Washington County, Utah Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for the first President of the United States, George Washington. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Washington County Courthouse 206 W Tabernacle St St. George, UT 84770 Phone: 435-986-5700 Washington County Courthouse County Clerk has marriage records from 1887, divorce records from 1878 probate and court records from 1874. County recorder has land records.

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

History Timeline
Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Wikipedia for Washington County.
 * 1852 3 March Washington County founded. Named after George Washington, first President of the United States.
 * 1854 City of Santa Clarasettled by Jacob Hamlin. Location of the Jacob Hamblin home.
 * 1861 St. Georgefounded as a cotton mission under direction of Brigham Young. Named after apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, George A. Smith. County seat.
 * 1862 Springdale settled as Latter-day Saint farming community. Now thriving tourist industry. Located just outside Zion National Park.
 * 1891 City of Enterprise founded by Orson Welcome Huntsman. Early residents were Latter-day Saint settlers.
 * 1896 City of Hurricanesettled. Received its name after a whirlwind blew top off buggy that Erastus Snow, an early apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was riding in.
 * 1963 City of Hildale founded.Headquarters of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Biographies

 * Washington County Utah Biographies (Personal and Family Histories) online at:Utah GenWeb

Cemeteries

 * Territorial-1966 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Church Records

 * Church records (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed for at the  (space, then select a town) or  (select Church topics) in the FamilySearch Library Catalog.

 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons)


 * 1877-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Stake(s): Parowan Stake, Utah · St. George Stake, Utah · Zion Park Stake, Utah

Central · Enterprise · Grafton· Gunlock· Hamblin· Harrisburg· Hebron· Hurricane· Ivins· La Verkin· Leeds· Little Pinto or Pinto· Pine Valley· Rockville· Santa Clara· Springdale· St. George· Toquerville· Veyo· Virgin· Washington


 * List of Washington County stakes and wards to about 1948.
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 * The history of the Roman Catholic Church and the Presbyterian Church in Washington County is recorded in the book, A History of Washington County from Isolation to Destination by Alder, Douglas D. and Karl R. Brooks, starting on page 294, online at:Washington County, Utah: Utah State Historical Society, Washington County Commission, 1996

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1847-1868 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & links to images

Funeral Homes

 * Hurricane Valley Mortuary 140 North Main Street Hurricane, UT Phone:(435) 635-9922 Fax: 435-635-3200 website


 * Metcalf Mortuary 288 West St. George Blvd St. George, UT 84770 Phone: 435-673-4221 Toll Free Phone: 888-673-4221 Fax: 435-674-0209 website


 * Pine View Mortuary 566 North Mall Dr St. George, UT 84790 Phone: 435-986-4222 Fax: 435-986-4223 website


 * Spilsbury Mortuary 110 South Bluff St. St. George, UT 84770 Phone:435-673-2454 Toll Free Phone: 888-673-2454 Fax: 435-673-0911 website

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * Maps listing the names of landholders locate where an ancestor lived. The FamilySearch Library has a plat map for St. George:
 * Pioneer Map: City of St. George, Washington County, Utah. N.p. 1982. (FamilySearch Library .) This map lists the names of land owners on the map and the designation of the ward where they lived. The index to this map has St. George wards listed in: Hardesty, Patricia N. Pioneer Map, City of St. George, Washington County, Utah Index with LDS Wards.
 * Washington County Document Search at Washington County Recorders office, Deed from 1983, Maps and Surveys earlier.

Local Histories

 * Alder, Douglas D. and Karl F. Brooks. A History of Washington County: From Isolation to Desolation online at Marriott Library Digital Collections.


 * Stout, Wayne. A History of Rockville, Utah 1862-1972. Salt Lake City, Utah, 1972. Digital version at Internet Archive.

Maps and Gazetteers
Google highway map of Washington County 2012
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Washington County for emigrant settlers included:
 * Mormon Trail 1846 to 1869 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah
 * Mormon Trail to Southern California 1847 from Salt Lake City, Utah to Los Angeles, California
 * Union Pacific Railroad 1869 Ogden, Utah (among others) to Omaha, Nebraska

Military Records

 * Territorial-1966 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

 Civil War
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images at Partner site

 World War I
 * 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1914-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

 World War II
 * 1939-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1848-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1906-1930 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1906-1930 Utah, Federal Naturalization Records, 1906-1930 at Ancestry- index & images ($)

Newspapers

 * 1850-2003 Utah Newspapers, 1850-2003 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
 * Utah Digital Newspapers Project gives newspaper images online. Search All Newspapers by name or keywords, or Browse by County to view the digitized newspapers.
 * Washington County News, covering 1908-1923 are included.


 * Color Country Spectrum (Saint George, Utah) This database is a fully searchable text version of the newspaper for the following years: 1974 and 1976-77. at Ancestry ($)
 * The SpectrumOn-line issues available from 4/24/2006 to present.($)

Obituaries
USGenWeb Archives of Washington County, Utah contains the obituaries of 2004 - 2005
 * 1850-2005 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & links to images
 * 2010-2013 Utah, U.S., Obituary Index, 2010-2013 at Ancestry - index ($)

Prisons

 * 1892-1949 Board of Pardons Prisoners' Pardon Application Case Files, 1892-1949 at Utah Division of Archives and Records Service – index and images

Periodicals
Utah Periodicals

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1800-1985 Utah Wills and Probate Records 1800-1985 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1851 – 1961 at FamilySearch — images

School Records
Online School Indexes and Records
 * Since 1913 Dixie High School Yearbooks since 1913 at Skalooza - free.

Birth

 * 1898-1905 Inventory of originals, Series #3166 at Utah State Archives. Not online, no online index. There are no names of children in the records.
 * 1903-1914 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1906-1910 1906-1910 online images

Marriage

 * 1805-1992 Utah, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1862-1919 Craig, Dr. Wesley W. Early Marriages (1862-1919) in Washington County, Utah: Male and Female Surname Indexes
 * 1887-1937 Utah, County Marriages, 1887-1937 at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * 1871-1941 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1887-1999 Utah, Marriages, 1887-1999 at MyHeritage — index ($)
 * Western States Marriage Index at BYU-Idaho — includes some divorces and alternative sources

Death

 * 1904-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Pre-1904 Utah State Burial Data Base This site includes information on many Utah residents, who died before 1904.

FamilySearch Centers

 * Bloomington Utah FamilySearch Center
 * Enterprise Utah FamilySearch Center
 * Glendale Utah FamilySearch Center
 * Hurricane Utah FamilySearch Center
 * New Harmony Utah FamilySearch Center
 * St George Utah FamilySearch Center
 * St George Utah Morningside FamilySearch Center
 * Veyo Utah FamilySearch Center
 * Washington Utah Buena Vista FamilySearch Center
 * Washington County Library System - an affiliate library

Libraries
Washington County Library 88 W 100 St St. George, UT 84770 Phone: 435-634-5737 Website

See also Utah Public Library Directory, which provides links to library web pages, addresses, phone numbers, hours, and maps.

Societies
Washington County Historical Society Website

Websites

 * 1848-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images


 * Washington GenWeb, Utah GenWeb
 * Washington USGW Archives, Utah USGW Archives


 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.