Josephine County, Oregon Genealogy

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

Description
Josephine County was named for a stream in the area called Josephine Creek, which in turn is probably named after Virginia Josephine Rollins Ort. The county is located in the southwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Josephine County Courthouse 500 NW 6th Street Grants Pass, OR 97526 Phone: 541-476-2309 Josephine County Website
 * County Clerk has marriage and land records from 1857.
 * Clerk Circuit Court has divorce, probate and court records.
 * County Records Inventory listing the records held at the Josephine County Court House as of September 2005.

Populated Places
The following are locations in the county:

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator

Defunct Post Offices

 * Almeda: The post office was established February 15, 1912 and was discontinued July 15, 1920. Josephine Donoghue was the first of three postmasters.
 * Aloysius: Aloysius post office apparently operated at the Leonard Ranch in the Althouse district. Mary E. Leonard was the postmaster. Aloysius post office was established July 12, 1888, and was discontinued November 30,1889. The available business was turned over to Althouse. Named for William Aloysius Leonard, born in 1875, died in 1915, son of Lawrence Leonard and Mary Ellen Leonard, his wife.
 * Altamont: Altamont post office was established April 16, 1884, with Benjamin M. Parker first and only postmaster. The office was closed June 21, 1886. The available geographic information is meager about this place, but may be sufficient for its importance. Early gazetteers show a place called Alta and also Altamont at a point on the railroad about 21 miles north of Grants Pass and that was doubtless the location of the post office.There had been an earlier post office named Leland near the highway crossing on Grave Creek about four miles east of the railroad. After Altamont post office was closed in 1886, Leland office was moved west to the railroad, but the exact date of this move cannot be determined from the records, may be in the early 1890s.

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

Maps and Gazetteers

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

Migration
Details about the rivers and waterways where farms and settlements are often found along them. See: Rivers and Waterways

Military Records
 Civil War
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

World War I
 * 1919-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1921-1938 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Newspapers

 * Oregon Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.
 * 1846-1922 Historic Oregon Newspapers as a division of the Oregon Digital Newspaper Program

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1833-1963 Oregon Wills and Probate Records 1833-1963 at Ancestry.com — index & images ($)

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

 * 1842-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1860-1952 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1876-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

 * 1826-1975 Oregon, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1842-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1849-1884;1991-2006 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1906-1968 Oregon, U.S., State Marriages, 1906-1968 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * Western States Marriage Index at BYU-Idaho
 * Marriage Index 1885-1896 Actually is a book of affiants reporting the marriages. Historical Records Collection

FamilySearch Centers

 * Cave Junction Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * Central Point Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * Grants Pass Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * Medford Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * Jackson County Genealogy Library - an affiliate library
 * Oregon Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

Libraries
Josephine Community Library - Four Branches 200 NW C St Grants Pass, OR 97526 541-476-0571 Website Facebook Page

Societies
Rogue Valley Genealogical Society 500 NW Sixth Street, RM 170 Grants Pass, OR 97526 Telephone: 541-474-5240 Fax: 541-474-5246 E-mail:[mailto:clerk@co.josephine.or.us clerk@co.josephine.or.us] Website Josephine County Historical Society 512 SW 5th St Grants Pass, OR 97526 541-479-7827 Website Facebook

Websites

 * The Josephine County GenWeb Project part of The ORGenWeb Project
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project


 * – 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.