Asotin County, Washington Genealogy

Guide to Asotin 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 from a Nez Perce word meaning "Eel Creek". The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Asotin County Courthouse 135 2nd Street Asotin, WA 99402-0159 Phone: 509-243-2027 Asotin County Website

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.

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 Phil Dougherty. Asotin County -- Thumbnail History, HistoryLink.org, Essay 7643.
 * 1805 Before this time, the lived in Asotin County for many years before  arrived.
 * 1805 Lewis and Clark passed through the county on their expedition, both outbound to the Pacific Ocean.
 * 1834 February, Captain Benjamin Bonneville 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.
 * 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.
 * 1861-1862 Severe winter 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).

Additional Information The name "Asotin" is from the Nez Perce language and means "place of eel" from the abundance of eels caught there.

Census Records

 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives
 * Federal: 1910
 * Territorial: 1885,1887, 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

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
 * Asotin Frontier Justice at Washington State Digital Archives. (Free, index and 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
 * Asotin County Frontier Justice Records Now Online blog post

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
American Indian
 * 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.

Local Histories

 * "Asotin County -- Thumbnail History" at HistoryLink.org, essay 7643
 * Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, by W.D. Lyman online at Hathi Trust Digital Library.
 * "Asotin County (Wash.) -- History" by University of Pennsylvania, a list of full-text Online Books

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Family Maps of Asotin County (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only

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

World War II
 * World War II enlistments of Asotin County, Washington residents.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * Includes Naturalization card index 1909-1921; petitions 1906-1945; Naturalization records 1885-1906; petitions granted 1930-1976.


 * 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

 * Asotin 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

Other Records
Correctional Institutions
 * 1877-1950 Asotin County Sheriff, Jail Register, 1877-1950 at Washington State Archives - index and images.

Public Records
 * Prior to 1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only

Voting Registers

 * 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
 * 1891-1913 Asotin County Birth Records at Washington State Digital Archives

Marriage

 * 1801-1962 Washington, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1855-2008 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1884-1907 Marriages from 3 Feb 1884 to 6 Jun 1907 are available on the Western States Marriage index website.
 * 1899-2003 Marriage Records, 1899-2003 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
 * 1907-1960 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1907-1960 Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960 at MyHeritage — 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

Family History Centers

 * Dayton Washington Family History Center
 * Lewiston Idaho Family History Center
 * Walla Walla Washington Family History Center

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

Libraries Asotin County Library, 417 Sycamore, Clarkston 99403 Phone: (509) 758-5454Website
 * Online Resources: (None seen Oct., 2013)
 * Unique Collections:

Heights Branch Library, 2036 4th Ave., Clarkston 99403 Phone: (509) 758-4601Website
 * Online Resources: Genealogy Bank
 * Unique Collections: Historical Newspaper Collections

Societies
Asotin County Genealogy 135 2nd St Asotin, WA 99402 Website

Websites

 * Asotin County Washington Genealogy Research Free Contains information for researching genealogy in Asotin County WA,  Census, bios, obituary, birth, death, marriage, maps, and other records
 * Asotin County WAGenWeb Project
 * USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Washington State Digital Archives
 * Allen County Public Library (Indiana)
 * Washington Archives and Libraries
 * – 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.