King County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  King County   Guide to  genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1852, when the county was formed.

Parent County(s)
King County, Washington was created 22 December 1852 from Thurston.

County Seat: Seattle. See also Towns and Communities in. For Courthouse, see Archives, libraries, etc.

Boundary Changes

 * Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

Neighboring Counties
is surrounded by: Chelan | Kitsap | Kittitas | Pierce | Snohomish | Yakima

Topics for
The types of records that follow are used for genealogy and family history. Most tell what you may learn and how to locate the records. Links to Internet sites usually go directly to entries with names, images, or information.

Biography

 * A Volume of memoirs and genealogy of representative citizens of the city of Seattle and county of King, Washington: including (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)


 * History of Seattle, Washington: with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)


 * Puget Sound and western Washington (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

Cemeteries

 * Kolb, Alexis Ann Alexander, Black Diamond Cemetery, Black Diamond, Washington, (Auburn, Washington: A.A.A. Kolb, 1980). Book online at Includes map of cemetery plots.
 * Fort Lawn Cemetery -- Burial Index
 * Lake View Cemetery main site
 * Lake View Cemetery Burial Search

BillionGraves:


 * Carnation Cemetery, Carnation
 * Forest Lawn Cemetery, Seattle
 * Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery, Seattle
 * Greenwood Cemetery, Renton
 * Hills of Eternity Cemetery, Seattle
 * Holy Cross Cemetery, Enunclaw
 * Mount Olivet Cemetery, Renton
 * Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Seattle
 * Suise Creek Cemetery, Kent
 * Tahoma National Cemetery, Kent
 * White Lake Cemetery, Auburn

Find A Grave: search and contribute to 168 King County cemeteries


 * Alpha list of cemeteries in the county with links to online transcripts.

Census

 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives: (Free)
 * Federal: 1910 •
 * Territorial: 1857 •
 * State-funded: 1871 • 1877 • 1883 •  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.)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Queen Anne (Seattle)
 * Renton
 * Seattle S.
 * Seattle W.
 * University (Seattle)

Lutheran
Denny Park Lutheran Church


 * Records of Denny Park Lutheran Church, Seattle, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Immanuel Lutheran Church


 * Records of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Seattle, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Court Records
Many of your ancestors may be found in court records as defendants, plaintiffs, witnesses, or jurors. Court records can establish family relationships and places of residence, occupations, and other family history information. See Washington Court Records for the various courts through the years.

For specialized court records, see Divorce · Guardianship · Land · Naturalization · Probate

Directories

 * Seattle, Washington City Directories, 1888-90 (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

Emigration and Immigration

 * Seattle, Washington, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1957 (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)


 * Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, Passenger and Crew Lists of Airplane Departures, 1947-1957 (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

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

Genealogy

 * A Volume of memoirs and genealogy of representative citizens of the city of Seattle and county of King, Washington: including (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

Guardianship
Guardianship of orphans or adults unable to manage their own affairs were handled by the probate and the Federal District courts. See Washington Court Records.

History

 * History and Progress of King County, Washington... 1916, by Henry C. Pigott. Digitalized book online from archive.org.


 * History of Seattle, Washington: with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)


 * Puget Sound and western Washington (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

[1] A history of central Washington: including the famous Wenatchee, Entiat, Chelan and the Columbia Valleys, with an index and ei] (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)


 * "King County, Washington Online Historical Directories" online
 * "King County Archives" online
 * "Frequently Requested Records" online
 * "King County Marriage Records, 1853-present" online
 * "King County Death Register" online
 * "1889 King County" online
 * "South King County Genealogical Society" online

Oral History


 * Olson, Diane and Cory, comp. and ed., Black Diamond: Mining the Memories, An oral history of life in a company town, (Seaside, Oregon: Frontier Publishing, 1988). The 1989 Washington Centennial project of the Black Diamond Historical Society, this book is a compilation of historical photographs and selections from the transcripts of over fifty oral history interviews.


 * University of Washington, Urban Design and Planning, Mining the Memories II, Black Diamond Oral History Project, (University of Washington: 2011). Summary of 2010 oral history project pdf for the Black Diamond Historical Society. A follow-up to the 1988 centennial project, students interviewed another twenty-two residents capturing the history of Black Diamond as the area transitioned from a coal mining company town, 1950s to present.

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 Wilma, David. King County -- Thumbnail History, History Link.org Essay 7905.


 * The area's indigenous peoples included the Duwamish, the Snoqualmies,and the Muckleshoots.
 * Early explorers were Colonel Isaac Ebey and later, the gold-seeker John Holgate.
 * The great spur to settlement was the Donation Land Claims Act of 1850, which granted 320 acres to each adult U.S. citizen who arrived in Oregon Territory before December 1850, and resided on their claim for four years.
 * 1851 September 14 - The first settlers were farmers led by Luther Collins.
 * 1852 December 22 - The Oregon Territorial Legislature created King County.
 * 1889 June 6 - The Great Seattle Fire wiped the downtown slate clean.
 * 1890s - Immigrants into King County included Russians, Greeks, and Serbs.

Land and Property

 * 1854-1923 Part of:"County Land Records, 1850-1954" FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1854-1927 Part of:"County Naturalization Records, 1850-1982" FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Naturalization Records, 1906-1928 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Declarations of Intent before 1906 often include the nation of origin, his* foreign and "Americanized" names, residence, and date of arrival. See Washington Naturalization and Citizenship for more information. (*Women were not naturalized until 1922 in the United States.)

