Washington County, Utah Genealogy

Guide to Washington County, Utah ancestry, family history, and genealogy. Birth records, marriage and death records, cemeteries, census, church records, probate records, and obituaries—resources to find parents and family history since 1852, when the county was formed.

Quick start:


 * Census
 * Birth
 * Marriage
 * Death
 * Church

Description
The County was named for the first President of the United States, George Washington. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Washington County Courthouse 197 East Tabernacle Street St George, Ut 84770 Phone: 435-634-5712

County Clerk has marriage records from 1887, divorce records from 1878 probate and court records from 1874. County recorder has land records.

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

Parent Counties
was created 3 March 1852 from unorganized territory. See also Utah Territory and Green River County

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Utah County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Utah County Boundary Maps" (1849-1960) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.


 * Boundary changes timeline for from "UT: Index of Counties," Newberry Library's Utah Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

Neighboring Counties
is surrounded by: Iron | Kane | Arizona counties: Mohave | Nevada county: Lincoln

Resources
The types of records that follow are used for genealogy and family history. Most tell what you may learn and how to locate the records. Links to Internet sites usually go directly to entries with names, images, or information.

Bible Records
The term "Bible records" refers to the practice of keeping family dates and events in a family Bible. This was a common practice in many European countries and carried over to America. Many of these family Bible records are still in existence and preserved by the descendants of the immigrants. In some cases these family Bibles have found their way into libraries and other repositories.

For an explanation of how to find Bible records and for helpful links see Utah Bible Records. See also United States Bible Records.

Biography

 * Washington County Utah Biographies (Personal and Family Histories) at UTGenWeb - free.

Business Records and Commerce
See United States Business Records See also Utah Business Records

Cemeteries

 * To 1966 - at FamilySearch — index and images


 * Published transcripts of cemetery records are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog at the (space, then select the town) or the  (select Cemeteries).

Dr. Craig's Cemetery/Death Indexes (1852-1996): Washington County, Utah is the place to start Washington County cemetery searches.

Additional resources:
 * Utah Cemeteries and Burials Database at Utah State History

Census

 * See Utah Census for online indexes and images of US federal censuses. of: 1852, 1856, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940.
 * See statewide printed indexes, including 1856.

Churches and Religious Groups

 * Church records (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed for at the  (space, then select a town) or  (select Church topics) in the FamilySearch Library Catalog.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons)

 * 1877-1918 - at FamilySearch — index

Stake(s): Parowan Stake, Utah · St. George Stake, Utah · Zion Park Stake, Utah

Central · Enterprise · Grafton· Gunlock· Hamblin· Harrisburg· Hebron· Hurricane· Ivins· La Verkin· Leeds· Little Pinto or Pinto· Pine Valley· Rockville· Santa Clara· Springdale· St. George· Toquerville· Veyo· Virgin· Washington


 * List of Washington County stakes and wards to about 1948.


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Roman Catholic Church
History timeline:


 * 1878 - Built a chapel in Silver Reef.
 * [year?] - Chapel abandoned when Silver Reef became a ghost town.

Court Records
Many of your ancestors may be found in court records as defendants, plaintiffs, witnesses, or jurors. Court records can establish family relationships and places of residence, occupations, and other family history information. See Utah Court Records for the various courts through the years.

For specialized court records, see Divorce · Land · Naturalization · Probate

Directories
See Utah Directories

Emigration and Immigration

 * 1847-1868 - at FamilySearch — index

Funeral Homes
Hurricane Valley Mortuary 140 North Main Street Hurricane, UT Phone:(435) 635-9922 Fax: 435-635-3200

Metcalf Mortuary 288 West St George Blvd St George, UT 84770 Phone: 435-673-4221 Toll Free Phone: 888-673-4221 Fax: 435-674-0209

Pine VIew Mortuary 566 North Mall Dr St. George, UT 84790 Phone: 435-986-4222 Fax: 435-986-4223

Spilsbury Mortuary 110 South Bluff St St George, UT 84770 Phone:435-673-2454 Toll Free Phone: 888-673-2454 Fax: 435-673-0911

Gazetteers
See Utah Gazetteers

Guardianship
Guardianship of orphans or adults unable to manage their own affairs were handled by the probate and the Federal District courts. See Utah Court Records.

