Step-by-Step Alaska Research, 1850-1910

Step 1: Find out everything possible from living relatives and their family records.
Every good genealogy project starts with finding all the clues that can be gathered from living relatives — both from their memories and from documents or memorabilia in their homes.

What are the best questions to ask?
In order to extend research, ask for names, dates, and places. Everything about who a relative was and when and where they lived is a clue to a new record search. For ideas, see :


 * 50 Questions to Ask Relatives About Family History at ThoughtCo.com
 * Creating Oral Histories at FamilySearch Wiki

What documents should be collected or copied?
Because these records cover names, dates, places, and relationships, they are a valuable source of clues. Look for them in your home, your parents' home, and ask living grandparents to check for them.

Step 2: Find ancestors in every possible census record, 1850-1950, online.
Example of a census record.
 * A census is a count and description of the population for a given date. A census took a "snapshot" of a family on a certain day.
 * For each person living in a household (depending on the year), their name, age, birthplace, relationship to head of household, place of birth for father and mother, citizenship status, year of immigration, mother of how many children and number of children living, native language, and whether they were a veteran of the military can be listed.
 * Searching for a family in census records every ten years can identify all the children in a family.
 * Searching in earlier census records to find someone as a child can identify parents.





Look for ancestors in as many censuses as possible. Use the clues from each census for hints where to find families in both earlier and later census records.
- For more information, see Alaska Census and United States Census.

Step 3: Try to find additional details in death certificates, Social Security, obituary and cemetery records online.
When a person dies, several records will be created: death certificates, Social Security records, obituaries, and cemetery records.
 * Death certificates can give birth information for people born before actual birth registration began. Death certificates frequently give the birth date and place, parents' names, and birth places of parents.


 * The Social Security Death Index includes those who had a Social Security number and/or applied for benefits. The index entries give the person's full birth date, last known residence, and residence at the time they first enrolled.


 * The Social Security Applications and Claims Index provides information filed in the application or claims process, including valuable details such as birth date, birth place, and parents’ names.


 * Cemetery records can be as simple as the information on the headstone or, in some FindAGrave records, they can report more thorough information about birth, parents, spouses, children, and siblings.

Example of a death index.



Death Indexes

 * 1816-2005 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * A Watery Grave - Drownings in the Yukon and Alaska at ExploreNorth.com — index
 * Online Alaska Death Records and Indexes at DeathIndexes.com

Also, see How to Find Alaska Death Records.

Writing for Full Death Certificates
The full original certificate will contain information not contained in the index. Although it costs money, consider sending for the full original certificates, particularly for direct line ancestors (grandparents, great-grandparents, etc).
 * Where to Write for Alaska Birth, Marriage, Death and Divorce Records at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC.gov

U.S. Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry, Picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off by providing information filed in the application or claims process — index ($)
 * 1962-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

'''Obituaries

 * 1980-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Alaska Newspapers and Obituaries at LDS Genealogy
 * Alaska Obituaries at ObitsArchive.com ($)
 * Alaska Obituaries Help and Genealogy Resources at ObituariesHelp.org
 * Online Alaska Death Records and Indexes at DeathIndexes.com

Cemeteries

 * 1949-1969 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * Alaska Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places
 * Alaska Cemetery Records at AccessGenealogy
 * Alaska Cemetery Records at Interment.net
 * Alaska Tombstone Transcription Project at USGenWeb
 * BillionGraves - index & images
 * at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection; index; Also at: Findmypast ($)
 * FindaGrave - index & images
 * at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection; index; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * Online Alaska Death Records and Indexes at DeathIndexes.com

For more information, see Alaska Obituaries and Alaska Cemeteries.

Step 4: Search for borough birth and marriage records online.
'''Vital records registration of births and marriages at the state level started the 1890's but many records were never recorded until 1930. Prior to that the individual counties kept some records. The starting dates of those records vary from borough to borough, depending on when the borough was formed.''' Example of an indexed borough marriage entry.

Online Records

 * 1600-2000 United States Marriages at Findmypast — index & images ($)
 * 1816-2005 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1818-1963 Alaska, U.S., Vital Records, 1818 -1963 at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Records at the Borough Courthouse.
These records were originally created by borough clerks, and then copies were sent to the state. Borough clerks can be willing to help find all the birth records for one family or perform other searches that the state would not do. To contact borough clerks by e-mail or telephone, go to the Wiki article for each borough. Links to the borough Wiki articles are found at the end of this page or by clicking here: Alaska Boroughs.

For more information on birth, marriage, and death records in Alaska, see How to Find Alaska Birth Records, How to Find Alaska Marriage Records, and How to Find Alaska Death Records.

Step 5: Look for church records online.
Church records function as vital records. Church records are particularly helpful prior to the advent of civil registration.
 * An infant christening or baptism record documents a birth.
 * Many, if not most, people are married in a church, and then a record is created by the minister.
 * Likewise, ministers presided over funerals, then creating a burial record, which documents a death.



Search for church records that can provide additional birth, marriage, and death information.

