Lyon County, Nevada Genealogy

Guide to Lyon 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 General Nathaniel Lyon who died in the Civil War in Missouri in 1860. It is located in the west central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Lyon County Courthouse 27 S Main Street PO Box 816 Yerington, NV 89447 Phone: 775-577-5043 Lyon County Website County Recorder has marriage and land records from 1862. County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records from 1890.

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: Yerington
 * 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:

Locations previously posted to this location:

Cemeteries
The following web site has additional information on Lyon county cemeteries.
 * NV Interment

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 ($), index
 * 1862-1863 1862-1863 Nevada Territory Tax List - Index
 * 1875 Nevada State Census, 1875 at Ancestry ($), 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

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

Local Histories

 * Southern Lyon County, 1893. c1986. By Mary Ann Miller..

Online County Histories
 * Mason Valley News, Yerington, Lyon, Nevada: Marriages and Deaths 1969-1972 Newspaper Clippings. N.d. N.p:n.p. Online at  FamilySearch Digital Library;.

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

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Lyon County, Nevada Genealogy 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]

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- 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 - 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

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
 * 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

Divorce

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

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 Phone: 775-246-6212
 * Smith Valley Public Library 20 Day Ln Wellington, NV 89444 Phone: 775-465-2369
 * Central Library 20 Nevin Way Yerington, NV 89447 Phone: 775-463-6645

Societies

 * Wellington Historical Society PO Box 36 Wellington, NV 89444
 * Fort Churchill Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution Fernley, NV Website
 * 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