History
Named for George Washington, the first President of the United States.


 * Alder, Douglas D. and Karl F. Brooks. A History of Washington County: From Isolation to Desolation online at Marriott Library Digital Collections.

History Timeline

 * Boundary changes timeline for from "UT: Index of Counties," Newberry Library's Utah Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Wikipedia for Washington County.


 * 1852. 3 March. Washington County founded. Named after George Washington, first President of the United States.
 * 1854. City of Santa Clarasettled by Jacob Hamlin. Location of Jacob Hamblin home.
 * 1861. St. Georgefounded as a cotton mission under direction of Brigham Young. Named after LDS Apostle George A. Smith. County seat.
 * 1862. Springdale settled as Mormon farming community. Now thriving tourist industry. Located just outside Zion National Park.
 * 1891. City of Enterprise founded by Orson Welcome Huntsman. Early residents were Mormon settlers.
 * 1896. City of Hurricanesettled. Received its name after a whirlwind blew top off buggy that Erastus Snow, early LDS Apostle, was riding in.
 * 1963. City of Hildale founded. Headquarters of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Local Histories

 * Stout, Wayne. A History of Rockville, Utah 1862-1972. Salt Lake City, Utah, 1972. Digital version at Internet Archive.

Land and Property
Land records (especially deeds) often give the name of a spouse, heir, other relatives, or other clues for further research. They often have other clues for further research, such as witnesses or the other parties who may be relatives or in-laws. See Utah Land and Property for more.


 * County Recorder's Office: check deeds, file mining claims, get assistance in finding ownership of a particular property, and obtain copies of county plat maps. This office has county plat records dating back to 1878, prior records having been destroyed in a fire.


 * Maps listing the names of landholders locate where an ancestor lived. The Family History Library has a plat map for St. George:
 * Pioneer Map: City of St. George, Washington County, Utah. N.p.: 1982?. (Family History Library .) This map lists the names of land owners on the map and the designation of the ward where they lived. The index to this map has St. George wards listed in: Hardesty, Patricia N. Pioneer Map, City of St. George, Washington County, Utah Index with LDS Wards. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982. (Family History Library .)
 * Washington County Document Search at Washington County Recorders office, Deed from 1983, Maps and Surveys earlier. Older documents require visit to Recorders Office, 87 North 200 East STE 101, St. George, UT 84770. Phone: (435)634-5709

Maps
Google highway map of Washington County 2012

Migration
Early migration routes to and from for emigrant settlers included:


 * Mormon Trail 1846 to 1869 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah
 * Mormon Trail to Southern California 1847 from Salt Lake City, Utah to Los Angeles, California
 * Union Pacific Railroad 1869 Ogden, Utah (among others) to Omaha, Nebraska

Military

 * To 1966 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index

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 Utah Naturalization and Citizenship for more information. (*Women were not naturalized until 1922 in the United States.)


 * Utah, State Archives Records, 1848-2001, a FamilySearch digital collection, contains certificates of naturalization, 1878-1896 and 1896-1933; declaration of intentions 1874-1896 and a1904-1906; petition and record 1907-1942.

Newspapers

 * Washington County News, covering 1908-1923 are included.
 * Existing copies of newspapers
 * Color Country Spectrum (Saint George, Utah)Ancestry.com ($) This database is a fully searchable text version of the newspaper for the following years: 1974 and 1976-77.
 * The Spectrum On-line issues available from 4/24/2006 to present.
 * The Spectrum On-line issues available from 4/24/2006 to present.

Obituaries

 * 1850 – 2005 at FamilySearch — index


 * Newspapers of


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


 * Newspapers of major cities: Deseret News and/or The Salt Lake Tribune both in Salt Lake City

USGenWeb Archives of Washington County, Utah contains the obituaries of 2004 - 2005

Probate Records
Probate cases include court actions regarding property and estates of individuals who have died. Records may locate relatives, provide death dates, and identify property. See Utah Probate Records for more information.

Online Probate Records
 * 1800 – 1985 Utah Wills and Probate Records 1800-1985 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1851 – 1961 at FamilySearch — images

Schools

 * Since 1913 - Dixie High School Yearbooks since 1913 at Skalooza - free.

