Grays Harbor County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  Grays Harbor County   Guide to  genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1854, when the county was formed as Chehalis County.

Parent County(s)
Parent County: created in 14 April 1854 as Chehalis County from Thurston. Renamed to Grays Harbor County 15 March 1915.

Boundary Changes
Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

Courthouse

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

Neighboring Counties

 * Neighboring Counties: Jefferson | Mason | Pacific | Thurston

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.

Business Records
Commercial fishing, the lumber industry were major industries historically. Tourism is more recent.


 * Mining Claims 1881-1928 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Census

 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives: (Free)
 * Federal: 1860 • 1870 • 1880 •  1910
 * Territorial: 1871 • 1879 • 1881 • 1882 • 1885 • 1887 • 1889
 * State-funded: 1892 • 1894
 * These were indexed by local societies and individuals.

Church Records

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

LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Montesano

Court Records
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
 * Power of Attorney Records 1981 - 2013 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

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

 * "1885 Grays Harbor County" online
 * "1889 Grays Harbor County" online
 * "1881 Grays Harbor County Census" online
 * "1892 Grays Harbor County" online
 * "Grays Harbor County, Alabama (Washington) Facts" online
 * "Grays Harbor Genealogical Society" online
 * "Grays Harbor County, Washington Public Records" online

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. Grays Harbor County -- Thumbnail History, History Link.org Essay 7766.


 * The original residents of what would become Chehalis, then Grays Harbor County, were members of the Quinault Tribe.
 * 1787 - The largest village in the area was at the mouth of the Quinault River and was so named.
 * 1792 May 7 - Boston fur trader Robert Gray crossed the bar into the bay he called Bullfinch Harbor, but which later cartographers would label Chehalis Bay, then Grays Harbor.
 * 1824 - Irishman John Work of the Hudson's Bay Company explored the area.
 * The county’s first permanent white settler was Irishman William O’Leary.
 * 1907 February 27 - Grays Harbor County was founded.
 * Early 1900s - Grays Harbor County boomed. Immigrants from all over the world flocked to jobs offering cash wages.
 * Beginning in the 1920s, the wood-products industry -- logging, milling, and pulp manufacture -- started a long, slow decline.

Land and Property

 * 1858-1928 Part of:"County Land Records, 1850-1954" FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Land Records 1981 - present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Plats and Surveys Records 1980 - 2013 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Recorded Agreements and Contracts 1981 - present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Maps
Area map and other information from 1895:

http://www.livgenmi.com/1895/WA/

The BLM also has Cadastral and other survey information at Oregon and Washington Land Status and Cadastral Record, please note this is separate from the survey dropdown on the main glorecords.blm.gov page.

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

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1884-1944 Part of:"County Naturalization Records, 1850-1982" FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Declarations of Intention, 1884-1971 Declarations of Intention, 1884-1971

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)

Obituaries
Also check:


 * Newspapers of
 * Local Funeral Homes, Libraries, or family records.
 * Obituaries of neighboring counties

Probate Records

 * County Probate Case Files, 1832-1950 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)


 * 1884-1929 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Public Records

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

Birth
Aberdeen City Clerk, Birth Register, 1890-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives


 * 1891-1908 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * 1891-1930 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Birth Register, 1891-1908 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Marriage

 * 1893-1922 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Marriage Records, 1871-2013 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Divorce
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.


 * 1852-1950 Part of:"County Divorce Records,1888-1926" FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Death

 * 1891-1937 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * County Deaths, 1891-1907 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Death Register, 1891-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Washington Death Certificates 1907-1960 A free internet index to the 1907-1960 death certificates can be found at FamilySearch, 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:
 * Web Sites at RootsWeb - Grays Harbor WA (Free)
 * The Grays Harbor County WAGenWeb Project (Free)
 * Member of The WAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project (free) for Grays Harbor County. (Mirror site)
 * 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.

Sites that search the Internet for records online:


 * Linkpendium (free)
 * CyndisList (free)

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
Grays Harbor County Courthouse 102 West Broadway Room 203 Montesano, WA 98563 Phone 360.249.3842 County Clerk has probate, divorce and court records from 1860. County Auditor has marriage records from 1891. County Assessor has land records from 1855. County Health Department has birth and death records.

Family History Centers

 * Elma Washington Family History Center 702 Main St E, Elma, WA 98541-9353
 * Ocean Shores Washington Family History Center 928 Albatross ST., Ocean Shores, WA 98569
 * Westport Washington Family History Center 708 Englewood Ln., Westport, WA 98547

Libraries

 * Grays Harbor County Libraries

(see link for library addresses)

Museums

 * Aberdeen Museum of History
 * Chehalis Valley Historical Museum
 * Museum of North Beach
 * Polson Museum

Societies

 * Grays Harbor Historical Societies
 * Grays Harbor Genealogical Society

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