Yakima County, Washington Genealogy

Guide to Yakima 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 for the Yakama tribe of Native Americans. The County is located in the south-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
 Yakima County Courthouse 128 N 2nd Street Yakima, WA 98901 Phone: 509-574-2710 Yakima County Website

County Auditor has birth and death records 1891-1907, marriage records from 1880 and land records. County clerk has probate, divorce and court records from 1881.

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:

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

History Timeline

 * 1800s Trappers traversed the country.
 * 1853 March 2, U.S. President Millard Fillmore establishes.
 * 1860s The first white settlers were cattle ranchers who recognized that the lush grasslands on the stream banks were excellent places to winter their cattle.
 * 1865 January 21, Yakima County was established.
 * 1870 Settlers began referring to a small village with two stores as Yakima City.
 * 1885 By the end of the year, the population of North Yakima had swelled to 1,200 people.
 * 1885 Paul Schulze, the railroad's land manager, laid out the streets on the rough general plan of his native city, Baden-Baden, Germany. By other accounts, the city was modeled after the plan of Salt Lake City.
 * 1890s North Yakima, along with the rest of the country, hit hard times, largely because of a series of nationwide financial panics.
 * 1898 All signs of commercial stagnation and business depression had completely disappeared" in North Yakima.
 * The city of Yakima occupies what was once the traditional hunting and gathering grounds of the region's tribes, known collectively as the Peoples of the Plateau.

Census Records

 * 1880 Index to the 1880 census of Yakima County, Washington Territory
 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives
 * Federal: 1900,1910,1920
 * Territorial: 1871,1883,1885,1887


 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * Includes School attendance records 1875-1925; School census records 1894-1925.


 * 1850-1914 Web: Washington, U.S., Various County Census Records, 1850-1914 at Ancestry (Free)
 * 1856-1925School Records 1875-1925] Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
 * Includes School attendance records 1875-1925; School census records 1894-1925.

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
 * Power of Attorney 1992 - 2008 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection (Free)
 * Inventory of the county archives of Washington, no. 39 Yakima County
 * Yakima Frontier Justice. Part of "Frontier Justice’’: Guide to the Court Records of Washington Territory, 1853-1889 at Washington State Digital Archives. (Free Index, no images)
 * The court procedure of Frontier Justice touch nearly all pioneers of 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.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
American Indians The Yakima Indian Reservation is located primarily in Yakima County, with a small portion in Klickitat County.

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
 * 1993-2008Land Records 1993-2008 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection (Free)
 * 1994-2008 Plats and Survey Records 1994-2008 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection (Free)

Local Histories

 * 1889-1989 100 Years 100 Women 1889-1989: Yakima County Washington, Editor-in-Chief Theo Mays. [Yakima, Washington: Print Masters, c1898] online at Washington History.
 * History of the Yakima Valley, Volume 1 *,Volume 2 by William Denison Lyman [(Chicago): S. J. Clarke 1919] online at WA History

Maps and Gazetteers

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

Military Records
World War I
 * 1921-1925 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1917-1919 An Honor roll containing a pictorial record of the gallant and courageous men from Yakima County, Washington, U.S.A. : who served in the great war, 1917-1918-1919.Yakima, Washington : 1919?
 * 1917-1919 Some military records for this county have been digitized at the Washington State Digital Archives.

World War II 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

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1882-1907; 1973-1980 Naturalization Records 1882-1907, 1973-1980 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection (Free)
 * 1894-1945 Naturalization and Citizenship 1894-1945 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)

Newspapers

 * Washington Digital Newspaper at Washington State Library
 * Yakima County, Washington Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)
 * 1855-2009 Washington Newspapers, 1855-2009 at MyHeritage — index & images, ($)

Obituaries

 * The Yakima Valley Genealogical Society has a massive collection of obituaries starting from 1860 on, from counties in and around Yakima. They are in the process of putting this collection online. For now, contact the Society at 509-248-1328 or [mailto:yvgs1901@gmail.com yvgs1901@gmail.com]. They have researchers who are willing to do lookups from this collection.

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

Voting Records
 * 1876-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Periodicals

 * Washington Periodicals

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only; Includes Probate case files 1874-1930; Probate index 1874-1977.

School Records
Online School Indexes and Records
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only; Includes School attendance records 1875-1925; School census records 1894-1925.

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

 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 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
 * 1891-1907 Birth Returns, 1891-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.

Marriage

 * 1801-1962 Washington, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only; Includes Marriage affidavits 1889-1939; application certificate record 1941-1948; applications 1939-1999; certificates 1877-2001; certificates index 1877-1985; licenses 1929-1979; record index 1902-1909; register 1891-1944; returns 1896-1944; returns and affidavits index 1891-1982.
 * 1855-2008 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1896-2008 Marriage Records, 1896-2008 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection
 * 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

 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1881-1979 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1891-1907 Death Returns, 1891-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives
 * 1907-1960 Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960 at MyHeritage — index, ($)
 * 1907-1960 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; 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

 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Ellensburg Washington Family History Center
 * Kennewick Washington Family History Center
 * Prosser Washington Family History Center
 * Richland Washington Family History Center
 * Selah Washington Family History Center
 * Sunnyside Washington Family History Center
 * Wahluke Washington Family History Center
 * West Richland Washington Family History Center
 * Yakima Washington Family History Center
 * Northwest African American Museum - an affiliate library
 * Yakima Valley Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

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

Libraries
 * Yakima Valley Public Libraries Branches and Locations: Website Genealogy / Database Tools: Website
 * Grandview Library Databases City of Grandview: Website

Societies

 * Yakima Valley Genealogical Society 1901 S 12th Avenue Union Gap, WA 98903-1256 Telephone: 509-248-1328 E-mail:[mailto:yvgs1901@gmail.com yvgs1901@gmail.com] Website

Websites

 * WAGenWeb Yakima County
 * USGW Archives
 * Washington State Digital Archives


 * – 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.