Morrow County, Oregon Genealogy

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

Oregon Online Genealogy Records

Description
Morrow County was named for Jackson L. Morrow, who was a member of the state legislature. The county is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has divorce, court and land records from 1885.

Morrow County Government

Parent Counties
16 February 1885: Morrow county was created from the western portion of Umatilla and the small eastern portion of Wasco Counties.

Named for Jackson L. Morrow, one of the first settlers of Morrow County, who was a member of the state legislature when the county was created.

The county seat is Heppner.


 * County Records Inventory listing the records held at the Morrow County Court House as of September/October 2003.
 * Record Loss:

Boundary Changes
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
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Cities
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:

Discontinued Post Offices


 * Acton: Acton was a post office on Butter Creek in the east part of the county about 16 miles north-northeast of Heppner. Established 11 July 1879, with John Barker first postmaster. It remained in service until 19 June 1888. It may have been transferred to Pine City. It may have been named for a family by name of Acton. Identity is unknown.
 * Adamsville: Adamsville post office was established Apr. 15, 1884, with Silas W. Miles first postmaster. It was discontinued June 30, 1885. Old maps show the place in the vicinity of the present site of Hardman.
 * Alpine: Just what there was to suggest the name Alpine for a post office in eastern Morrow County about 20 miles north of Heppner, can not be imagined, but that is the record. This office was established October 3, 1884 with G. H. Parsell first postmaster. It continued in service until July 27, 1894, when it was closed out to Galloway, a nearby office. A directory for 1886 says Alpine was a special supply post office, but there is no explanation of the term. The locality is not alpin ein character. As of 1940 a diagram of Morrow County showed a precinct called Alpine in the Northeast part of the county.

Neighboring Counties
Gilliam | Grant | Umatilla | Wheeler | Benton, Washington | Klickitat, Washington

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.

Maps

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

Migration
Early migration routes to and from for European and African American settlers included:


 * Columbia River
 * Oregon Trail 1830s to 1890s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon

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, ($)
 * 1886-1941 Morrow County Oregon list of will book testators SAMPUBCO - Browsable index of testators of wills - free

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

Vital Records
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
Oregon Trail Library District 200 South Main St Boardman, OR 97818 Phone: 541-481-3365 Website

Morrow County Museum 444 N Main St Heppner, OR 97836 Phone: 541-676-5524 Website Facebook

FamilySearch Centers

 * Boardman Oregon Family History Center
 * Hermiston Oregon Family History Center
 * The Genealogical Forum of Oregon - an affiliate library
 * Oregon Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

Websites

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