Washington County Divorce Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Washington

What Is in the Collection?
This collection includes digital images of divorce records from the civil courts in the following counties:


 * Clark
 * Cowlitz
 * Grays Harbor
 * Lewis
 * Mason
 * Pacific
 * Thurston
 * Wahkiakum

The records are arranged by year and then in boxed files, alphabetically by name.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
These records contain the following information:


 * Names of interested parties
 * Divorce date
 * Name of court
 * County of court
 * Conditions of the divorce decree

In addition the records may also contain:


 * Ages or calculated birth year of husband and wife
 * Names of minor children
 * Names of other relatives
 * Court costs

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 parties involved in the divorce.
 * The approximate date of divorce.
 * The place where the divorce occurred.
 * The names of family members who may be named in the divorce decree.

Compare the information on the image to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several images before you find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Pagethen: ⇒Select the "County" ⇒Select the "Case File Number Range"

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
If these are indexes, the original records may contain additional information than was not indexed, or the information might have been indexed incorrectly. You may want to search for the original record at the Washington State Regional Archives, SouthWest Region.

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 Index such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death records.
 * Search for additional death or burial information in local Washington Cemeteries and Washington Obituaries
 * Use the information found in the record to find Washington, County Land Records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find Washington Probate Records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find Washington Migration.
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in the Washington Census. Witnesses were usually family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records were kept years before counties and governments began keeping records. They 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 [].
 * 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.

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:

Image citation: