Idaho, Jefferson County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Idaho  Jefferson County

What is in the Collection?
These records cover the years about 1890 to the mid 1900s. This collection contains the following various records from the county clerk’s office:
 * Vital or civil registration – marriages
 * Land and Property records
 * Brands
 * Homesteads
 * Patents
 * Probate records
 * Pensions
 * School Census Records

Coverage Map
To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of Idaho marriages, click here.

Sample Images
County officials began keeping records from the time the county was formed. Each type of record within the county was created for a different purpose, but most were created to keep track of the vital events happening in the lives of the citizens and to safeguard their legal interests and the legal interests of their heirs. Facts current at the time of the event are generally reliable.

Some of the records are handwritten on loose pages. However, most of the records are handwritten on pre-printed pages or typed.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The following information is generally found in the records:


 * Name of primary persons
 * Names of heirs, such as spouse, children, other relatives, or friends
 * Names of the executor, administrator, or guardian
 * Names of witnesses
 * Dates the documents were written and recorded (used to approximate event dates since a will was usually written near the time of death)
 * Description and value of property or land

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The place where the event occurred
 * The approximate date the event occurred
 * The name of the individual or individuals such as the names of the deceased or the bride and groom

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "[]" ⇒Select the appropriate "[]" ⇒Select the appropriate "[]" which takes you to the images

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as military records.
 * Use the parent’s birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of the officiator may be a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county.
 * The name of the undertaker, mortuary, or cemetery could lead you to funeral and cemetery records which often include the names and residences of other family members.
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname. This is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been born, married, or died in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation:

Jefferson County Clerk. “Idaho, Jefferson County Records,” Jefferson County Clerk, Rigby, Idaho.

Image Citation