Linn County, Oregon Genealogy

Guide to Linn County, Oregon ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Oregon Online Genealogy Records

Description
Linn County was named for Lewis F. Linn, a U.S. Senator from Missouri who advocated the American settlement of the Oregon Country. The county is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has marriage records from 1850, divorce, probate, and court records from 1854 and military enumeration from 1905.

Linn County Courthouse

Quick Facts
28 December 1847: Linn county was created from Champoeg County. Named for U.S. Senator Lewis F. Linn of Missouri.


 * County Records Inventory listing the records held at the Linn County Court House as of October 2004.
 * Record Loss:

Boundary Changes
Parts were taken for


 * 28 January 1851: Lane and Umpqua counties


 * 11 January 1854: Part taken for Wasco county

For animated maps illustrating Oregon County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Oregon County Boundary Maps" (1843-1975) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
1861 The original county courthouse was destroyed by fire.

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:

Defunct Post Offices

 * Abberdeen: Established 13 June 1892 with Mary Flaugher as postmaster. The office closed 24 April 1894 and business turned over to Lacomb post office. May have been named for Aberdeen, Michigan, where the Flaughers came from.
 * Alford: a station on the Southern Pacific line between Halsey and Harrisburg. It bears the name of Thomas Alford, a pioneer of 1850, upon whose donation land claim it is situated. The station was originally known as Muddy, on account of Muddy Creek, which flows nearby. The name appears in the Oregonian as early as Nov. 7, 1857. A post office was established in this locality in Feb. 1874, with the name Muddy Station. It was in service about a year. Liverpool was the name of a post office that served the area 8n 1877-79. The name of railroad station was changed from Muddy to Alford some time after 1900.

Neighboring Counties
Benton | Deschutes | Jefferson | Lane | Marion | Polk

Trivia Tidbits
Information about localities, too small or too brief to describe in separate pages. Exception to this are Post Offices. Trivia Tidbits

Cemeteries

 * Oregon Metro
 * Oregon Genealogy Cemeteries

Church History and Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

County Records

 * County Records Inventory lists record collections and locations held.

Gazetteers

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

Maps

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

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index

World War I

 * 1919-1920 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1921-1938 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
Oregon Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.

Probate Records
Online Records
 * 1833–1963 Oregon Wills and Probate Records 1833-1963 at Ancestry.com — index & images, ($)

Rivers and Waterways
Details about the rivers and waterways where farms and settlements are often found along them. &gt;&gt; Rivers and Waterways

Vital Records
The FamilySearch Library has copies of some county records as following:

Linn County records of deaths 1903-1915, 1915-1947 (the cover title of this one is "Register of Physicians, Midwives and Undertakers", death certificates 1903-1947, coroner's inquest 1909-1960, index 1909-1960.

See also How to order Oregon Vital Records, order electronically online or download an application for Oregon Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Divorce Certificate, Death Certificate Application to mail.

Birth Records

 * 1842-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images (*); Also at: Ancestry
 * 1860-1952 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1876-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Delayed Birth Certificates

Marriage Records

 * 1826-1975 Oregon, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1842-1917 Oregon, U.S., State Births, 1842-1917 at Ancestry - index & images, ($); Also at: 
 * 1849-1884; 1991-2006 at FamilySearch — index and images; collection is incomplete.
 * 1906-1968 Oregon, U.S., State Marriages, 1906-1968 at Ancestry - index & images, ($)
 * Extractions of early marriages are listed on the Western States Marriage Index
 * Marriage Index 1885-1896 Actually is a book of affiants reporting the marriages. Historical Records Collection

Societies, Libraries and Museums
Linn Genealogical Society PO Box 1222 300 SW 4th Ave Albany, OR 97321 Phone: 541-791-1618 Email: [mailto:linngensociety@outlook.com linngensociety@outlook.com] Website Facebook

Linn County Historical Museum PO Box 607 101 Park Ave Brownsville, OR 97327 Phone: 541-466-3390 Email: [mailto:lchm@co.linn.or.us lchm@co.linn.or.us] Website

Willamette Heritage Center 1313 Mill St SW Suite 200 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-585-7012 Website Facebook

Linn Libraries of Oregon Multiple Libraries Website

FamilySearch Centers

 * Lebanon Oregon Family History Center
 * Salem Oregon East Family History Center
 * Salem Oregon Family History Center
 * Sweet Home Oregon Family History Center
 * The Genealogical Forum of Oregon - an affiliate library
 * Oregon Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

Websites

 * Linn County, OR History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Oregon Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * The Linn County GenWeb Project part of The ORGenWeb Project
 * Linkpendium
 * USGenWeb Archives