Lincoln County, Montana Genealogy

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

Description
Located in the northwest corner of Montana. The county was named for Abraham Lincoln

County Courthouse
Lincoln County Courthouse 512 California Ave Libby, MT 59923 Phone: 406.293.7781 Lincoln County Website County Clerk has birth, death and land records from 1909; Clerk District Court has marriage, divorce, probate and court records; County Clerk also has some transcribed birth and death records prior to 1909

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

Boundary Changes
Parent County: created 9 March 1909 from Flathead County seat: Libby

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:

Territory and State Censuses

 * 1860 - at FamilySearch Historical Records - How to Use this Collection;  index and images; Montana was included in the 1860 Washington and Nebraska Territory Censuses
 * 1870 - at FamilySearch Historical Records - How to Use this Collection;  index and images; Montana Territory Census
 * 1880 - at FamilySearch Historical Records - How to Use this Collection;  index and images; Montana Territory Census

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for the state of Montana starting in 1890, although no records survived. The 1900 Census is the next Federal Census available. For links to Federal Census indexes, see Montana Census.

Church Records
Online Church Records Lutheran Church

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * 1875-1940 - U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940 at Ancestry — ($); Index and images; Dates vary for each county
 * FamilySearch Places

Land and Property Records
Online Land Records


 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796 - 1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1863 - 1908 - U.S. Homestead Records 1863-1908 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

Local Histories

 * The Story of The Tobacco Plains Country: The Autobiography of a Community. c1950. By Olga Weydemeyer Johnson. [Eureka, Montana] : Pioneers of the Tobacco Plains Country..

Online County Histories


 * Historic Overview of The Kootenai National Forest Northern Region. c1994. By Christian J. Miss. United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Online at Montana Memory Project;.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
 * See an interactive map of Lincoln County cemeteries and modern-day townships. (Histopolis)
 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Montana - shows boundary changes for Montana Counties
 * Historical Maps and Atlases of Montana - maps and atlases of Montana

Online Collections
These collections are unique to Montana. You will find nationwide databases for military records on U.S. Military Online Genealogy Records and Montana Military Records. Civil War


 * 1890 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; index index
 * 1890 - 1918 Montana Military Enlistments at Montana Memory Project

World War I


 * 1904 - 1918 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection;  index
 * 1917 - 1918 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection;  Index and images
 * Soldiers of the Great War from the State of Montana at USGenWeb.
 * Military Enlistments Montana World War I at Montana Memory Project

World War II


 * WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualties for Montana - Index only

For further information see Montana Military Records.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Records


 * 1791-1992 - U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 at Ancestry — ($), index only
 * 1868-1999 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection;  index and images
 * 1870-1999 - Montana, Federal Naturalization Records, 1870-1999 at Ancestry — ($), index only

Newspapers
 Montana Newspapers Online


 * Chronicling America - contains images of some Montana newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Montana newspapers
 * Kalispell newspapers. This database is sometimes free at libraries.
 * Montana Newspapers by the Montana Historical Society
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Montana newspapers

Montana Newspaper Catalogs


 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper

Obituaries

 * Obituary Daily Times - large obituary index from newspapers across the United States.

See also United States Obituaries for more about finding United States obituaries.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1831 – 1952 Montana Wills and Probate Records 1831-1952 at Ancestry.com — index and 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 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Birth

 * 1840 - 2004 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection;  index and images
 * 1840 - 2004 Montana, County Births and Deaths, 1840 - 2004 at Ancestry ($) — index

Marriage

 * 1800 - 1994 - Montana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast - How to Use this Collection; index $
 * 1865 - 1950 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1865 - 1950 Montana, County Marriages, 1865 - 1950 at Ancestry ($) — index
 * 1889 - 1947 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1889 - 1947 Montana Select Marriages 1889 - 1947 at Ancestry ($) — index
 * Western States Marriage Index - Index, incomplete, list of counties included

Death

 * 1840 - 2004 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1840 - 2004 Montana, County Births and Deaths, 1840 - 2004 at Ancestry ($) — index
 * 1860 - 2007 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1868 - 2011 Montana, Death Index, 1868 - 2011 at Ancestry ($) — index
 * pre 1954 - 2002 Montana State Death Registry Index Pre 1954 & 1954 - 2002 at Montana State Genealogical Society — index
 * 1954 - 2011 Montana Death Records at findmypast ($) — index

Family History Centers

 * Eureka Montana Family History Center
 * Libby Montana Family History Center

Libraries
Lincoln County Library-Eureka PO Box 401 318 Dewey Avenue Eureka, MT 59917 406-297-2613 Website Facebook Lincoln County Library-Libby 220 W. 6th Street Libby, MT 59923 406-293-2778 Website Facebook Lincoln County Library-Troy PO Box 430 207 N. 3rd Street Troy, MT 59935 406-295-4040 Website Facebook

Museums
Heritage Museum 34067 US Hwy 2 PO Box 628 Libby, MT 59923 406-293-7521 E-mail: [mailto:heritagemuseum@frontier.com heritagemuseum@frontier.com] Website Mary and Larry Hebenstreit Center for Archival Research is open to the public year-round by appointment. Call 406-293-7521 for an appointment.

Societies
Mary and Larry Hebenstreit Center for Archival Research 34067 US Hwy 2 PO Box 628 Libby, MT 59923 406-293-7521 E-mail: [mailto:heritagemuseum@frontier.com heritagemuseum@frontier.com] Website

Websites

 * Montana Genealogy Society Directory
 * USGenWeb Lincoln County, Montana project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * - 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