Clallam County, Washington Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for a Klallam word for "the strong people". The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
 Clallam County Courthouse 223 E 4th Street, PO Box 863 Port Angeles, WA 98362-3025 Phone: 360-417-2560 Clallam County Website

County Auditor has marriage and land records. County Clerk has probate records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline
Emphasis for this timeline is on events that affected migration, records, or record-keeping. Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Kit Oldham. Clallam County -- Thumbnail History, HistoryLink.org, Essay 7576.
 * 1803 Before this time, the county was composed of the traditional lands of the (for whom it is named),, and.
 * 1700s It was one of the first parts of Washington contacted by European explorers.
 * 1850 The first permanent settlers came to the county.
 * 1850s The explorers brought European diseases that devastated Klallam, Makah, and Quileute populations, as they did all Northwest peoples.
 * 1851 The first settlers in the future Clallam County staked claims at New Dungeness.
 * 1853-March 2 U.S. President Millard Fillmore establishes.
 * 1854-April 26 Washington Territorial Legislature creates Clallam County.
 * 1857 Henry R. Webster and others succeeded in establishing a trading post at Neah Bay.
 * 1878 Luther and Esther Ford and their children settled 15 miles inland from La Push on the fertile open ground known as Indian Prairie.
 * 1889-November 11 President Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) created the Quiluete Reservation at La Push by executive order.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * Professional License Records at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Cemeteries

 * 1904-1930 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only

Census Records

 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives:
 * Federal: 1910
 * Territorial: 1857, 1870, 1871, 1883,1885, 1887 and 1889


 * 1850-1914 Web: Washington, U.S., Various County Census Records, 1850-1914 at Ancestry (Free)
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only. Select Browse all images, click county
 * Censuses at Washington Digital Archives - Searchable

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records
 * Clallam Frontier Justice Part of "Frontier Justice": Guide to the Court Records of Washington Territory, 1853-1888 at Washington State Digital Archives. (Free Index, no images)
 * The court procedures of Frontier Justice touch nearly all pioneers of the 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

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
American Indians
 * 1911-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

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.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 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.
 * Land Records 1987 - 2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Plats and Surveys 1987 - 2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Recorded Agreements and Contracts 1987-present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Local Histories

 * "Clallam County -- Thumbnail History" essay on historylink.org

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * 1888-1894 Clallam County, military records, 1888-1894 Lists of persons liable to military duty.

World War I
 * 1921-1925 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

World War II
 * World War II enlistments at the National Archives. Select search parameters for state and county. These lists are partial. The NARA website cautions: "This series does not contain records of all World War II Army enlistees."

Newspapers

 * Clallam County, Washington Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)
 * 1855-2009 Washington Newspapers, 1855-2009 at MyHeritage — index & images, ($)
 * Washington Digital Newspaper at Washington State Library

Obituaries

 * North Olympic Library System online Newspaper Index

Other Records
Public Records
 * Prior to 1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * Power of Attorney Records 1987 - present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Voting Records
 * 1876-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Periodicals

 * Washington Periodicals

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Birth

 * 1871-1921 Department of Health, Delayed Birth Records at Washington State Archives - index and images; includes some earlier and later dates
 * 1873-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1890-1907 Birth Returns, 1890-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * 1891-1907 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only

Marriage

 * 1801-1962 Washington, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1855-2008  at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1865-1994 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1963-2012 Marriage certificates, 1963-2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * 1968-1997 Department of Health, Marriage Certificates, 1968-1997 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1969-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1969-2022 Department of Health, Marriage Index, 1969-2022 at Washington State Archives - index and images

Death

 * 1881-1979 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1891-1906 Death Returns, 1891-1906 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.
 * 1891-1906 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1907-1960 Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960 at MyHeritage — index, ($)
 * 1907-1960 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1907-1997 Department of Health, Death Certificates, July 1, 1907-1997 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1907-2020 Department of Health, Death Index, 1907-1960; 1965-2020 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1915-1928 Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Fatal Accident Cards, 1915-1928 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1919-1921 Department of Health, Fetal Death Records, 1919-1921 at Washington State Archives - index and images

Divorce

 * 1968-1997 Department of Health, Divorce Certificates, 1968-1997 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1969-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1969-2017 Department of Health, Divorce Index, 1969-2017 at Washington State Archives - index and images

FamilySearch Centers

 * Bremerton Washington Family History Center
 * Forks Washington Family History Center
 * Port Angeles Washington Family History Center
 * Port Townsend Washington Family History Center
 * Poulsbo Washington Family History Center
 * Silverdale Washington Family History Center
 * Clallam County Genealogical Society - an affiliate library
 * Kitsap Regional Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Resources for Clallam County are available in libraries, archives, and other repositories at all levels: the town, the county, the state (including universities), and the nation.

Libraries Branches, Locations and offeringsWebsite Genealogy and Data Base Tools Heritage Quest -- location at bottom of page Website
 * North Central Regional Library System

Societies
Clallam County Genealogical Society 403 E 8th St Port Angeles, WA 98362 (360) 417-5000 Website Facebook

Websites

 * The Clallam County WAGenWeb Project
 * Clallam County Washington Genealogy Research (Free) Contains information for researching genealogy in Clallam County WA, Census, bios, obituary, birth, death, marriage, maps, and other records
 * USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Washington State Digital Archives


 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.