Asotin County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  Asotin County   Guide to  genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1883, when the county was formed.

Parent County(s)
Asotin County, Washington was created 27 October 1883 from Garfield County

County Seat: Asotin. See also Towns and Communities in. For Courthouse, see Archives, libraries, etc.

Boundary Changes

 * Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

Courthouse
Asotin County Courthouse PO Box 159 Asotin, WA 99402-0159 Phone: (509) 243–4181 County Auditor has birth and marriage records from 1891 and death records 1891-1907. County Clerk has divorce and probate records. County Assessor has land records from 1891.

See also Archives, libraries, etc. in.

Dates of Major County Records
The name "Asotin" is from the Nez Perce language and means "place of eel" from the abundance of eels caught there.

Neighboring Counties
isurrounded by:Garfield | Whitman | Nez Perce County, Idaho | Wallowa County, Oregon

Topics for
Below are resources used for family history and genealogy, with dates, value of records, and how to access them for. Internet links may contain names, images, or more information for the county.

Cemeteries

 * Alpha list of cemeteries in the county with links to online transcripts.

Census

 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives: (Free)
 * Federal 1910
 * Territorial 1885 • 1887 • 1889, •
 * These were indexed by local societies and individuals.

Church Records

 * Church records (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) for are listed in the . (Press space bar to select 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 Washington Court Records for the various courts through the years.

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

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.

History

 * "Asotin County -- Thumbnail History" online
 * "Asotin County Frontier Justice Records Now Online" online
 * "Asotin County (Wash.) -- History" online
 * "1889 Asotin County" online

History Timeline
Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library Emphasis for this timeline is on events that affected migration, records, or record-keeping. Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Wilma, David. Asotin County -- Thumbnail History, HistoryLink.org, Essay 7643.


 * The lived in Asotin County for many years before  arrived in 1805.
 * 1805 - Lewis and Clark passed through the county on their expedition, both outbound to the Pacific Ocean.
 * 1834 - February - led the next major expedition through Asotin County.
 * 1853 - March - 2 - U.S. President Millard Fillmore establishes.
 * 1854 - April - 25 - Washington Territorial Legislature creates Walla Walla County.
 * In the mid-1850s part of what would later become Asotin County (as well as part of adjoining Idaho) became an Indian reservation, resulting in the relocation of a fairly significant number of Native Americans to the future Asotin County.
 * 1861 - June - 10 - Whites made a few tentative settlements in Asotin County during the 1860s. The first settler, Sam Smith, arrived near the confluence of Alpowa Creek and the Snake River.
 * Severe winter of 1861/1862 devastates Eastern Washington settlers
 * 1863 - March - 4 - President Abraham Lincoln signs law separating new Idaho Territory from Washington.
 * 1875 - November - 11 - Washington Territorial Legislature creates Columbia County (out of Walla Walla).
 * 1881 - November - 29 - Washington Territorial Legislature creates Garfield County (out of Columbia County).
 * 1883 - October - 27 - Washington Territorial Legislature creates Asotin County (out of Garfield).

Land and Property

 * 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



 * Family Maps of Asotin County, Washington (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Military

 * 1888-1897 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)


 * World War II (1941–1945) army enlistments at the county GenWeb site has about 400 entries, mostly from Okanogan and other counties. Key (at end of the list) explains codes and columns. Gives year and state of birth. Free.

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

Washington State Digital Archives has digitized various types of naturalization-related records, including declarations of intentions, delayed birth files, naturalization affidavits, notifications of application for admission to US citizenship, orders fixing naturalization terms, petitions and records, petitions, receipts for certificates of citizenship, record of final decrees of citizenship and record of petitions dockets. Depending on the county, records range from 1854-1988.


 * 1906-1976 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Naturalization Records, 1906-1974 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Petitions for Naturalization, 1924-1936 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Petitions Granted, 1930-1974 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Register of Applications and Orders of Naturalization, 1885-1906 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Newspapers

 * Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)

Obituaries
Also check:


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

Probate Records

 * 1885-1972 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Public Records

 * Prior to 1965 Part of: County Records, Prior to 1965 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Birth

 * Washington State Digital Archives has a database of free Asotin County Birth Records. This database contains the names of people who were born in Asotin County from June 1891 – August 1913. The names were taken from the Asotin County Register of Births.

Marriage

 * Marriages from 3 Feb 1884 to 6 Jun 1907 are available on the Western States Marriage index website.
 * Washington State Digital Archives has a database of Asotin Marriage Records from 1900 to 2003.
 * Marriage Records, 1899-2003 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

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


 * Archives, Libraries, etc.

Death

 * Washington Death Certificates 1907-1960 A free internet index to the 1907-1960 death certificates can be found at FamilySearch Record Search, no images are available. A transcribed death certificate may contain such information as name of the deceased, date and place of death, age, gender, birth date and birth place, mother’s maiden name and name of spouse, place of residence, occupation and certificate numbers.

Websites
Sites with online indexes or images of records:


 * The Asotin County WAGenWeb Project (Free), a member of The WAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project (Free) for Asotin County. Mirror site
 * Web Sites at RootsWeb - Asotin WA (Free)
 * Current Collections at Washington State Digital Archives (Free) Type county name, click Search, then select a collection. Collections were posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page in November, 2013.
 * Historical Collections at FamilySearch.org. (Free) Click "Last Updated." Collections through October 2013 have been posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page.

Sites that search the Internet for records online:


 * Linkpendium (free)
 * CyndisList (free)

Major catalogs to offline genealogical records:

Archives, Libraries, etc.
Resources for are available in libraries, archives, and other repositories 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.

Libraries

 * Asotin County Library, 417 Sycamore, Clarkston 99403 Phone: (509) 758-5454
 * Online Resources: (None seen Oct., 2013)
 * Unique Collections:
 * Heights Branch Library, 2036 4th Ave., Clarkston 99403 Phone: (509) 758-4601


 * Online Resources: Genealogy Bank


 * Unique Collections: Historical Newspaper Collections

Societies
Resources for are available in libraries, archives, and other repositories 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.

Towns and Communities
See a list of towns and communities in Asotin County ] per Wikipedia.