historical Societies Museums. It is operated by the Lawrence County Historical Society, a corporation since 1925. The building in which the Museum is housed is referred to, in the Registry of Historical Homes of the Rankin District, as the Colonel George N. Gray House. In 1988, the Lawrence County Historical Society acquired the property, using funds raised through contributions of community-minded individuals, members, and businesses.

The Museum features several permanent exhibits, while some areas have exhibits that change four or five times a year. Annual events are:

Ice Cream Social                      First Sunday of July Apple Butter Day                       First Saturday of October Christmas Exhibit Opens            First Sunday of December

A very special event in Ironton is the Museum's Candlelight Church Walk on the first Saturday evening of December. Victorian Teas are being added to the schedule.

Societies
Lawrence County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 1035 Proctorville, Ohio 45669-1035 Contact person:

Donald R.Clark 740-886-7230  10 a.m. to 10 p.m. [mailto:Lawcoloreman@aol.com Lawcoloreman@aol.com]

The following organizations are under the umbrella of the Ohio Genealogical Society:


 * First Families of Lawrence County
 * Civil War Veterans of Lawrence County
 * Settlers and Builders of Lawrence County
 * Lineage Society

Application forms for these organizations are at the following URL: http://www.lawrencecountyohio.com/gensoc/gensoc.htm

Lawrence County Historical Society 506 South 6th St Ironton, Ohio 45638 740-532-1222

Taxation

 * 1818 and 1821 - Lawrence County Tax Lists Courtesy OhioGenWeb and The Lawrence Register.

Vital Records
View birth, marriage, and death indexes and more online at The Lawrence Register.

Birth
Online Birth Indexes and Records


 * 1867-1868 - births from Probate records Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
 * 1867-1938 - Selected early birth records by surname taken from the Probate records. Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
 * 1850-1900 - Birth Announcements index of birth announcements taken from Ohio newspapers. Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
 * 1909-1950 - Index of Births from the city Health Department, Ironton, Ohio. Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
 * Jan-Jul 1927 - Births from the Ironton Tribune Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
 * various years - visitor submitted birth information Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
 * various years - community contributed birth records Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives.

Original Birth Records on Microfilm

Marriage
Online Marriage Indexes and Records


 * 1789-2013 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1800-1958 - at FamilySearch — free; Index.
 * 1800-1942 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1817-1860 - Lawrence County Marriage Books Courtesy OhioGenWeb Archives.
 * 1824-1878 - Abstracted marriage records Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
 * various years - community contributed marriage records Courtesy OhioGenWeb.

Original Marriage Records on Microfilm

Death
Online Death Indexes and Records


 * 1840-2001 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1867-1870 - Lawrence County deaths from Probate Courtesy OhioGenWeb and Lawrence Register.
 * 1867-1938 - Lawrence County Death Records 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, windowed or divorced, occupation of deceased.
 * 1909-1945 - Death Index from the city Health Department, Ironton, Ohio Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
 * 1915-1917 - Historical Society Deaths for Lawrence County, Ohio Courtesy OhioGenWeb and The Lawrence Register.
 * various years - Selected early death records Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
 * various years - visitor contributed death records Courtesy OhioGenWeb.
 * various years - community contributed death records Courtesy OhioGenWeb.

Original Death Records on Microfilm

Web Sites

 * Lawrence County, OH History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Lawrence County OH Genealogy
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Ohio Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * The Lawrence County OH GenWeb Project, a member of The OHGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.