Washington State Digital Archives has digitized various types of naturalization-related records, including declarations of intentions, delayed birth files, naturalization affidavits, notifications of application for admission to US citizenship, orders fixing naturalization terms, petitions and records, petitions, receipts for certificates of citizenship, record of final decrees of citizenship and record of petitions dockets. Depending on the county, records range from 1854-1988.

Newspapers

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

Obituaries
Also check:


 * Newspapers of
 * Local Funeral Homes, Libraries, or family records.
 * Obituaries of neighboring counties

Probate Records

 * 1854-1927 Part of: County Records, 1854-1927 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at: Washington, King County Probate Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Public Records

 * Prior to 1965 Part of: County Records, Prior to 1965 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free) A-Mc
 * Prior to 1965 Part of: County Records, Prior to 1965 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free) Mc-Z
 * Prior to 1965 Part of: County Records, Prior to 1965 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free) Seattle

School Records

 * 1892-1958 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Birth
Washington State Digital Archives has a database of King County Birth Records. This database contains the names of people who were born in King County from 1891-1907.


 * Birth Register, 1877-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Marriage
To obtain copies of marriage records from King County, go to the following website: www.kingcounty.gov/courts/marriage/Licensecopies.aspx. The website offers a link to an online search for marriage records 1855-1989, which includes images.


 * Marriage License Registers, 1880-1894 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Marriage Records, 1855-1990 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Divorce
Divorce records give the names of the parties and may give the date and place of their marriage. See Washington Vital Records for excellent information.

Death

 * Washington Death Certificates 1907-1960 A free internet index to the 1907-1960 death certificates can be found at FamilySearch Record Search, no images are available. A transcribed death certificate may contain such information as name of the deceased, date and place of death, age, gender, birth date and birth place, mother’s maiden name and name of spouse, place of residence, occupation and certificate numbers.
 * Death Register 1891 - 1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Seattle Death Registers Index, 1881-1907 at Washinton State Digital Archives Collection (Free)

Websites
Sites with online indexes or images of records:


 * WAGenWeb
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * Current Collections at Washington State Digital Archives (Free) Type county name, click Search, then select a collection. Collections were posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page in November, 2013.
 * Historical Collections at FamilySearch.org. (Free) Click "Last Updated." Collections through October 2013 have been posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page.

Sites that search the Internet for records online:


 * Web Sites at RootsWeb - King WA (Free)
 * Linkpendium (free)
 * CyndisList (free)

Major catalogs to offline genealogical records: Catalogs refer to books, microfilm, manuscripts, and/or Internet images and indexes for various topics.


 * for (Select topics. Add comma to select towns.)
 * WorldCat To find libraries near you that have items of interest, see WorldCat Online Catalog.
 * Allen County Public Library (Indiana)
 * See also local libraries and Washington Archives and Libraries

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 . ===== Courthouse =====

King County Courthouse 516 3rd Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Phone: 206.296.1020 Records and Elections Division, Records Section has birth, marriage, death and land records from 1853. Clerk of the Superior Court has divorce, probate and county records.

Family History Centers

 * Auburn Washington Family History Center625 M ST. NE., Auburn, WA 98002
 * Bellevue Washington Family History Center10675 NE 20th St.,Bellevue, WA 98004
 * Bellevue Washington South Family History Center 15205 SE 28th St., Bellevue, WA 98007
 * Federal Way Washington Family History Center 34815 Weyerhaeuser Way S., Federal Way, WA 98003
 * Kirkland Washington Family History Center 7910 NE 132nd St., Kirkland, WA 98034
 * Maple Valley Washington Family History Center 26800 236th Pl SE, Maple Valley, WA 98038
 * North Bend Washington Family History Center
 * Redmond Washington Family History Center10115 172nd Ave. NE, Redmond, WA 98052

Libraries

 * Seattle Public Library -
 * Branches and Locations
 * Genealogy / Data Base Tools
 * Special or Unique Collections (help needed from each branch)


 * King County Library System -
 * Branches and Locations
 * Genealogy / Data Base Tools
 * Special or Unique Collections (help needed from each branch)

Museums

 * Black Diamond Historical Depot Museum 32627 Railroad Ave Black Diamond WA 98010 360–886–2142 Franklin Tours: 253–852–6763 Transit: Baker St and 3rd Ave Send e-mail to: museum@blackdiamondmuseum.org Hours: Thursday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (Summer) 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (Winter) 12 to 3 p.m.

Societies

 * Black Diamond Historical Society – The mission of the Black Diamond Historical Society shall be the discovery, preservation, and dissemination of the history of Black Diamond and environs, as it relates to King County and the State of Washington. Like us on facebook Black Diamond History


 * Eastside Genealogical Society – Library holdings are located at the Bellevue Regional Library, a part of the King County Library System. Meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. on the 2nd Thursday of the month at the Bellevue Regional Library at 1111 110th Ave. N.E., Bellevue, WA 98004. Check the website for more information on the various interest groups that meet as a part of EGS.


 * South King County Genealogical Society – Library holdings are located at the Auburn branch of the King County Library System. Meetings are held from 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. on the 3rd Saturday of the month at the First Baptist Church of Kent, 11420 S.E. 248th St., Kent, WA 98030.


 * Seattle Genealogical Society – Library located at 6200 Sand Point Way N.E., #101, Seattle, WA 98115. Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10:00a.m. - 3:00 p.m. and Wednesday until 8:00 p.m. Check the website for the society meeting schedule and a listing of the various interest groups that meet as a part of SGS.

Towns and Communities
See a list of towns and communities in King County per Wikipedia.