Washington, County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Washington

What Is in the Collection?
The collection consists of various records including official actions, probate records, indexes, etc. The records are from various counties in Washington State, from 1803 to 2010. The counties will be added to the collection as their records are available. Browse the collection to determine current record and county coverage. The following counties are available in the collection at this time:


 * Adams
 * Asotin
 * Benton
 * Chelan
 * Columbia
 * Douglas
 * Franklin
 * Grant
 * Kittitas
 * Klickitat
 * Lincoln
 * Okanogan
 * Pend Oreille
 * Pierce
 * Spokane
 * Stevens
 * Walla Walla
 * Whitman
 * Yakima

The Washington State Archives maintains the state and local records considered to be permanently valuable. The individual records were made to establish legal rights and to help track the population for health and taxation purposes. The state collection was created to insure that the records are retained and archived properly. The information is generally reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant. Some transcription errors may have occurred.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The county records generally include the following information:


 * Date of the event, transaction, or recording with the county
 * Names of individual, witnesses, family members, and sometimes neighbors *Ages
 * Relationships
 * Residences
 * Occupations
 * Signature or mark
 * Legal descriptions of land
 * Amount of money exchanged as part of business transactions

Coverage Map
To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of Washington State marriages, click here.

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know at least some of the following:
 * The name of the individual or individuals such as the names of the soldier, the deceased, or grantor and grantees.
 * The type of event.
 * The approximate date the event occurred.
 * The place where the event occurred.
 * The names of family members and their relationships.

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information in the list to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several persons in the list before you find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Pagethen:⇒Select the "County" category ⇒Select the "Record Type, Date Range and Volume".

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 Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Copy the citation below, in case you need to find this record again later.
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to find other county or Washington Vital Records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death records.
 * Search for death or burial information in Washington Cemeteries and Washington Newspapers.
 * Use the information found in the record to find Washington Land and Property records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find Washington Probate Records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find Washington Emigration and Immigration records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in the Washington Census records. Witnesses were usually 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 Who I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching a nearby locality Oregon Vital Records.
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records.

Known Issues With This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

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