Vital Records
See also How to order Utah Vital Records or download an application for Utah Birth Certificate, Marriage or Divorce Certificate, Death Certificate Applications to mail.

Birth before 1852

 *  was formed on 3 March 1852.

parent counties

Birth 1852 - 1897

 * [[Washington County, Utah#Churches and Religious Groups
 * See also other records that give birth information, such as Death records, Census, Cemeteries, Obituaries
 * See also [[Washington County, Utah#Neighboring_Counties
 * See also [[Washington County, Utah#Neighboring_Counties

Birth 1898 - present

 * 1898 - 1905 - Inventory of originals, Series #3166 at Utah State Archives. Not online, no online index. There are no names of children in the records.
 * FamilySearch Library copy:.
 * Idea: use censuses and church records to learn those missing children's names.


 * 1903 - 1914 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1906 - 1910 - 1906-1910 online images
 * 1892 - 1941 -


 * Southwest Utah Public Health Department Washington County, 620 South 400 East, St. George, UT 84770. Phone (435) 673-3528

Marriage

 * 1805-1992 - Utah, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1855-1936 - Western States Marriage Index. Includes Washington County 1855-1936.


 * 1862-1919 - Craig, Dr. Wesley W. Early Marriages (1862-1919) in Washington County, Utah: Male and Female Surname Indexes at UTGenWeb - free.


 * 1887-1940 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Divorce
Divorce records give the names of the parties and may give the date and place of their marriage. See Utah Vital Records for excellent information.

Death

 * 1904-1964 - at FamilySearch — index and images . Utah requires a death certificate before a burial is completed. A death certificate may contain information as to the name of the deceased, date of death, and place of death, as well as the age, birth date, parents, gender, marital status, spouse and place of residence.


 * Pre-1904 - Utah State Burial Data Base This site includes information on many Utah residents, who died before 1904.

Websites

 * Washington County, UT History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Utah Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Utah Genealogy Network Group on Facebook

Links to indexes or images of records:


 * FamilySearch.org. Collections are growing at record rates. If the county is not listed, check later.
 * Utah State Archives records, 1848–2001
 * Also see Utah to search items that include.

Links to collections:


 * FamilySearch Library Catalog
 * (Select topics)
 * (Space, then select town)

Sites that gather links to the Internet


 * Linkpendium
 * CyndisList

Archives, Libraries, etc.
Resources for are available in repositories (such as libraries and archives) 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.

See these headings for details: Courthouse·FamilySearch Centers·Libraries·Societies

Courthouse
87 North 200 East, 3rd Floor St. George, Utah 84770 p: (435) 634-5728 f: (435) 656-3003

County Clerk/Auditor

Washington County Utah 197 East Tabernacle St. George, UT 84770 Clerk/Auditor's phone (435) 634-5712

County Seat: St. George

FamilySearch Centers

 * Bloomington Utah Family History Center4461 Country Club Dr, St. George UT 84790 United States Location Map


 * Enterprise Utah Family History Center88 S Center St, Enterprise UT84725 USA Location Map


 * Ivins Utah Family History Center


 * New Harmony Utah Family History Center12 S Main St,New Harmony UT 84757 USA Location Map


 * St George Utah FamilySearch Library 162 N 400 E Bldg B Ste 200,St.George UT 84770 United States Location Map


 * St George Utah Green Valley Family History Center


 * St George Utah Large Multi-stake Family History Center


 * St George Utah Morningside Family History Center


 * Washington Utah Buena Vista Family History Center

Libraries
Local public libraries usually have histories, genealogies, indexes of cemeteries, copies of local newspapers, or other records for the area they serve. Many libraries in Utah have an area dedicated to local collections and manuscripts.


 * Washington County Library (Administration / St. George / 8 branches); 88 W 100 S, Saint George, Utah 84770. Phone: 435-634-5737. Fax: 435-634-5741.
 * Collections:

See also Utah Public Library Directory, which provides links to library web pages, addresses, phone numbers, hours, and maps. Does not mention holdings.

Societies
See also a List of Utah Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Cities
| | Hurricane | Ivins | La Verkin | Santa Clara | St. George | Washington

Towns
| |  |  |  |  |  |

Unincorporated Communities
| |  |  |

Ghost Towns
Duncan's Retreat | Grafton | Hamblin | |  | Little Pinto | Silver Reef