Oregon, United States Genealogy

''This article is about a Pacific northwestern state of the United States. For other uses, see Oregon (disambiguation).''

United States Oregon

Welcome to Oregon, Beaver State
Oregon is a western state of the United States. It was the 33rd state admitted to the Union, on February 14, 1859.

The settlement of the Oregon Country commenced in March 1811 with the fur-trappers from John Jacob Astor's company "Pacific Fur Company" at Fort Astoria, now simply Astoria.

According to the Oregon Blue Book, the source for the earliest written use of the word "Oregon" was Major Robert Rogers, a British army officer. In his 1765 proposal for a journey.

News and Events

 * Add family history news and events occurring in the state of Oregon here.

Counties of Oregon
Oregon County Creation Dates and Parent Counties showing dates they were created or renamed and counties created from older counties. Details will assist you in determining which county would have the records you are seeking. Oregon currently has 36 counties:

Extinct, renamed, or transferred counties: Champoeg | Clark | Lewis | Twality | Umpqua

Neighboring states: Washington | Idaho | Nevada | California

Did You Know?

 * If your ancestors migrated to the West by following the Oregon Trail, take a look at the Oregon Trail History Library. You’re welcome to add emigration history of your pioneer.
 * The Oregon Trail was much more than a pathway to the state of Oregon; it was the only practical corridor to the entire western United States. The places we now know as Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho and Utah would probably not be a part of the United States today were it not for the Oregon Trail. That's because the Trail was the only feasible way for settlers to get across the mountains.
 * The thousands of settlers who arrived in the Oregon Territory between December 1850 and December 1855 were eligible to receive donation land claims. The applications for these free lands may provide birth, marriage, citizenship, and migration information. Read more...
 * Gretna Greens. When an Oregon couple's marriage is not in their home county, search for it in alternate places like Winnemucca NV, or Coeur d'Alene ID.

Research Tools

 * Ask a question about how to find your Oregon ancestors at the Western States Research forum.
 * View historic Oregon maps in the David Rumsey Map Collection.
 * Find other Oregon genealogy websites at Cyndi's List - Oregon.
 * View images related to the state of Utah at the Wikimedia Commons page for Oregon
 * Western States Marriage Index
 * Oregon Trails to the Past
 * The ORGenWeb Project provides county information about formation date, parent county, county seat, bibliography, cemeteries, census, churches, towns, history, look ups, obituaries, queries, repositories, surname registry, and many Internet links.

Websites for death records in the state of Oregon:


 * Oregon Deaths and Burials 1903-1947
 * Oregon Births and Christenings 1868-1929
 * Oregon State Archives for death certificates, up to and including 1959.

Things you can do

 * Visit the Research Center of the Utah State Archives and Utah State History
 * Know of any others? Feel free to add to this list.

In order to make this wiki a better research tool, we need your help! Many tasks need to be done. You can help by:

Contributors

 * Sammy is the moderator for the Oregon content. Assistant moderators are needed. Submit your request to be the assistant by adding a comment on the Discussion page. Contributors for the Oregon content during the past three months include: (stay tuned, the list is coming soon!)