Kittitas County, Washington Genealogy

Guide to Kittitas County Washington ancestry, family history, and genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1883, when the county was formed.

Washington Online Genealogy Records

Description
The County was named for the language of the Yakama Nation. According to one source, it "has been said to mean everything from 'white chalk' to 'shale rock' to 'shoal people' to 'land of plenty'". The County is located in the central area of the state.

Parent County(s)

 * Kittitas County, Washington was created 24 November 1883 from Yakima.

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

Boundary Changes

 * Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

Courthouse
Kittitas County Courthouse 205 W 5th Avenue Ellensburg, WA 98926 Phone: 509.962.7624 Kittitas County Website County Auditor has birth and death records 1891-1907, marriage records from 1884 and land records from 1882. County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records from 1890s.

See also Archives, libraries, etc. in.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Census

 * School census cards (Aa-Har only) 1895-1925 Part of Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.


 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives: (Free); and Ancestry ($)
 * Federal: 1910
 * Territorial: 1885 • 1887 •  1889

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * Church records (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) for are listed in the . (Press space bar to select town.)
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * Kittitas Frontier Justice. Part of "Frontier Justice’’: Guide to the Court Records of Washington Territory, 1853-1889 at Washington State Digital Archives. (Free Index, no images)
 * The court procedure of Frontier Justice touch nearly all pioneers of Washington Territory. The index has many abstracts that provide names and what is happening in disputes, settlements in civil and criminal cases as well as probate, equity and admiralty cases.

Directories

 * Kittitas County Directory, 1923-1924 at Washington Digital Archives


 * Kittitas County, Washington Online Historical Directories listed by Google.com

American Indian

 * 1911 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — images

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

Funeral Homes
Brookside Funeral Home and Crematory, 101 E 2nd Ave, Ellensburg, WA (509) 925-2902

Adam and Stoves Mortuary Roslyn, Washington See: Roslyn Funeral Home

Brown Funeral Chapel, Cle Elum, Washington See: Cotton Chapel

Coleman Chapel Cle Elum, Washington See: Cotton Chapel

Cotton-Brown Funeral Chapel 1st and Harris St., Cle Elum, Washington P.O. Box 277, Cle Elum, 98922 (509) 674-4445

Cotton Chapel, Inc. Ellensburg, Washington See: Steward & Williams Funeral Directors/Crematory Also Known As: Hunnicutt Funeral Home, and Evenson Funeral Home.

Evenson Funeral Home Ellensburg, Washington See: Steward & Williams Funeral Directors/Crematory

Hunnicutt Funeral Home Ellensburg, Washington See: Steward & Williams Funeral Directors/Crematory

Roslyn Funeral Home #4 Dakota Ave., Roslyn, WA 98941

Stoves Davies Mortuary Roslyn, Washington See: Roslyn Funeral Home

Steward & Williams Funeral Directors/Crematory 301 E 3rd Ave., Ellensburg, Washington P.O. Box 306, Ellensburg, Washington 98926 (509) 925-3141

Stoves-Davies Funeral Home Roslyn, Washington See: Cotton Chapel

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

History
History Resources


 * "Ellensburg Heritage" photos at Ellensburg Public Library

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 Paula Becker. Kittitas County -- Thumbnail History, HistoryLink.org Essay 7484.


