Spokane County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  Spokane County   Guide to  genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1879, when the county was formed.

Parent County(s)
Parent County: Spokane County, Washington was created 30 October 1879 from Stevens County.

County Seat: Spokane. See also Towns and Communities in. For Courthouse, see Archives, libraries, etc.

Boundary Changes

 * Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

Neighboring Counties
is surrounded by: Lincoln | Pend Oreille | Stevens | Whitman | Benewah | Bonner | Kootenai

Topics
The types of records that follow are used for genealogy and family history. Most tell what you may learn and how to locate the records. Links to Internet sites usually go directly to entries with names, images, or information.

Cemeteries
Spokane Cemeteries


 * Fairmount Memorial Association

Contact each cemetery for burial information.


 * Fairmount Memorial Park, 5200 West Wellesley, Spokane, WA 99205, 509–326-3800. Search memorials at Find A Grave
 * Greenwood Memorial Terrace, 211 N. Government Way, Spokane, WA 99224, 509–838-1405. Search memorials at Find A Grave
 * Riverside Memorial Park] 508 N. Government Way, Spokane, WA 99224, 509–838-1405. Search memorials at Find A Grave
 * Spokane Memorial Gardens, 5909 S. Cheney-Spokane Road, Spokane, WA 99224, 509–448-2620. Search memorials at Find A Grave
 * Woodlawn Cemetery, 909 S. Thierman Road, Spokane, WA 99212, 509–326-3800. Search memorials at Find A Grave

Other Spokane cemeteries


 * Alpha list of cemeteries in the county with links to online transcripts.

Census

 * See Washington Census for online indexes and images of US federal censuses. of: 1856, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940.
 * See statewide printed indexes, including 1856.
 * Check county indexes when online indexes fail. Created by people who knew the families of the area, they are often more accurate and they may have added insights. See periodicals and local libraries or other record holders.


 * 1890 Veterans
 * 1900
 * 1910
 * 1920
 * 1930
 * 1940
 * Federal or territorial census indexes by local societies and individuals: 1885, 1887, and 1910  (Free)


 * 1880 census, Spokane County, Washington Territory(If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

Church Records

 * Church records (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) for are listed in the . (Press space bar to select town.)

LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Dishman
 * Spokane
 * Spokane Central
 * Spokane N.

Court Records
Many of your ancestors may be found in court records as defendants, plaintiffs, witnesses, or jurors. Court records can establish family relationships and places of residence, occupations, and other family history information. See Washington Court Records for the various courts through the years.

For specialized court records, see Divorce · Guardianship · Land · Naturalization · Probate

Spokane County Courthouse has Superior Court Records from 1880 to present. Criminal cases, divorces, probates, and other civil cases. Adoption records sealed by court order.


 * Power of Attorney Records 1973 - present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Inventory of the county archives of Washington, no. 32. Spokane County (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

Directories

 * Spokane, Washington Directories, 1889-93 (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com  ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

Japanese
World War II Files, 1942-1946

Public Welfare/Social Security Department, (Japanese Internment) Assistance Cases, Evacuee Referrals for Resettlement and Assistance, 1945-1946 from the Washington State Archives – Digital Archives

Genealogy
Washington State Digital Archives has many genealogical resources. Search by name, county, record type. Download marriage certificates.

Guardianship
Guardianship of orphans or adults unable to manage their own affairs were handled by the probate and the Federal District courts. See Washington Court Records.

History
History of Spokane County Washington by Jonathan Edwards 1900 Available on Google Books


 * An illustrated history of Spokane County, state of Washington (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

History Timeline
Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library Emphasis for this timeline is on events that affected migration, records, or record-keeping. Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Wilma, David. Spokane County -- Thumbnail History, History Link.org Essay 7868.


