Genealogy Research Policy

Briggs Lawrence County Public Library
Genealogy Research Policy

     The staff of the Phyllis Hamner Local History and Genealogy Room will perform specific, genealogy research requests for the records listed in this policy, as long as the request is submitted by mail and complies with the requirements listed below.
          1. No more than 5 requests may be submitted at one time.
          2. Only Lawrence County, Ohio information is available for research.
          3. The first request costs $1.00. Each additional request will be 50¢.
          4. Please provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope.  The Library will not                                   
              pay for postage.
          5. Please include your phone number or email address in the event we need to
              contact you about your request.

     However, the staff does not conduct requests for general, open-ended family research received by phone, mail or email and cannot search for records not listed within this policy. 
     If you send a request that does not meet the listed requirements, you request will be returned to you with recommendations that would enable us to respond to your request. We will also include a list of local genealogy researchers you may contact who will perform general family research.

 

Marriage Records are available from 1817-2006.

For marriage records from 1817-1941, you must supply a volume, page number, bride’s name and groom’s name. To find the volume and page number, you can click here.
     For marriage records from 1941 to 2005, you must supply the date and the bride’s name and groom’s name.

 

Death records are available from 1868-2000.

For death records from 1868-1938, you must supply the name of the deceased.
For death records from 1939-2000, you must supply the name of the deceased.  However, due to local health department regulations, we can only disclose the date of death. No copies may be made of death records from 1939-2000.

Please Note: These records are not actual death certificates. They are only death indexes. From 1868-1909, a death record is the only record available.  Death Certificates are available for deaths after 1909 from the following locations; from 1909-1915 in the Phyllis Hamner Room; from 1920-1954 at the Boyd County Public Library in Ashland Kentucky; and from 1909-2007 at the Lawrence County Health Department.

 

Birth records are available from 1868-2000.

For birth records from 1868-1938, you must supply the name of the person.
For birth records from 1939-2000, you must supply the name of the person.  However, due to local health department regulations, we can only disclose the date of birth. No copies may be made of birth records from 1939-2000.

Please Note: These records are not actual birth certificates. They are only birth indexes. From 1868-1909, a birth record is the only record available.  Birth Certificates are available from the Lawrence County and Ironton City Health Department located at 2120 South 8th Street, Ironton, Ohio 45638. Copies of Birth Certificates from the health department are $18.00 per certificate.

Obituaries are available from 1850-2006.

For obituaries from 1850-1900, you must supply the newspaper name, date, and the name of the deceased. To find the newspaper’s name and date, click here.
For obituaries from 1900-2006, you must supply the date of death and name of the deceased.  

Cemetery Searches
    
The staff can perform cemetery searches, if:

  • The person was born before 1900 and you know the township where the person was buried, or,
  • The person was buried in Woodland Cemetery in Ironton, Ohio prior to 2000.

Wills are available from 1847-1941.

You must supply the volume and page number.  To find the volume and page number, click here.
Please Note: Wills can vary in length.  We will contact you if the will is longer than five (5) pages in length, as we will not copy more that five (5) pages without prior approval and receipt of payment for copies. 

Yearbooks
    
The Hamner Room does have a collection of local high school yearbooks. You must supply the year, school and person’s name.
 

Census
    
Census records are available from 1820-1930.  You must supply name, year, and page they lived in.