 * 1845-1917 (*) Russian Orthodox Church of America, Diocese of Alaska at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1867-1889 (*) Russian Orthodox Church of America, Diocese of Alaska at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1867-1912 (*) Kashevaroff, Father at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1890-1899 (*) Kalnins, Zuzanna Dagmara at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1900-1936 (*) Dorosh, John and Elizabeth Dorosh at FamilySearch Catalog - images

Lutheran

 * 1781-1969 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Presbyterian

 * 1701-1970 U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970 at Ancestry — index & images ($)

- For help with church records kept in Alaska, see Alaska Church Records. To search records by denomination, if you know your ancestors religion, go to Searching for Church Records by Denomination.

Step 6: Search military records: World War I and II draft cards online.
There are many different types of military records: draft records, enlistment records, service records, pension records, etc. Information in military records can vary from a simple lists of name, age, and residence, to more detailed records including name, residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, physical description, number of dependents, pensions received, disabled veterans, needy veterans, widows or orphans of veterans, and other information. - Example of a World War I draft card. - Example of a World War II draft card.



'''Search the World War I and World War II Draft Collections for male relatives.
- For more information and additional collections, see Alaska Military Records.
 * 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Step 7: If any ancestor was an immigrant, search immigration and naturalization records online.
The census records may show that an ancestor was born in another country. It will be necessary to try to find the town or city they were born in to continue research in the country of origin. Searches of immigration records (usually passenger lists) and naturalization (citizenship) records would be the next step.



Alaska Immigration Records

 * United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records


 * 1500-1999 All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Results at Ancestry — index ($); includes those with Destination of Alaska; Also at MyHeritage ($)
 * 1893-1997 Alaska, U.S., Masters and Owners of Vessels Oaths, 1893-1997 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
 * 1906-1946 (*) United States Immigration and Naturalization Service and Claire Prechtel-Kluskens at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
 * 1906-1956 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; ''Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1906-1981 Alaska, U.S., Arriving and Departing Passenger and Crew Manifests, 1906-1963 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1910-1956 (*) United States Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization and Claire Prechtel-Kluskens at FamilySearch Catalog - index & images

Cultural Groups

 * 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritage — index; includes those with Destination of Alaska ($)
 * Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage — index ($); includes those with Destination of Alaska
 * Italians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage — index ($); includes those with Destination of Alaska
 * Russians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage — index ($); includes those with Destination of Alaska
 * Ship Passenger Lists, Klondike Stampeders and The Matanuska Colony at YukonAlasaka.com

Passport Records Online

 * 1795-1925 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1795-1925 U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Alaska Naturalization and Citizenship Online Records

 * United States Naturalization and Citizenship Online Genealogy Records
 * 1884-1991 at FamilySearch; index — How to Use this Collection
 * 1900-1924 U.S., Naturalization Records - Original Documents, (World Archives Project) for Alaska, 1900-1924 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1900-1929 U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes for Alaska, 1900-1929 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1900-1972 at FamilySearch; index and images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1944-2003 U.S., Index to Alien Case Files, 1944-2003 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * Alaska State Archives Naturalization Index

For more information, see Alaska Emigration and Immigration and Alaska Naturalization and Citizenship.

Local histories

 * Published histories of towns, counties, and states usually contain biographies and accounts of early or prominent families.
 * Here are several websites that feature online copies of printed borough histories:
 * Hathi Trust Digital Library. Don't use the keywords Alaska; that will bring up too many hits. Just use the name of the borough and "borough": for example, "Hyde Borough"
 * Google Books. Use keywords "Alaska" and the borough name. Hits will list online readable books, lists of libraries that carry the book, and purchasing opportunities.
 * Family History Books
 * Internet Archive.Use keywords "Alaska" and the borough name.
 * Genealogy Book Links, Alaska. Browse list; borough histories are interspersed.
 * Ancestry.com, ($). In the Card Catalog search box, use Alaska and the name of the borough.


 * Local histories are extensively collected by the FamilySearch Library, public and university libraries, and state and local historical societies. If you have access to the FamilySearch Library or a FamilySearch center, you can find out about local histories the library has by checking the FamilySearch Catalog. In the "place" field, type the name of your borough and select it from the drop down list, then click "Search". A list of subheadings for the borough will appear. Local histories containing genealogies and biographies will be found under Biography, Genealogy, History, and History - Indexes.


 * Also, in  Step 11, you will be contacting a borough history society. Societies often have a good selection of printed histories about the area. Some may be search history for you for a fee.

Biography Collections

 * Arctic and Northern Biographies at ExploreNorth
 * Sourdough Stampede Association (Seattle, Washington). The Alaska-Yukon Gold Book : A Roster of the Progressive Men and Women Who were the Argonauts of the Klondike Gold Stampede.... Seattle, Washington: Sourdough Stampede Association, Inc., 1930. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

For more information, see Alaska Biography.

Step 9: Search for wills and probate packets.

 * Borough probate records include '''probate proceedings, petitions, affidavits, orders for sales, reports of sales, administrators' and executors' bonds, guardianship papers, wills, and letters of administration.
 * In a will book, usually just a transcription of the will is recorded. But all of these other records are kept in a probate packet.
 * Administrations are probate proceedings that handled an estate if no known will existed.

