Whitman County, Washington Genealogy

Guide to Whitman County Washington ancestry, family history, and genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1871, when the county was formed.

Washington Online Genealogy Records

Description
The County was named for Marcus Whitman, a Presbyterian missionary who, with his wife Narcissa, was killed in 1847 by members of the Cayuse tribe. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

Parent County(s)
Whitman County, Washington was created 29 November 1871 from Stevens County.

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

Boundary Changes

 * Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

Courthouse
Whitman County Courthouse N 404 Main Street, Box 390 Colfax, WA 99111-2031 Phone: 509.397.6240 Whitman County Website County Clerk has marriage records 1872-1891, probate records from 1870, divorce and court records from 1864, and naturalization records 1862-1942. County Auditor has birth and death records 1891-1907 and land records.

See also Archives, libraries, etc. in.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Business and Commerce

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

Census

 * Index to the 1880 census of Whitman County, Washington Territory Publication online.
 * (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search.
 * Ancestry.com has all federal censuses and many state censuses searchable online.)


 * Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.


 * Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.


 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives: (Free); and Ancestry ($)
 * Federal: 1910
 * Territorial: 1883 • 1885 •  1887 •  1889
 * These were indexed by local societies and individuals..

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Church records (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) for are listed in the . (Press space bar to select town.)
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * Whitman Frontier Justice. Part of "Frontier Justice’’: Guide to the Court Records of Washington Territory, 1853-1889 at Washington State Digital Archives. (Free Index, no images)
 * The court procedure of Frontier Justice touch nearly all pioneers of Washington Territory. The index has many abstracts that provide names and what is happening in disputes, settlements in civil and criminal cases as well as probate, equity and admiralty cases.

Election Records

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

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

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

History
Washington State University is located in Pullman.


 * Historic sketches of Walla Walla, Whitman, Columbia and Garfield Counties, Washington Territory, and Umatilla County, Oregon (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search). For free at Archive.org.


 * An Illustrated history of Whitman 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)


 * Pullman Primer : Pullman Washington : Home of the State college of Washington planned and executed by Sunset Magazine Homeseekers' Bureau [Pullman, Wash.: Pullman Chamber of Commerce, 1911?]

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 Phil Dougherty. Whitman County -- Thumbnail History,History Link.org Essay 7882.


 * Whitman County, was home to bands of Palouse and other Sahaptin-speaking people, including the Nez Perce tribe.
 * 1805 - October 11-13, Lewis and Clark canoed on the Snake River along the southern boundary of Whitman County.
 * 1853 - March 2, U.S. President Millard Fillmore establishes.
 * 1859 - June, The first recorded Euro-American exploration along Union Flat Creek, the birthplace of settlement for Whitman County, by Lieutenant John Mullan of the United States Army.
 * 1871 - November 29, The county was formed from Stevens County.
 * 2002 - The county has a primarily agricultural history, with an emphasis on wheat (today it ranks first in wheat production among Washington counties and second among counties in the nation).

Maps



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

Military

 * 1921-1925 at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * Includes Declarations of intention 1868-1907; Petitions for naturalization 1894-1945.

Newspapers

 * Washington Digital Newspaper at Washington State Library
 * Walla Walla Statesman newspaper, online at the Washington State Library, may have articles covering early Whitman County.
 * Whitman County, Washington Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)
 * 1855-2009 Washington Newspapers, 1855-2009 at MyHeritage — index & images, ($)

Probate Records

 * Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * Includes Probate bonds 1877-1951; journal 1897-1967; minute book 1885-1954; Real estate index 1877-1882; Wills 1892-1937; Wills and bonds 1876-1878.
 * 1892-1937 Whitman County Washington list of will book testators SAMPUBCO - Browsable index of testators of wills. - free

Public Records

 * Whitman Postmaster Index. Part of Washington, Postmaster Indexes, Prior to 1965, FamilySearch Historical Collections for Washington. (Free, browse images)


 * Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * Includes Certificates of election and oath of office 1876-1930; Record of general elections 1892-1938; Record of primary elections 1892-1924.

School Records

 * Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * Includes School census records 1894-1932; School vouchers and orders paid 1881-1889

Birth

 * Birth Records, 1873-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)


 * Washington State Digital Archives has a database of Whitman County Birth Records. This database contains the names and birth records of people who were born in Whitman County from 1890 to 1907.
 * Births from Whitman County Jan. 1875 to Aug 1907.
 * — index and images
 * Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.

Marriage

 * 1801-1962 Washington, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1855–2008 at FamilySearch — index and images


 * 1872-1947 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * Includes Marriage affidavits 1917-1939;; certificates 1872-1925; record index 1873-1947 register 1891-1943.


 * 1872-2002 Marriage Records, 1872-2002 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)


 * 1872-1909 - 102 marriage entries from 23 Oct 1872 to 13 Dec 1909 are available at the Western States Marriage Index website.


 * 1969-2014 at FamilySearch — index

Divorce
Online Records
 * 1969 - 2014 at FamilySearch — index


 * Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.

Death

 * 1907-1960 Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960 at MyHeritage — index, ($)
 * at FamilySearch - How to use this collection, index
 * Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.


 * Death Returns 1891-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)


 * Washington State Digital Archives has a database of Whitman County Death Returns containing names of people who died in Whitman County from 1891-1907. For FHL entries,


 * at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.

Voting Registers

 * 1876-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * Includes Poll books 1898-1904; Register of voters 1916-1925.

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.

Family History Centers

 * Basin City Washington Family History Center
 * Columbia Basin Washington Family History Center
 * Othello Washington Family History Center
 * Ritzville Washington Family History Center
 * Warden Washington Family History Center


 * Northwest African American Museum - an affiliate library

Libraries

 * Whitman County Rural Library District Website
 * Branches, locations and hours
 * Genealogy / Database Tools


 * Pullman (Niell Public Library) Website

Societies
Whitman County Genealogical Society 115 NW State Street, Room 103A PO Box 393 Pullman, Washington 99163-0393 Website Facebook

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county: