Oklahoma, School Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is In This Collection?
The collection includes school records, primarily annual censuses, of pupils who attended schools in Oklahoma counties between 1895 and 1936. The Woodward County records were indexed by the Northwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society. The records are generally arranged by years and then in numerical order by school district; many of them list the name of each pupil and include the pupil's date of birth and the names of parents or guardians. School records can be very helpful as they can often be used as a reliable substitute for birth records or they can lead you to birth records.

Woodward County was formed in 1893 from the Cherokee Outlet. It was originally "N" County. On November 6, 1894, the new citizens voted to change the name to Woodward and establish the town of Woodward as the county seat. All of present Harper and Woodward counties, the northern part of Ellis and the western end of Woods counties were contained within the borders of county "N", Oklahoma Territory, when it was opened for settlement September 16, 1893. The first school was established in Woodward in January 1894.

The records helped local governments determine funding needs for individual schools so the information is generally reliable.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The records may include any of the following information:


 * Name of town and county
 * School District Number
 * Names of pupils
 * Ages of pupils
 * Gender of pupils
 * Beginning and ending dates of grading period
 * Beginning and ending dates for school year

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the child
 * The approximate age or birth date of the child
 * The names of the child's parents
 * The place where the family lived

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select the County
 * 2) Select  the Year Range to view the images

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

Remember to:
 * Whenever possible, look at the original record. If often has more information than the indexed record
 * Print or download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed
 * In case you need to find this record again later, copy the citation found on each record or image. Familysearch wiki has a Example Research Log that you can download and use for this purpose

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the age to calculate a birth date and to find other records such as birth, christening, marriage, census, land and death records
 * Use the information to find additional family members. Witnesses or bondsmen were usually relatives
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well
 * Search the indexes and records of Oklahoma, United States Genealogy
 * Search in the Oklahoma Archives and Libraries

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation:

"Oklahoma, School Records, 1895-1936." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 3 February 2017. Woodward County records indexed by Northwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society. Citing various county offices, various Oklahoma school district offices and Cimarron Heritage Center, Boise City.

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