 * Three bands of Spokane Indians -- Upper, Middle and Lower -- called the Spokane River watershed home at the time of first contact with European and American explorers.
 * 1810 - British fur trader and explorer David Thompson of the North West Company sent two men, Jaco Finlay and Finan McDonald, to establish a trading house in the territory of the Spokanes.
 * 1840s–1850s - the trickle of white settlers into the area became more persistent, ultimately leading to increased conflict with the indigenous population.
 * 1858 - A group of Spokanes and Coeur d’Alenes surprised U.S. troops under the command of Colonel Edward Steptoe.
 * In retaliation, the Army dispatched Colonel George Wright, who came north from Fort Walla Walla.
 * Wright met with tribal representatives under the pretense of seeking peace but instead captured the warrior Qualchan.
 * Wright’s campaign effectively ended resistance among the Plateau tribes and opened the region to further American settlement and development.
 * 1858 January 29 - Spokane County (extinct) was created by legislative act four times. Twice it was not organized by the agents appointed for that purpose.
 * 1859 January 18 - An act of January 18, 1859 named new commissioners for the proposed new county all to hold office till the next election. No location for a county seat was specified.
 * 1860 January - The geopolitical entity known as Spokane County came into existence. County seat was temporarily located “on the land claim of Dr. Bates.” in the Colville valley.
 * May 8 - Pinkney City designated as the county seat
 * 1864 January 19 - Spokane County (extinct) dissolved, lost all territory to Stevens County.
 * 1870s - Spokane became the hub for the mining, timber, and railroad industries of the Inland Northwest.
 * 1881 - Spokane County boomed during the 1880s with the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

Land and Property

 * Land Records 1960 - present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Plats and Surveys Records 1890 - present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Recorded Agreements and Contracts 1993 - 2013 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Maps



 * Family Maps of Spokane County, Washington (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Military
World Ward I soldiers' miscellaneous lists for this county have been digitized at the Washington State Digital Archives
 * Military Records at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1850-1990 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Certificates of Naturalization, 1885-1906 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Naturalization Records, 1879-1909, 1912 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Register of Declarations of Intent, 1890-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Declarations of Intent before 1906 often include the nation of origin, his* foreign and "Americanized" names, residence, and date of arrival. See Washington Naturalization and Citizenship for more information. (*Women were not naturalized until 1922 in the United States.)

Washington State Digital Archives has digitized various types of naturalization-related records, including declarations of intentions, delayed birth files, naturalization affidavits, notifications of application for admission to US citizenship, orders fixing naturalization terms, petitions and records, petitions, receipts for certificates of citizenship, record of final decrees of citizenship and record of petitions dockets. Depending on the county, records range from 1854-1988.

Newspapers

 * Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)


 * Spokesman Review
 * Spokane Daily Chronicle
 * Spokane Valley Herald

Obituaries
Also check:


 * Newspapers of
 * Local Funeral Homes, Libraries, or family records.
 * Obituaries of neighboring counties


 * Spokesman Review – obituaries 2005 to present


 * Obituaries from the Spokesman Review newspaper have been indexed by the Spokane Public Library. Search by name. Results include name/date/newspaper/page number needed to obtain the obituary. Contact the library at [mailto:telref@spokanelibrary.org telref@spokanelibrary.org] for an image of the actual obituary. The obituaries are complete from January 1, 2008, with additional obituaries added from requests. To find date of death search the Washington State Digital Archives.

Probate Records
Courthouse has probate files from 1880 to present.


 * 1880-1944 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Public Records

 * Original Spokane County Commissioner Journals, 1860-1863, available at Stevens County Commissioner's Office. Images will be available at Crossroads on the Columbia later this year.
 * Prior to 1965 Part of: County Records, Prior to 1965 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

School Records

 * 1910-1932 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Birth

 * Washington State Digital Archives has a database of Spokane County Birth Records. This database contains the names of people who were born in Spokane County 1890-1907. The names were taken from the Spokane County Birth returns.

The Family History Library has the Washington State Birth Index 1907-1954 and also the birth certificates on microfilm.


 * 1890-1907 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Birth Returns, 1890-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)
 * Register of Births, 1890-1907 at Washinton State Digital Archives Collection (Free)

Marriage

 * 1880-2009 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Marriage Applications, 1939-2010 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)
 * Marriage Records, 1880-2013 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)
 * Marriage Licenses, 1882-1897 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)
 * Marriages from 9 Jan 1880 to 10 Dec 1910 are available on the Western States Marriage Index website.

Spokane County Marriage Certificates 1880–present available at Washington State Digital Archives
 * Washington State Digital Archives has a database of Spokane County Death Records. This database contains names of people who died in Spokane County 1891-1907

Divorce
Divorce records give the names of the parties and may give the date and place of their marriage. See Washington Vital Records for excellent information.


 * 1896-1951 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Death

 * Washington Death Certificates 1907-1960 A free internet index to the 1907-1960 death certificates can be found at FamilySearch Record Search, no images are available. A transcribed death certificate may contain such information as name of the deceased, date and place of death, age, gender, birth date and birth place, mother’s maiden name and name of spouse, place of residence, occupation and certificate numbers.


 * The Family History Library has Washington State Death Certificates on microfilm 1907-1961.


