Montana, Judith Basin County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection contains birth, death, marriage, naturalization and probate records from the county clerk/recorder's and clerk of court offices in Stanford. It covers the years 1910 to 1945.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in this collection may include:


 * Name of the primary individual
 * Age
 * Event date
 * Event place
 * Parents' names including mother's maiden name
 * Parents' age, birth place and residence
 * Occupations
 * Names of heirs, such as spouse, children, other relatives, or friends
 * Name of the executor, administrator, or guardian
 * Names of witnesses
 * Dates the documents were written and recorded (used to approximate event dates since a will was usually written near the time of death)
 * Description and value of personal property or land owned by the deceased
 * Address or residence

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * Name
 * Type of event
 * Approximate date of event

Search the Collection
To search the collection fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article [FamilySearch Tips and Tricks].

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details such as a title, an occupation, or land ownership. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use the names and places to search for church and census records.
 * If an age is listed, use it to determine an approximate birth date.
 * Use the naturalization information to help you locate immigration records such as a passenger lists which would usually be kept records at the port of entry into the United States.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * It may helpful to extract information on all individuals with the same surname within each record type. These individuals may be family members of your ancestor. Try to arrange these inidviduals into family groups.
 * The witnesses named in the records may have been relatives of the primary person in the record. You should also search for them in the records.
 * Birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for another index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Related Websites
Judith Basin, Montana GenWeb

Related Wiki Articles

 * Montana
 * Montana Probate Records
 * Montana Vital Records

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.