Yakima County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  Yakima County   Guide to  genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1865, when the county was formed.

Parent County
Yakima County, Washington was created 21 January 1865 from Klickitat and Walla Walla counties.

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

Boundary Changes

 * Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

Neighboring Counties
is surrounded by: Benton | Grant | King | Kittitas | Klickitat | Lewis | Pierce | Skamania

Topics
The types of records that follow are used for genealogy and family history. Most tell what you may learn and how to locate the records. Links to Internet sites usually go directly to entries with names, images, or information.

Cemeteries

 * Alpha list of cemeteries in the county with links to online transcripts.

Census

 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives: (Free)
 * Federal: 1900 • 1910 • 1920
 * Territorial: 1871 •  1883 •  1885 •   1887
 * These were indexed by local societies and individuals.


 * Index to the 1880 census of Yakima County, Washington Territory (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

Church Records

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

Court Records

 * Power of Attorney 1992 - 2008 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection (Free)
 * Inventory of the county archives of Washington, no. 39 Yakima County (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

Many of your ancestors may be found in court records as defendants, plaintiffs, witnesses, or jurors. Court records can establish family relationships and places of residence, occupations, and other family history information. See Washington Court Records for the various courts through the years.

For specialized court records, see Divorce · Guardianship · Land · Naturalization · Probate

American Indian
The Yakima Indian Reservation is located primarily in Yakima County, with a small portion in Klickitat County.

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

Guardianship
Guardianship of orphans or adults unable to manage their own affairs were handled by the probate and the Federal District courts. See Washington Court Records.

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 Wilma, David. Yakima County -- Thumbnail History, HistoryLink.org Essay 7651


 * The city of Yakima occupies what was once the traditional hunting and gathering grounds of the region's tribes, known collectively as the Peoples of the Plateau.
 * 1800s - Trappers traversed the country.
 * The first white settlers were cattle ranchers who recognized that the lush grasslands on the stream banks were excellent places to winter their cattle.
 * 1865 January 21 - Yakima County was established.
 * 1870 - Settlers began referring to a small village with two stores as Yakima City.
 * 1885 - By the end of the year, the population of North Yakima had swelled to 1,200 people.
 * Paul Schulze, the railroad's land manager, laid out the streets on the rough general plan of his native city, Baden-Baden, Germany. By other accounts, the city was modeled after the plan of Salt Lake City.
 * 1890s - North Yakima, along with the rest of the country, hit hard times, largely because of a series of nationwide financial panics.
 * 1898 - All signs of commercial stagnation and business depression had completely disappeared" in North Yakima.

Land and Property

 * Land Records 1993 - 2008 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection (Free)
 * Plats and Survey Records 1994 - 2008 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection (Free)
 * Recorded Agreements and contracts 1994 - 2008 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection (Free)

Military
Some military records for this county have been digitized at the Washington State Digital Archives.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * Naturalization Records 1882-1907, 1973-1980 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection (Free)

Declarations of Intent before 1906 often include the nation of origin, his* foreign and "Americanized" names, residence, and date of arrival. See Washington Naturalization and Citizenship for more information. (*Women were not naturalized until 1922 in the United States.)

Newspapers

 * Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)

The Yakima Valley Genealogical Society has a massive collection of obituaries starting from 1860 on, from counties in and around Yakima. They are in the process of putting this collection online. For now, contact the Society at 509-248-1328 or [mailto:yvgs1901@gmail.com yvgs1901@gmail.com]. They have researchers who are willing to do lookups from this collection.

Probate Records

 * 1874-1977 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Public Records

 * Prior to 1965 Part of: County Records, Prior to 1965 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

School Records

 * 1875-1925 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Birth

 * 1877-1907 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Birth Returns, 1891-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)

Marriage

 * 1877-2001 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Marriage Records, 1896-2008 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)

Divorce

 * 1921-1977 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Divorce records give the names of the parties and may give the date and place of their marriage. See Washington Vital Records for excellent information.

Death

 * 1891-1907 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Death Returns, 1891-1907 Death Returns, 1891-1907


 * Washington Death Certificates 1907-1960 A free internet index to the 1907-1960 death certificates can be found at FamilySearch Record Search, no images are available. A transcribed death certificate may contain such information as name of the deceased, date and place of death, age, gender, birth date and birth place, mother’s maiden name and name of spouse, place of residence, occupation and certificate numbers.

