Pioneers & Profiles

Vintage black-and-white family portrait showing adults and children gathered outside a house.Explore the lives of Lawrence County, Ohio's early pioneers, families, and notable residents through historical biographies, family histories, and genealogical research. Located where Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia meet, the county became a crossroads for settlers traveling along the Ohio River and surrounding waterways. Some families established permanent roots, while others continued their journeys elsewhere.

For decades, The Lawrence Register and its dedicated volunteers have collected and preserved family histories, biographies, and personal accounts. Drawing upon courthouse records, cemetery readings, oral histories, and other historical sources, these collections reveal the accomplishments, hardships, and everyday lives of the people who shaped Lawrence County.

Do you have a family history, biography, photograph, or historical story to share? We welcome contributions that help preserve Lawrence County's history and genealogical heritage. Please email us with information you would like to share.

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Thomas and Elizabeth Walton

Ironton Register 3 July 1875  Quaker Bottom, Ohio Editor Register. Thomas Walton died of dropsy and old age at the residence of his son, Thomas A....

Judge A. B. Cole

Ironton Register, Thursday, January 3, 1878 – A. B. Cole on the War Path The following extract, referring to “Judge” A. B. Cole, formerly of...

Gabriel Kerr

JUDGE GABRIEL KERR –  1816 then Appointed Associate Judge 1817 Ironton Register, Thursday, March 30, 1905 Gabriel Kerr married Jane, daughter of...

Judge Andrew Dempsey

JUDGE ANDREW DEMPSEY – Associate Judge Ironton Register, Thursday, July 29, 1852 – Death of Son. Casualty on the 27th inst., Mr. J. W. Dempsey of...

Sylvester McCown

Judge Sylvester McCown – Probate Judge – 1857 re-elected 1860 1857 – 1861 (he resigned due to his approaching death) - Succeeded by  Judge C. B....

Judge Simeon Nash

JUDGE SIMEON NASH – Common Pleas Judge Ironton Register, January 8, 1856 – Marriage of son. On the 1st inst., at Junior Furnace, by Rev. Dan Young,...

John Davisson

John Davisson

JUDGE JOHN DAVISSON (ALSO SPELLED DAVIDSON) – Associate Judge 1817 – Appointed Associate Judge  January 1, 1817 – 1826 Judges Miller and Davidson...

John P. Plyley

JUDGE JOHN P PLYLEY – Common Pleas Judge 1860 – 1862 Ironton Register, Thursday, September 6, 1860 – Death of wife. Died at McArthur, August 16th,...

Judge J. C. Russell

Judge J. C. Russell – Probate Judge Ironton Register, Thursday, January 4, 1894 - Bond of J. C. Russell, Probate Judge, approved. Ironton Register,...