Thurston County, Washington Genealogy

Guide to '''Thurston County Washington ancestry, family history, and genealogy. '''Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1852, when the county was formed.

Washington Online Genealogy Records

Description
The County was named for Samuel R. Thurston, the Oregon Territory's first delegate to Congress. The County is located in the west-central area of the state.

Parent County(s)
Thurston County, Washington was created 12 January 1852 from Clark County.

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

Boundary Changes

 * Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

Courthouse
Thurston County Courthouse 2000 Lakeridge Dr SW Olympia, WA 98502 Phone: 360.786.5438 County Auditor has birth and death records 1891-1907 and marriage records from 1891. County Clerk has divorce probate and court records.

See also Archives, libraries, etc. in.

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

History
In August 1848 Congress established Oregon Territory, which included the future state of Washington. By 1850 there were more than 300 non-Indian inhabitants north of the Columbia River, and as the new communities on and near the southern shores of Puget Sound began to grow, so grew the need for a local organized government and a new county. Simmons (in honor of Michael Simmons) was proposed as the name of the new county.

Instead, Thurston was chosen as the new county’s name and Olympia was chosen as the county seat. The Oregon Territorial Legislature carved the new county out of Lewis County on January 12, 1852. The early Thurston County was considerably larger than it is today, covering territory from west of the Cascades to the coast and north to the Canadian border. However, other counties were quickly formed from parts of Thurston County and by 1877 it had been reduced to its present size.

Thurston County’s name came from Samuel R. Thurston (1816-1851), the first delegate to Congress in 1849 from the new Oregon Territory, who had made a name for himself during his brief tenure in office defending the territorial rights of the northern part of Oregon Territory against the claims of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Biography

 * Early history of Thurston County, Washington : together with biographies and reminiscences of those identified with pioneer days (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box.)
 * copy.

Census

 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives: (Free)
 * Federal: 1910
 * Territorial: 1871 • 1875 •  1877 •  1878 •  1879 •  1880 •  1883 •  1885 •  1887 •  1889
 * State-funded:1892

Church Records

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

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Search at USA Church
 * Yellowbook Business, People Search, Reverse lookup at Yellowbook.com
 * Google "church and county name"
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * At Family History Library:
 * (Microfilm)
 * (Microfilm)
 * (Microfilm)


 * Power of Attorney Records 1973 - present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)


 * Thurston 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.

Directories

 * (Microfilm)
 * (Microfiche and book at Family History Library)
 * (Books at Family History Library)

Emigration and Immigration

 * United States Emigration and Immigration

American Indians

 * Indians of the United States and Their Records
 * Online Native American Indian Genealogy Records &amp; Databases
 * 1911 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — images

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:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

History

 * Publications at FamilySearch Library:
 * at FamilySearch Library
 * at FamilySearch Library
 * at FamilySearch Library


 * Thurston County History, People and Places online photo history by Thurston County Historic Commission.


 * Thumbnail History of Thurston County, Washington online at HistoryLink.org


 * Thurston County, Washington online at Wikipedia.


 * History of the Puget Sound country, Volume 1 ,Volume 2 by William Farrand Prosser [New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company, 1903] online at Washington History


 * "Tenino" by May Webster Jackson [1923-1943?] online at Washington History


 * Early history of Thurston County, Washington: together with biographies and reminiscences of those identified with pioneer day online at Ancestry.com. (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)


 * Olympia by Hazard Stevens [Boston: Stevens, 1891] at Washington History

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. Thurston County -- Thumbnail History, History Link.org Essay 7979.


 * Native Americans had been residents of southern Puget Sound long before the first documented white settlers passed through in 1792
 * 1792 - May, The first documented exploration of Puget Sound was headed by British captain George Vancouver.
 * 1820s - White explorers next visited the area when scouts of the British-owned Hudson’s Bay Company passed through.
 * 1833 - April, The Hudson’s Bay Company subsequently established Fort Nisqually.
 * 1845 - October, Michael Simmons settled near Tumwater Falls and established the first American settlement in what would become the state of Washington.
 * 1852 - January 12, The Oregon Territorial Legislature carved Thurston county out of Lewis County.
 * 1853 - March 2, U.S. President Millard Fillmore establishes.
 * 1854 - December, Governor Isaac Stevens and 62 leaders of major Indian tribes in western Washington met at Medicine Creek (now McAllister Creek) in Thurston County and signed what became known as the Medicine Creek Treaty.

Land and Property

 * Land and Property 1854-1981 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * Includes General index grantee 1854-1919; General index grantor 1854-1981


 * Washington Territory donation land claims at Family History Library
 * Land Records 1900 - 2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Plats and Surveys Records 1855 - 2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Recorded Agreements and Contracts 1979 - present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Maps
Area map and other information from 1895: http://www.livgenmi.com/1895/WA/

Military

 * 1921-1925 - at FamilySearch — index
 * Some military records for this county have been digitized at the Washington State Digital Archives.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * County Naturalization Records, 1850-1982. at Washington, County Naturalization Records, 1850-1982 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * Included in this collection: Declaration of intention 1833-1980; Naturalization journal 1891-1905; Petition records 1889-1929.


 * Items at the Family History Library:


 * Naturalization Records, 1849-1853, 1906-1974 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Newspapers
Current, online:


 * Nisqually Valley News
 * The Olympian
 * Washington Digital Newspaper at Washington State Library


 * publication at FamilySearch Library.

Obituaries
Also check:


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


 * Washington State Cemetery and Obituary Resources
 * Thurston County, Washington Obituaries

Funeral Homes

 * US Funerals Online
 * USA Funeral Homes Online
 * American Funeral Homes

Probate Records

 * Probate Records 1876-1929 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.


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


 * at the Family History Library


 * at the Family History Library

Public Records

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

Birth

 * — index and images
 * Birth Register, 1891-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)
 * Birth Returns, 1891-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection (Free)
 * Birth Returns, 1891-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection (Free)

Marriage

 * 1801-1962 - Washington, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1866-2013 - Marriage Records 1866-2013 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * Includes Marriage affidavits 1866-1935; applications 1950-2013; certificates 1951-2012; returns 1891-1938; Register of marriage statistics 1891-1947.


 * 1891-1950 -


 * 1927-1950 - Marriage Certificates, 1927-1950 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)


 * 1970-2012 - Marriage Records, 1970-2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)


 * 1969-2014 - at FamilySearch — index


 * 1855–2008 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.

Death

 * at FamilySearch - How to use this collection, index
 * at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.




 * Death Records 1913-1943 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.


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

Divorce
Online Records
 * 1969 - 2014 - at FamilySearch — index


 * at the Family History Library.


 * County Divorce Records, 1852-1950. Washington, County Divorce Records, 1852-1950 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.

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  for ..

Family History Centers

 * Olympia Washington Family History Center

Libraries

 * Timberline Libraries - Thurston County
 * Branches and Locations
 * Genealogy / Data Base Tools
 * Special or Unique Collections (help needed from each branch)


 * Libraries.com~Lists public libraries by state/county~

Societies
Olympia Genealogical Society PO Box 1313 Olympia, Washington 98507-1313 E-mail:[mailto:geniebug@comcast.net geniebug@comcast.net] 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:

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties