Coös County, New Hampshire Genealogy

United States &gt; New Hampshire &gt; Coos County

County Courthouse
Coos County Courthouse PO Box 309 Lancaster, NH 03584-0309 Phone: 603.788.4900 Details Town or City Clerks have birth, marriage, death and burial records; Clerk Superior Court has divorce and court records from 1887; Register of Probate has probate records; Register of Deeds has land records

Towns Organized Before 1800: Bartlett 1790, Cambridge 1773, Colebrook 1790, Columbia 1797, Dalton 1784, Dummer 1773, Jefferson 1796, Kilkenny 1774, Lancaster 1763, Millsfield 1774, Northumberland 1779, Stratford 1773, Stewartstown 1799, Success 1773, Whitefield 1774

History

 * The name Coos derives from the Algonquian Indian term meaning crooked, the Indian name of the Connecticut River, which rises in the northernmost end of the county.

Parent County

 * 24 December 1803, Coos County was created with northern portion from Grafton County, organized at Berlin as the county seat.


 * The seat was moved to Town of Lancaster.

Record Loss
One record source that would be helpful, but was destroyed, is the 1890 census. There was a fire in Washington, D. C. in 1921 which badly damaged the records. None of the New Hampshire population records remain. The 1890 census veterans' lists were kept in a different building and were saved. They are available on microfilms and at www.ancestry.com. You can search for veterans' or widows' names.

An interesting help for 1890 is the Town and City Atlas of the State of New Hampshire, (FHL book 974.2 E3 Folio) published in 1892 in Boston by the D. H. Hurd Company. This atlas has maps for almost every city, town, and village in New Hampshire. The maps show the locations of homes, and the map gives the name of the person living in the home. The above internet site is from the University of New Hampshire Library. On the internet it is difficult to read the small type with the names. Many large libraries, including the Family History Library have copies of this atlas where you would be able to read the names better.

City

 * Berlin

Towns
An excellent way to gain information is to contact the local town historical society. The best list of these is found at the Association of Historical Societies of New Hampshire. At that site, click on the Directory and scroll down to the town.

Birth, marriage, and death records of many New Hampshire towns and villages are available on-line at www.familysearch.org, That site has birth records early to 1900, and marriage and death records, early to about 1948. Below is a list of the towns. Many of the town birth, marriage, and death records were microfilmed and are listed in the Family History Library Catalog.

Neighboring Counties
Carroll | and Grafton in New Hampshire; | Oxford County, in Maine; | Essex County, in Vermont; and | Compton County, in Quebec.

Archives

 * New Hampshire, Coos - Archives and libraries - inventories, registers, catalogs. The book, Inventory of the County Archives of New Hampshire, no. 4. Coos County (FHL book 974.21 A3, film 1,415,263 item 3) was prepared by the New Hampshire Historical Records Survey in 1940. It contains a listing of the various records in the courthouse, and years for which they were available in 1940. Most of those records should still be available today. Many are available on Family History Library films.

Cemeteries
The New Hampshire Old Graveyard Association has the most complete list of cemeteries. See also the following internet sites:


 * Northern New Hampshire graveyards and cemeteries
 * Miscellaneous cemeteries of Carroll, Coos and Strafford Counties, New Hampshire
 * Grave lists of cemeteries in and near the province of Quebec

Census

 * In the 1810 Federal Census there were 3,991 residents.
 * By 1870 there were nearly 15,000.

Censuses for 1790 through 1940, except for the 1890 population schedules, are available on several internet sites. Many censuses are indexed on familysearch.org. Many are available at ancestry.com at Family History Centers.

The 1890 census, except for the list of Civil War veterans or their widows, was destroyed by a fire in Washington, D. C. in 1921. An interesting help for 1890 is the Town and City Atlas of the State of New Hampshire, published in 1892 in Boston by the D. H. Hurd Company. The atlas has maps for almost every city, town, and village in New Hampshire. The maps show the locations of homes, and the map gives the name of the person living in the home. The above web site is from the University of New Hampshire Library.

Note: the 1890 census veterans' schedules for New Hampshire were preserved. They list Civil War veterans or their widows, and are available at ancestry.com.

Church
If you know the name of the town or city, and the denomination, you may wish to contact the historical society in the town where your ancestors lived. They may have volunteers who can send you the names and addresses of churches of that denomination for the town.

Or, if you know the town of residence and the ancestor's denomination, see the Church Records section in the general information in the New Hampshire wiki article. That section lists archives and other record keepers for the various religious denominations.

If you do not know the denomination, search for a marriage record. This may give the name of the minister. Then you can contact a historical society and learn at which church he was the minister. Also search for an obituary, which may mention the church the person attended. The death certificate may list the name of the cemetery. You can then write to the cemetery and ask if it is affiliated with a local church. The death certificate may mention the funeral home. Their file may have the name of the church, cemetery, or a copy of the obituary. Also, relatives might know the denomination.

Different churches contain a variety of types of records. Many churches keep baptism, marriage, and burial records. Sometimes birth and death information is included. The church records of brothers and sisters, etc. may give clues.

Court
The court records are at the courthouse. There are films of court records available through the Family History Centers of the Family History Library. Following is a link to a collection of films that inclues indexes for the records for 1901-1920:


 * Coos County Court judgements, 1886-1916

Directories City directories for several towns, for 1928-1930 are available on FHL f ilm 2,310,391 item 2. Click on the link below to see a list of the towns. North country (New Hampshire) directories 

Land

 * Coos County land records, 1772-1902; indexes to land records, 1772-1900
 * Coos County, New Hampshire land ownership map, 1861

Local Histories

 * History of Coos County, New Hampshire
 * History of Coos Turnpike
 * What's news in Coos County : Vol 1
 * History of Lancaster, New Hampshire
 * Pioneers of the Magalloway from 1820 to 1904

Civil War

 * Northern New Hampshire Civil War Veterans - Veterans listed from Berlin, Dummer, Milan, Gorham, Shelburne, and Errol/Grants. A Photo Gallery is also posted.
 * History of Coos County, New Hampshire, by Georgia Drew Merrill - Town of Lancaster, Page 291 names their first volunteers in the War of the Rebellion.
 * History and Genealogy of Milan, New Hampshire - "the quota for the town of Milan was 10."


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


 * - 2nd Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Company F.
 * - 3rd Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Company G.
 * - 5th Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry, Company B.

Newspapers

 * Cyndi's List - New Hampshire Newspapers

Probate

 * Probate packets, 1885-1931; probate index, 1885-1992

Vital Records
Certified copies of of birth, death, and marriage records are available from the State Division of Vital Records Administration or from the local city and town clerk where the event took place. Original records are kept by the city or town clerk and copies are sent to the state.

In 1905, when the state created the Bureau of Vital Records and Health, printed cards were distributed to the local clerks and earlier vital records were transcribed onto the cards and submitted to the state.

Births

 * are available online from FamilySearch.

Marriages

 * are available online from FamilySearch.
 * Coos County, NH and Essex County, VT Marriage Records 1870-1894

Deaths

 * are available online from FamilySearch.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Randolph New Hampshire Family History Center

Web Sites

 * The Coos County NHGenWeb Project, an member of The NHGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Coos County
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Coos County (backup site)
 * Family History Library catalog for Coos County
 * Coos County, New Hampshire Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)