Montana, Beaverhead County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
This collection consists of images of various record types from the county clerk and recorder offices in Dillon, Montana. Records include voter registration, land and property records, and birth and death records. This collection is being published as images and indexes become available. The birth and death records have been indexed.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The record content varies by record type. It may contain any of the following items of information:


 * Name of primary individual
 * Date and place of event
 * Age, gender, and race of individual
 * Names of parents, their ages and current residence
 * Date of birth and birthplaces of a child or parents
 * Occupation
 * Names of deceased, their gender, date of death and birthplace
 * Death records also include age, race and marital status of deceased
 * Death records include cause of death and date and place of burial
 * Names of heirs, such as spouse, children, or other relatives
 * Names of the executor, administrator, or guardian
 * Names of witnesses
 * Dates documents were written and recorded
 * (Wills were usually written near the time of death)
 * Description and value of property or land
 * Military information such as company, rank, and enlistment date
 * Statistical information about members of the household

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The age of your ancestor.
 * The names of relatives.
 * The type of event such as marriage or naturalization.
 * The approximate date of the event.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select the appropriate Record Category
 * 2) Select the appropriate Record Type, Certificate Range or Volume and Year Range which takes you to the images.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the age to calculate the birth date to find other records such as birth, christening, marriage, census, and death records.
 * Use the probate date as a substitute death date.
 * Use the name of the undertaker, mortuary, or cemetery to find funeral and cemetery records.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Use the occupations to find employment or military records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Montana, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Montana Archives and Libraries.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation:

"Montana, Beaverhead County Records, 1862-2009." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Beaverhead County Courthouse, Dillon.

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