Washington, Cowlitz County Civil Court Dockets - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States WashingtonCowlitz County

What Is in the Collection?
This collection contains docket books from the Cowlitz County Superior Court and from the Territory of Washington, Second Judicial District Court. The dockets are a calendar of court actions in civil cases including primarily divorces and disputed estates. The page numbers refer to pages in the docket book, the file number range refers to the cases included in the docket book. There is no name index to these records.

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


 * Names of interested parties
 * Date of court proceeding or transaction
 * Details of the case
 * Amount of money exchanged or paid
 * Names of witnesses

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The names of the individuals involved in the case.
 * The place of residence.
 * The court date.

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 Record type, year, volume or file number.

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 Archives.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Copy the citation below, in case you need to find this record again later.
 * Use a Probate record to identify adoptions, guardians, heirs and relatives.
 * Use a probate record to approximate a death date, then find a Washington Death Index (FamilySearch Historical Records).
 * For earlier years, use the probate record or will to substitute for civil birth and death records.
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to find county or Washington Vital Records such as birth, baptism, and marriage, records.
 * Search for death or burial information in Washington Cemeteries and Washington Newspapers.
 * Use the information found in the record to find Washington, County Land Records (FamilySearch Historical Records).
 * Use the information found in the record to find Washington Emigration and Immigration.
 * 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 Oregon Vital Records.
 * 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:

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