 * The first inhabitants of the Kittitas Valley were the Psch-wan-wap-pams (stony ground people), also known as the Kittitas band of the Yakama or Upper Yakama.
 * 1814 - Fur trader Alexander Ross was one of the earliest non-Indians to describe the Kittitas Valley.
 * 1853 - March 2, U.S. President Millard Fillmore establishes.
 * 1855 - June 9, Yakima Chief Kamiakin and other tribal leaders signed a treaty ceding claim to all 16,920 square miles (10,828,800 acres) of the tribe's lands except a 1,875-square-mile (1,200,000 acre) portion of land to be used for a reservation. The future Kittitas County was part of the ceded land.
 * 1859 - April 18, Congress ratified the Treaty of Yakima and President James Buchanan signed the ratification proclamation.
 * 1867 - Frederick Ludi (1832-1916) and John Goller (1813-?) (known as Dutch John) became the first non-Indian settlers to the Kittitas area, building a cabin on the site of what is now Ellensburg.
 * 1883 - November 24, Territorial Governor William Augustus Newell signed the act creating Kittitas County.
 * 1880s - For farmers in the Kittitas Valley, the key to this transformation from wilderness to village was irrigation.
 * 1911 - The Kittitas Reclamation District began preliminary surveys and cost analysis for what would become the High Line canal, the Kittitas Valley’s largest irrigation project.

Military
World War I


 * 1921-1925 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1917-1919 - David H. Dickson.  An honor roll containing a pictorial record of the gallant and courageous men from Kittitas County, Washington, U.S.A., who served in the Great War 1917-1918-1919. Ellensburg, Washington :, 1920?

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * Naturalization Records, 1890-1979 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)


 * Naturalization Records, 1884-1953 Part of Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * Includes:Declarations of intention 1888-1915; 1890-1906; 1915-1928; Naturalization index 1884-1953; 1907-1912; Orders of the court (admitting or denying the petition) 1929-1945; Petition evidence 1907-1924; Petitions for naturalization 1895-1948; Special naturalizations 1937-1946.

Newspapers

 * Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)


 * Washington Digital Newspaper at Washington State Library

Obituaries
Also check:


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

Probate Records

 * Probate case files 1886-1930 Part of Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.

Public Records

 * Kittitas Postmaster Index. Part of Washington, Postmaster Indexes, Prior to 1965, FamilySearch Historical Collections for Washington. (Free, browse images)

School Records

 * Classification register Boylston District 21 1901-1927 Part of Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.


 * Register of teachers 1899-1925 Part of Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * Includes School census records 1895-1925; and Teacher certificates 1895-1925.

Birth

 * — index and images
 * Birth Returns (A-K and L-Z), 1891-1907 Part of Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.


 * Birth Returns, 1890-1909 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Marriage

 * 1801-1962 - Washington, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1855–2008 - at FamilySearch — index and images


 * 1891-2005 - Marriage Records, 1891-2005 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)


 * 1884-1923 - Marriage affidavits 1884-1932 Part of Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * Includes: Marriage applications and license index 1939-1985; Marriage certificates 1882-2009; Marriage certificates index 1920-1947; Marriage license applications 1939-2000; Marriage Register 1892-1939; Marriage returns 1891-1947.


 * 1969-2014 - at FamilySearch — index

Divorce
Online Records
 * 1969 - 2014 - at FamilySearch — index

Death

 * 1907-1960 Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960 at MyHeritage — index, ($)
 * at FamilySearch - How to use this collection, index
 * Death Records 1891 - 1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)


 * Death Returns 1891-1907 Part of Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * Listed as "Birth (L-Z) and Death Returns"

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.

Family History Centers

 * Ellensburg Washington Family History Center

Libraries

 * Ellensburg Public Library 209 North Ruby Street Ellensburg, WA 98926 Phone: 509-962-7252 Website
 * Includes Local History Collection and Archives - 7,000 historical photographs


 * Cle Elum (Carpenter Memorial) Library 302 Pennsylvania Avenue Cle Elum, WA 98922 Phone: 509-674-2313 Website
 * Kittitas Public Library 2nd and Pierce Streets Kittitas, WA 98934 Phone: 509-968-0226 Website
 * Roslyn Public Library 201 S. First Street Roslyn, WA 98941 Phone: 509-649-3420 Website

Museums

 * Kittitas County Historical Museum 114 E 3rd Avenue Ellensburg, WA 98926 Website

Societies
Northern Kittitas County Historical Society 302 West 3rd Street Cle Elum, WA 98922 (509) 649-2880 E-mail: [mailto:emailofsociety nkcmuseums@gmail.com] Website

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