Yellowstone County, Montana Genealogy

United States Montana  Yellowstone County

Guide to Yellowstone County, Montana ancestry, family history and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Historical Facts

 * Parent County: created 26 February 1883 from Gallatin | Meagher | Custer | Carbon
 * County Seat: Billings 
 * Neighboring Counties: Big Horn | Carbon | Golden Valley | Musselshell | Rosebud | Stillwater | Treasure

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

Church Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Billings

Directories
The Parmly Billings Library has made the following available online:


 * Early Billings City Directories: 1883, 1894, 1900-1901, 1903-1904

Newspapers

 * NewspaperArchive.com ($) has a collection of digitized Montana newspapers online including Billings newspapers that reported on residents of Yellowstone County. This database is sometimes free at libraries.
 * Parmly Billings Library: Vital Statistics from early Billings Gazettes Newspapers covering 1882-1902.
 * Parmly Billings Library: Billings Gazette Indexes from 1930s and 1940s

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1831 – 1952 Montana Wills and Probate Records 1831-1952 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Courthouse
County Clerk Recorder has birth, death, land, and military records from 1883. Clerk District Court has marriage, divorce, probate and court records.

Family History Centers

 * Billings Montana Family History Center
 * Gardiner Montana Family History Center

Libraries

 * Parmly Billings Library Genealogical Resources

Societies

 * Montana State Genealogical Society
 * Montana State Historical Society
 * Yellowstone Genealogy Forum

Mailing address: Yellowstone Genealogy Forum c/o Billings Public Library 510 North Broadway Billings MT 59101 The Yellowstone Genealogy Forum meets on the 4th Tuesday of every month (except December) at 7:00 p.m. Come early as social time begins at 6:30 p.m.

Vital Records
The following is courtesy of the Parmly Billings Library Genealogical Resources:


 * Vital Statistics from EarlyBilling Gazettes: Over 13,000 births, deaths, business licenses and other records from the early residents as recorded in this newspaper. The index is from 1882-1901 as well as additional indexes covering up to the 1930s.

Birth

 * 1840–2004 -  at FamilySearch — index and images

Marriage

 * 1881-1903 - Western States Marriage Index marriages from 1881-1903

Death

 * 1840–2004 -  at FamilySearch — index and images

Websites

 * 
 * Montana State Historical Society
 * Yellowstone County GenWeb
 * Yellowstone County Genealogy Forum
 * Yellowstone National Park History &amp; Culture

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at: Montana, Yellowstone County Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Indian Reservation
The Crow Indian Reservation is located primarily in Big Horn County, with a smaller portion in Yellowstone County.