Formed March 6, 1840 from Geauga County, plus Willoughby Township from Cuyahoga County · county seat Painesville. Repository addresses, online record links, and a free printable record checklist below.
Short episodes that walk through Lake County's records, one record type at a time.
Formation · Settlers & Migration · Probate · Land · Tax · Churches · Newspapers · Where to Look
Watch on YouTube25 North Park Place, Painesville, OH 44077 · (440) 350-2626
lakecountyohio.gov/probate-court
Wills, estate/administration records, guardianships, adoption records, and marriage licenses (1840–present).
105 Main Street, Lower Level, Painesville, OH 44077 · (440) 350-2510
Deeds, land/property records, and mortgages from 1839.
25 N. Park Place, Painesville, OH 44077 · (440) 350-2657
Divorces, civil suits (including partition suits that divide land among heirs), and Common Pleas journals. Before 1852, this court also handled wills and estates.
105 Main Street, C-101, Painesville, OH 44077 · (440) 350-2532
Current tax lists and property transfer records. Early tax duplicates are on FamilySearch and at the Ohio History Connection.
184 Phelps Street, Painesville, OH 44077 · (440) 352-3383
genealogy@morleylibrary.org · morleylibrary.org/genealogy
Lake County Obituary Index (Painesville Telegraph 1822–1986, News-Herald 1986–2019, plus several other historic titles), local history collection, and microfilm.
415 Riverside Dr., Painesville Twp., OH 44077 · (440) 639-2945
Museum and artifact collections, plus a research request form and local history library.
c/o Morley Library, 184 Phelps Street, Painesville, OH 44077
A separate organization from the History Center. Cemetery inscription project (100+ county cemeteries), naturalization index, marriage/birth/death transcriptions, and a "First Families of Lake County" lineage society.
5966 Heisley Road, Mentor, OH 44060 · (440) 350-2549
lakevs@lcghd.org · lcghd.org/birth-and-death-records
Current Ohio birth and death certificates. Pre-1908 vitals are handled by the Probate Court above.
Find A Grave — Lake County and the Genealogical Society's own Cemetery Inscriptions Project, completed 2003.
Not sure which office has what? See Which County Office Holds What.
Many Lake County record books are filmed and free to view at FamilySearch (free account required).
In Full-Text Search, add Lake County, Ohio as the place to find names inside handwritten deeds, wills, and court books. How to use it.
Lake County was formed in 1840 from Geauga and Cuyahoga Counties. For records made before then, search the parent counties:
All of Lake County lies in the Connecticut Western Reserve, land Connecticut kept when it gave up its western claims, sold privately through the Connecticut Land Company. There are no federal land patents here, so start with the earliest deeds at the county Recorder (or the parent county's Recorder).
Titles that covered Lake County, historic and current, with where to search each one. Not every historic title has been digitized — several survive only on microfilm.
| Title | Years | Where to Search |
|---|---|---|
| Painesville Telegraph | 1822-1938 | Chronicling America (1822-1845); GenealogyBank; Newspapers.com |
| Northern Ohio Journal (Painesville Journal) | 1871-1880 | Chronicling America (free, full text) |
| Lake County Weekly Herald | 1899-1917 | Ohio Memory; Chronicling America |
| Lake County Telegraph | 1982-1986 | Chronicling America (free, full text) |
| Lake County News-Herald | 1938-present | Microfilm only — Morley Library, Painesville; some recent issues online |
| Willoughby Republican/Gazette (News-Herald) | 1868-present | Microfilm only — Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library |
Fill in what you're looking for, print it, and take it with you to the courthouse or library.
Brick Walls & Buckeyes
brickwallsbuckeyes.com · Lake County, Ohio
Addresses and links last checked October 2026.
County guides, record walkthroughs, and brick wall breakthroughs. Subscribe on YouTube and tap the bell so new episodes find you.
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