Search these indexes and images for probate records.

 * 1883-1959 (*) Commissioner's Court and Probate Court (1st Division : Sitka) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1883-1960 Genealogy, Alaska Probate Records Index at Alaska State Archives
 * 1890-1960 (*) Commissioner's Court (Alaska Territory : Wrangell Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1899-1968 (*) Probate Court (4th Division) at FamilySearch Catalog; Includes records from Barrow, Central, Eagle, Fairbanks, Fort Yukon, Healy, Hughes, Koyukuk, McGrath, Noatak, Nulato, Otter, Rampart, Ruby, Selawik, Tanana, and Tok precincts - images
 * 1900-1959 (*) Commissioner's Court, Justice Court and Probate Court (4th Division : Nenana Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1900-1960 (*) Probate Court (3rd Division : Valdez Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1900-1974 (*) Probate Court (3rd Division : Anchorage) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1901-1965 (*) Probate Court (3rd Division : Kodiak Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1901-1972 (*) Probate Court (3rd Division : Kenai Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1904-1976 (*) Probate Court (4th Division : Fairbanks Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1908-1960 (*) Commissioner's Court and Probate Court (3rd Division : Cordova Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1909-1960 (*) Probate Court (3rd Division : Aleutian Islands Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1913-1960 (*) Probate Court (3rd Division : Seward Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1915-1968 (*) Commissioner's Court, District Court and Probate Court (1st Division : Ketchikan) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1920-1958 (*) Probate Court (4th Division : Kuskokwim Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog; Chiefly from the Community of Aniak within Kuskokwim Precinct. - images
 * 1922-1962 (*) Probate Court and Superior Court (3rd Judicial District) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1925-1959 (*) Commissioner's Court (Alaska Territory : Petersburg Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1928-1941 (*) Probate Court (Port Clarence Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1933-1961 (*) Superior Court and Probate Court (3rd Division : Kvichak Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1936-1968 (*) Alaska State Archives at FamilySearch Catalog - images
 * 1944-1960 (*) Probate Court (3rd Division : Wasilla Precinct) at FamilySearch Catalog
 * United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search: Alaska at FamilySearch

Probate Information in Borough Wiki Articles
Each Alaska borough Research Wiki page lists additional probate sources, including where to write for records: Alaska Boroughs

For more information, see Alaska Probate Records and United States Probate Records.

Step 10: Search land records online.
These records will give the They can contain clues to
 * names of the buyer (grantee) and seller (grantor),
 * previous or new residence of the parties to the deed
 * the date they obtained the land,
 * the description of exact location of the land, sometimes mentioning neighbors.
 * family members who shared ownership of the land,
 * sold or gave land to a child, or
 * officially witnessed the sale.

Search for any ancestor's land records.

 * See United States Land and Property for more databases and resources.


 * 1788-Current U.S. Land Patent Search at Bureau of Land Management — index and some records
 * 1800-1955 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1861-1932 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1863-1908 U.S., Homestead Records, 1863-1908 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1906-1975 Alaska, U.S., Deed and Tract Books at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * Land Owner Search at Historygeo.com; index to maps of original land owners ($)
 * Survey Plats and Field Notes at Bureau of Land Management — index
 * United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search: Alaska at FamilySearch
 * U.S. Land Patent Search at Bureau of Land Management — index and some records

Gold Rush
 * American Heroes of the Klondike Gold Rush at YukonAlaska.com
 * Canadian Heroes of the Klondike Gold Rush at YukonAlaska.com

Step 11: Contact a local historical or genealogical society.

 * Borough or local historical or genealogical societies have collections that are frequently little known and often overlooked.
 * Many have a surname file, where they have collected genealogies, newspaper clippings, old photographs, etc.
 * Many have a sort of "pioneer ancestor" program, where people can submit pedigrees to prove they are the descendants of an early resident of the borough.
 * Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area. Posts there from relatives might lead to additional family information.


 * Find the society on the internet, where they may list their holdings. Or call them on the phone, find out what they have, and find out what arrangements can be made to search their collection. Frequently, one of their members can be hired to search the collections.
 * For more information, see Alaska Societies.

The online directory by GenealogyInc. lists historical and genealogical societies by borough: Click on the list to select a borough, then scroll down to the historical or genealogical society listings.

Historical Images
Records collected and digitized by FamilySearch can all be found through their Historical Images feature.
 * Alaska, United States Historical Images, New Version
 * Alaska, United States Historical Images, Old Version

Alaska Online Genealogy Records
Search any other online records listed in Alaska Online Genealogy Records. The steps given here are intended to list record sources which can most efficiently identify descendants. Many other online records which might or might not mention descendants are listed in the Alaska Online Genealogy Records page, including immigration records, land records, military records, newspapers, and probate records, and others. These can be records that cover a smaller group within the population, such as men who served in the military, etc.
 * Alaska Online Genealogy Records

Step 13: Study the Research Wiki pages for any borough in Alaska.
This article focused more on Alaska state or state-wide records. There is a separate Wiki article for each borough in Alaska. These articles give information, office addresses, and links to borough records.