 * 1888-1907 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Register of Deaths, 1890-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)
 * Death Return 1888-1907 at Washinton State Digital Archives Collection (Free)

Websites
Sites with online indexes or images of records:


 * Current Collections at Washington State Digital Archives (Free) Type county name, click Search, then select a collection. Collections were posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page in November, 2013.
 * Historical Collections at FamilySearch.org. (Free) Click "Last Updated." Collections through October 2013 have been posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page.
 * Spokane/ Web Sites at RootsWeb - Spokane WA (Free)

Sites that search the Internet for records online:


 * Spokane/ Linkpendium (free)
 * CyndisList (free)

Major catalogs to offline genealogical records: Catalogs refer to books, microfilm, manuscripts, and/or Internet images and indexes for various topics.


 * for (Select topics. Add comma to select towns.)
 * WorldCat To find libraries near you that have items of interest, see WorldCat Online Catalog.
 * Allen County Public Library (Indiana)
 * See also local libraries and Washington Archives and Libraries


 * Spokane County, Washington Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

Archives, Libraries, etc.
Resources for are available in libraries, archives, and other repositories at all levels: the town, the county, the state (including universities), and the nation.


 * Check websites and catalogs, such as items in (Utah) or Allen County Public Library (Indiana) for.

Courthouse
Spokane County Courthouse 1116 W. Broadway Spokane, WA 99260

The Spokane County Courthouse was completed in 1895, see history of building.

Family History Centers

 * Spokane Washington Family History Center
 * Spokane Washington North Family History Center
 * Spokane Washington West Family History Center
 * Spokane Washington East Family History Center

Libraries

 * Airway Heights Library, 1213 S. Lundstrom, Airway Heights 99001 Phone: (509) 244-5510


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Cheney Library, 610 First Street, Cheney 99004 Phone: (509) 235-7333


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Deer Park Library, 208 S. Forest, Deer Park 99006 Phone: (509) 276-2985


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Fairfield Library, 305 E. Main, Fairfield 99012 Phone: (509) 283-2512


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Liberty Lake Municipal Library, 1421 N. Meadowwood Ln, Suite 130, Liberty Lake 99019 Phone: (509) 232-2510


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Medical Lake Library, 321 E. Herb, Medical Lake 99022 Phone: (509) 299-4891


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Otis Orchards Library, 22324 E. Wellesley Avenue, Otis Orchards 99027 Phone: (509) 921-1500


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Spokane Public Library, 906 W. Main Ave., Spokane 99201 Phone: (509) 444-5300


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Spokane Public Library, 906 W. Main Ave., Spokane 99201 Phone: (509) 444-5307


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * East Side Branch Library, 524 S. Stone, Spokane 99202 Phone: (509) 444-5375


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * South Hill Branch Library, 3324 S. Perry, Spokane 99203 Phone: (509) 444-5385


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Shadle Branch Library, 2111 W. Wellesley, Spokane 99205 Phone: (509) 444-5390


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Hillyard Branch Library, 4005 N. Cook, Spokane 99207 Phone: (509) 444-5380


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Indian Trail Branch Library, 4909 W. Barnes Road, Spokane 99208 Phone: (509) 444-5395


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Argonne Library, 4322 N. Argonne Road, Spokane 99212 Phone: (509) 926-4334


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Spokane County Library District, 4322 N Argonne Rd, Spokane 99212 Phone: (509) 893-8200


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * North Spokane Library, 44 E. Hawthorne Road, Spokane 99218 Phone: (509) 467-5250


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Moran Prairie Library, 3022 E. 57th, Suite 19, Spokane 99223 Phone: (509) 443-6663


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Valley Library, 12004 E. Main Avenue, Spokane Valley 99206 Phone: (509) 926-6283


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:

Spokane Public Library has a genealogy department. The downtown branch has a growing genealogy section.

Resources of the Spokane Public Library:


 * Obituaries from the Spokesman Review newspaper [see Spokane County Obituaries]
 * Washington Death Index The library has records of the Washington Death Index on microfilm 1907-2004.

Societies

 * Eastern Washington Genealogical Society celebrated its 75th birthday in 2010. The Society meets the first Saturday of the month in February, March, April, May, November and December. Meetings for January and June are usually luncheon meetings, held in different locations. There are no meetings held in July and August, and the September meeting can sometimes be the second Saturday, depending on how Labor Day falls. (We don't meet on Labor Day weekend.) The regular meetings officially begin at 1:00pm, but the "Coffee, Cookies &amp; Conversation" part of the meeting begins at 12:30.

Towns and Communities
See a list of towns and communities in Spokane County per Wikipedia.