Lake County Ohio GenWeb Probate Marriage Records Index 1840-1915

Skip to the index

On this Page:

About the Project

This work was done by volunteer transcribers around the country and members of the Lake County Genealogical Society. The bulk of the index was taken from the book index done by Ernest and Jeanette Towne many years ago. Copies of the index (Volumes D through 12) were sent to various volunteers who put the work into columns. Local volunteers went to the Probate Marriage Department and typed the information from the original volumes A, B, C, and licence volumes B, C, and D, as well as volumes 13, 14, and part of 15. The dates included refer to the date of the marriage, or in the case of the Licence volumes, the date of the license. Estimated (Ca. or Abt.) dates were derived from the record before or after the entry, where no date was given. Incomplete records from volumes A-D and 13-15 were always included for the information, and in some cases the couple may have applied again at a later date, explaining multiple entries for the same names.

About Obtaining Record Copies

Microfilm copies of all these records are available through the Family History Library. A copy of the record can be had by writing the Probate Court Marriage Department. Give the full citation. See Where to Write for Records.

About Errors and Corrections

There are inevitably many errors in this work. The handwriting was not easy to interpret and humans wrote the original entries as well as the index and our current work. Since the point of this index is to assist the researcher in finding the original record, it was decided to make this index available now, rather than wait for several more years to proofread the entire project. In many cases where the handwriting was difficult, other indexes or databases were consulted for direction. If you have corrections, please submit to the e-mail below. These corrections may be posted as additional reader-submitted records, leaving the original, possibly erroneous, record in the index. No attempt to recheck the original record will be done.

Acknowledgment

Many thanks to the staff at the Probate Marriage Department and Judge Klammer. Many hours over several years were spent in their reception area working on this project. Thanks go to the following people who helped type from the indexes: Linda Jeffery, Barbara Hurst, Cynthia Turk, and Phyllis Williams. And to those who helped with the original records: Sara Evans, Suzanne Ferron, Ruth Hyslop, Janet Kucera, Sally Malone, Joy McMullen, Joanne Perkovich, Beth Stachiw, Cynthia Turk, Phyllis Williams, and Roy Zerman. A big thank you to Herb Turk who did the computer work to make the names alphabetize despite variations in spelling, spaces and punctuation, such a Van Gorder and VanGorder and variations in first names, such as Wm and William. Additionally he made the index to include both grooms and brides. He created the files seen here.

About the Volumes

Volume A. In Volume A, on pages 58-60 each record has a note such as "on B Page 1." Apparently these have been recopied into the new book with the preprinted pages. Therefore, you will find two listings for these same thirteen marriages. The applications that correspond to the returns in volume A appear to be missing. Most of the returns state that they were by license of the Common Pleas court. There is no Licence Vol. A.

Volume B Licences. The first page (Pre-1) in Vol. B Licences is a separate handwritten page which appears to have been glued into the front of the book. It has an embossed seal of the Common Pleas Court. It is dated 1853 when page one is 1843.

Only one side of each page in the Licence and return books was numbered, so that the page numbers read 1, 1a, 2, 2a, etc. These were probably done when the books were disassembled for laminating. The actual page numbers are visible in the return book, after the first 12 pages. Where both page numbers are visible, they are noted such as 7-13 for the new page number 7 and the old page 13.

There seem to be a few pages missing. For instance page 93a to 94 skips from March 31, 1847 to May 31, 1847. But on page 97-100a we find April 8, 1847 to May 27, 1847. Page 117 is placed too late, with dates from Jan and Feb. 1845 when the page 116 was March.

It is possible that this volume is a copy of the originals, because they do not always go in order. For instance, there is a June 26, 1849 in the middle of the April entries on page 140a.

I and J are indistinguishable in Vol. B. T and S are also difficult, except by context. Lower case r, v, and s are often indistinguishable. Small w could be mistaken for sr or rr or sv.

Volume B. On occasion, the year is incorrect, usually at change of year, noted with [should be...] I and J are indistinguishable in many entries, and A and H are sometimes similar. The marriage license has three chances at the handwriting, including a signature, whereas the record has each name only once.

Numbers 4, 6, and 0 are sometimes indistinguishable in this volume.

John B. VanGorder attachment appears to be the original license with minister's return on the back.

Affidavit tucked into Vol. B of marriages, near page 275: State of California, County of Los Angeles Carrie D. Farris and Kate D. Sanborn of Number 823 East Villa Street, Pasadena, California being first duly sworn, depose and say: That they are sisters and that their maiden names were Carrie Daniels and Kate Daniels; that they are the daughters of Alvin R. Daniels and Cornelia L. Haskell Daniels who were married on the 11th day of November, 1849, by Reverend Matthew S. Clapp, in the County of Lake, State of Ohio. They further depose and say that Cornelia S. Haskell as shown in said marriage license record of said County is one and the same person as Cornelia L. Haskell, - she was also known as Cornelia L. Haskell-. [signed by] Mrs. Kate D. Sanborn, Mrs. Carrie D. Farris. 17 February, 1930. [Actually this was a correction of a misinterpretation of the letter L as an S, which was probably unnecessary.]

Volume C-Licences. Page 82 a is actually an unnumbered page between 82 and 83. Page 202 is missing. Page after 326 is unnumbered. Page numbers 371-379 are missing, but it was simple misnumbering, not lost pages.

Marriage certificate typed on page facing 290: Vrooman, Warren F. And Sarah Carter Apr. 17, 1860.

Pages 388-396 are handwritten licences on white paper, bound into the end of the volume.

Volume C. No comments.

Volume D and D-Licences. No comments.

Volume E. Begins licences and returns on the same page, both in same volume. These were done from previous indexing, and there were many errors corrected here.

Volumes F, G, H, I, J, 12. No special comments. These were done from previous indexing.

Volume 13. Vol. 13 regular marriage records end on page 546. Pages 547 and 548 have been cut out of the book. Then begins the banns, where no licence was required. Banns include the date of marriage and the two names, the date of filing and a signature, and sometimes the church name and or town.

When a bride is listed as Mrs., some attempt was made to include her maiden name. However, it may not be in the right order, as she may have been using her maiden name. Not all names have been included. Previous volumes have few "Mrs." designations.

Volume 14. Bottom half of page 563 is cut off. Page 564 top is blank. Pages 565 to 569 are banns, pages 570 to 580 are blank, and the last certificate on page 579/580 is cut off. Page 581 is a typewritten page added in as a copy of the marriage of William Fuller from Pavillion, NY. Banns contain only the bride and groom names, the date of marriage, and the minister. There is no licence.

Volume 15. This volume has been indexed only through page 43, which completes 1915.

General Comments

Names are listed as Last, First, Middle, Maiden, Title or Jr., Sr., etc., hence, Jones, William Esq. or Jones, Elizabeth Jane Smith Mrs., or Jones, William Jr. In some cases it was not possible to determine which surname was a maiden name, but both are included if available. Not having a Mrs. does not necessarily mean that Miss can be assumed. Miss was not included even if it was in the record. Those entries taken from volumes D through 12 are as they were indexed originally.