Websites
Sites with online indexes or images of records:
 * WAGenWeb Yakima County
 * USGenWeb
 * Current Collections at Washington State Digital Archives (Free) Type county name, click Search, then select a collection. Collections were posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page in November, 2013.
 * Historical Collections at FamilySearch.org. (Free) Click "Last Updated." Collections through October 2013 have been posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page.
 * Web Sites at RootsWeb -Yakima WA (Free)

Sites that search the Internet for records online:


 * Linkpendium (free)
 * CyndisList (free)

Major catalogs to offline genealogical records: Catalogs refer to books, microfilm, manuscripts, and/or Internet images and indexes for various topics.


 * for (Select topics. Add comma to select towns.)
 * WorldCat To find libraries near you that have items of interest, see WorldCat Online Catalog.
 * Allen County Public Library (Indiana)
 * See also local libraries and Washington Archives and Libraries

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.

Courthouse
Yakima County Courthouse 128 N 2nd Street Yakima, WA 98901 Phone: 509.574.1430 County Auditor has birth and death records 1891-1907, marriage records from 1880 and land records; County clerk has probate, divorce and court records from 1881.

Family History Centers

 * Yakima Washington Family History Center 1006 S 16th Ave., Yakima WA 98902, United States


 * Selah Washington Family History Center 702 N 1st ST., Selah, WA 98942-9480 United States


 * Ellensburg Washington Family History Center


 * Sunnyside Washington Family History Center 2000 E. Lincoln, Sunnyside, WA 98944 United States


 * Wahluke Washington Family History Center Road 24, Mattawa, WA 99349 United States

Libraries

 * Buena Library, 813 Buena Rd, Buena 98921 Phone: (509) 865-3390


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Grandview Library, 500 W. Main St., Grandview 98930 Phone: (509) 882-7034


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Granger Library, 508 Sunnyside Ave, Granger 98932 Phone: (509) 854-1446


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Harrah Library, 21 E Pioneer, Harrah 98933 Phone: (509) 848-3458


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Mabton Library, 415 B Street, Mabton 98935 Phone: (509) 894-4128


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Moxee Library, 255 W Seattle, Moxee 98936 Phone: (509) 575-8854


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Naches Library, 303 Naches Ave, Naches 98937 Phone: (509) 653-2005


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Nile Library, 1891 Nile Rd, Naches 98937 Phone: (509) 658-2660


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Selah Library, 115 W Naches, Selah 98942 Phone: (509) 698-7345


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Sunnyside Public Library, 621 Grant, Sunnyside 98944 Phone: (509) 837-3234


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Tieton Library, 418 Maple, Tieton 98947 Phone: (509) 673-2621


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Toppenish (Mary Goodrich Memorial) Library, 1 South Elm, Toppenish 98948 Phone: (509) 865-3600


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Union Gap Library, 3104 S 1st St, Union Gap 98903 Phone: (509) 452-4252


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Wapato Library, 119 E 3rd St, Wapato 98951 Phone: (509) 877-2882


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * White Swan Library, 391 1st St, White Swan 98952 Phone: (509) 874-2060


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Southeast Library, 1211 S 7th St, Yakima 98901 Phone: (509) 576-0723


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Terrace Heights Library, 4011 Commonwealth, Yakima 98901 Phone: (509) 457-5319


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Yakima Valley Regional Library, 102 N Third St, Yakima 98901 Phone: (509) 575-3401


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Summitview Library, 5709 Summitview Ave, Yakima 98908 Phone: (509) 966-7070


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Zillah Library, 109 7th, Zillah 98953 Phone: (509) 829-6707


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:

Societies
Yakima Valley Genealogical Society


 * Yakima Valley Genealogical Society This society has a collection of over 18,000 records and books, including a massive obituary collection starting in 1860 for areas in and around Yakima County. Local librarians are willing to help with research and will look up information from their various collections. The site contains a catalog of all their holdings. Contact them by clicking on Contact Us or calling 509-248-1328, email [mailto:yvgs1901@gmail.com yvgs1901@gmail.com]. This Society is located at 1901 South 12th Avenue, Union Gap, Yakima, Washington 98903.


 * Gerald Shephard - current librarian
 * Sue Ericksen - Treasurer and President of the Washington State Genealogical Society
 * Judy Schuster - researcher

LIBRARY HOURS: The library is open from 10:00am to 4:00pm Monday-Saturday. The library is closed on Saturdays in November, December and January; January 1st, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day,Thanksgiving and December 24-25. The library can be opened during closed hours by appointment. Please call several days ahead to make arrangements.

Towns and Communities
See a list of towns and communities in Yakima County per Wikipedia.

Indian Reservation

The Yakima Indian Reservation is located primarily in Yakima County, with a small portion in Klickitat County.