Asotin County, Washington Genealogy

Guide to Asotin County, Washington ancestry, family history, and 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

For animated maps illustrating Washington County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Washington County Boundary Maps" (1843-1915) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

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

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.

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

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

 * 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

American Indian

 * 1911 - 1919 - at FamilySearch — 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.

History

 * "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.

History Resources


 * "Asotin County (Wash.) -- History" by University of Pennsylvania, a list of full-text Online Books

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 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).

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 (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Military

 * Military 1888-1897 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * at FamilySearch — index
 * World War II enlistments of Asotin County, Washington residents.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * Naturalization and Citizenship 1885-1945 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * 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

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

Obituaries
Also check: • Local Funeral Homes • family records.

Probate Records

 * Probate Records 1885-1972 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.

Public Records

 * Asotin Postmaster Index. Part of Washington, Postmaster Indexes, Prior to 1965, FamilySearch Historical Collections for Washington. (Free, browse images)

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

 * 1801-1962 - Washington, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1855–2008 - at FamilySearch — index and 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)


 * 1969-2014 - at FamilySearch — index

Divorce

 * Archives, Libraries, etc.

Online Records
 * 1969 - 2014 - at FamilySearch — index

Death

 * Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960 Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * See what genealogical information may be in these records.
 * Includes: name of the deceased, date and place of death, age, gender, birth date and place, mother’s maiden name, name of spouse, place of residence, occupation, and certificate number.

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.

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: