San Juan County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  San Juan County   Guide to  genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1873, when the county was formed.

Parent County(s)
San Juan County, Washington was created 31 October 1873 from Whatcom.

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

Boundary Changes

 * Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

Neighboring Counties
is surrounded by: Island | Skagit | Whatcom

Courthouse
San Juan County Courthouse 350 Court Street #7 Friday Harbor, WA 98250-1249 Phone: 360–378–2163 County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records. County Auditor has birth records 1892-1907, death records 1890-1907 and marriage records from 1878.

See also Archives, libraries, etc. in.

Census

 * Census 1907 Part of Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.


 * School census records 1879-1972 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)
 * Federal: 1910
 * Territorial: 1885 • 1887 •  1889
 * 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.)

Court Records

 * San Juan 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.

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

Genealogy

 * "Family History & Genealogy" online

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

 * "1887 San Juan County" online
 * "San Juan County 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. San Juan County -- Thumbnail History, History Link.org Essay 7505.


 * For generations, the San Juans, neighboring islands, and portions of Vancouver Island, were home to peoples identified as Northern Straits Salish.
 * 1850 - The British-owned Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) establish the first non-Indian presence on the San Juan islands.
 * 1853 - March 2, U.S. President Millard Fillmore establishes.
 * 1858-1859 - The first real American challenge to the Hudson's Bay Company came when a handful of frustrated miners returning from the short-lived Fraser River gold rush settled on San Juan Island.
 * 1871-1872 - Several Spanish expeditions under the general command of Captain Francisco Eliza mapped the San Juans.
 * 1872 - The San Juan islands become an undisputed part of the United States following the "Pig War" boundary dispute with Great Britain.
 * 1873 - October 31,  San Juan County was established.
 * 1910-1960 - Population, which had reached 3,600 by 1910, remained stagnant, actually declining to 2,872 in 1960.

Naturalization and Citizenship
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.)

Washington State Digital Archives has digitized various types of naturalization-related records, including declarations of intentions, delayed birth files, naturalization affidavits, notifications of application for admission to US citizenship, orders fixing naturalization terms, petitions and records, petitions, receipts for certificates of citizenship, record of final decrees of citizenship and record of petitions dockets. Depending on the county, records range from 1854-1988.


 * Naturalization and Citizenship 1890-1960 Part of Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * Includes: Certificates of naturalization 1904-1918; Declarations of intention 1890-1957; Final decree of citizenship 1893-1900; Miscellaneous naturalization records 1871-1945; Petition and record 1892-1929; Reports of naturalization petitions granted/denied 1930-1960.


 * Naturalization Records, 1871-1960 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

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

 * 1875-1948 Part of:"County Probate Records, 1853-1929" FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.

Public Records

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

School Records

 * Eighth grade graduates 1904-1951 Part of Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.


 * School census records 1879-1972 Part of Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.

Birth

 * Birth Registers, 1878-1907 at Washinton State Digital Archives Collection (Free)


 * Washington State Digital Archives has a database of San Juan County Birth Records. This database contains the names of people who were born in San Juan County in June 1891 – August 1907. The names were taken from the San Juan County Register of Births.

Marriage

 * Marriage Records, 1864-1939 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)
 * Marriage Indexes, Affidavits, Applications, Certificates, Licenses, 1874-1971 Part of Washington, County Marriages, 1855-2008 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free)


 * County Marriages,1855-2008 at Washington, County Marriages, 1855-2008 at FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * Includes Index to Certificates 1874-1914 Vol 2; Certificates 1874-1914; License Applications Receipts 1923-1948; Records 1926-1971.

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.

Death

 * Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960 Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.

Websites
Sites with online indexes or images of records:


 * WAGenWeb for San Juan County
 * USGenWeb
 * 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.
 * SanJuan/ Web Sites at RootsWeb - SanJuan WA (Free)

Sites that search the Internet for records online:


 * Linkpendium (free)
 * CyndisList (free)

Major catalogs to offline genealogical records: Catalogs refer to books, microfilm, manuscripts, and/or Internet images and indexes for various topics.


 * for (Select topics. Add comma to select towns.)
 * WorldCat To find libraries near you that have items of interest, see WorldCat Online Catalog.
 * Allen County Public Library (Indiana)
 * See also local libraries and Washington Archives and Libraries

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

 * San Juan Washington Family History Center 1013 Lampard Rd, Friday Harbor, WA 98250 Location map

Libraries

 * Orcas Island Library District, 500 Rose Street, Eastsound 98245 Phone: (360) 376-4985


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * San Juan Island Library District, 1010 Guard Street, Friday Harbor 98250 Phone: (360) 378-2798


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Lopez Island Library District, 2225 Fisherman Bay Rd, Lopez Island 98261 Phone: (360) 468-2265


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:

Towns and Communities
See a list of towns and communities in San Juan County per Wikipedia.