Clatsop County, Oregon Genealogy

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

Description
Clatsop County was named for the Clatsop tribe of Native Americans, who lived along the coast of the Pacific Ocean prior to European settlement. The county is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Clatsop County Courthouse 749 Commercial Street Astoria, OR 97103 Phone: 503-325-8555 Clatsop County Website
 * County Clerk has marriage and land records from 1860, divorce and court records from 1875 and probate records from 1880.
 * County Records Inventory listing the records held at the Clatsop County Court House as of October 2004.

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:

Defunct Post Offices

 * Albert: Albert was a small community and post office on the upper reaches of Blind Slough, a little to the south of Aldrich Point. The office was testablished Sept. 11, 1901, with Nels Haglund first postmaster. The place was named for Albert Berglund, who was the second postmaster. The office was closed out on Sept. 15, 1913, with all papers going to Blind Slough.

History Timeline

 * 15 December 1853: Part was taken off to create Tillamook.

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.
 * Historic Oregon Newspapers http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/ as a division of the Oregon Digital Newspaper Program has digitzied more than 644,000 pages of newspapers throughout Oregon. Dates range from 1846-1922 with selected issues continuing through 1973.
 * Of particular interest to Clatsop county researchers:
 * The Daily Astorian The Daily Morning Astorian The Morning Astorian Tri-Weekly Astoria The Aurora Borealis

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1833-1963 Oregon Wills and Probate Records 1833-1963 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

Vital Records
The FamilySearch Library has copies of some county records as following:

Birth

 * 1842-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry.com ($)
 * 1860-1952 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1903-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

 * 1826-1975 Oregon, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1842-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry.com ($)
 * 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 Historical Records Collection

Death

 * 1870-1901 at FamilySearch Catalog - index & images

FamilySearch Centers

 * Astoria Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * Seaside Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * Vernonia Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * Hillsboro Public Library - an affiliate library
 * The Genealogical Forum of Oregon - an affiliate library

Libraries
Astoria Public Library 450 10th St Astoria, OR 97103 503-325-7323 Website

Museums
Clatsop County Historical Society Museum 714 Exchange St PO Box 88 Astoria, OR 97103-0088 Phone: 503-325-2203 Website

Societies
Clatsop County Genealogical Society PO Box 64 Warrenton, Oregon 97146 Website Clatsop County Historical Society 714 Exchange St PO Box 88 Astoria, OR 97103-0088 Phone: 503-325-2203 Website

Websites

 * Clatsop County GenWeb a member of OR GenWeb
 * 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.