Big Horn County, Montana Genealogy

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

Description
It is located in the southeastern area of the state. The county was named for the bighorn sheep in the Rocky Mountains.

County Courthouse
Big Horn County Courthouse 121 3rd Street West Hardin, MT 59034 Phone: 406.665.1506 Big Horn County website County Clerk has birth, death, naturalization and land records from 1913. Clerk District Court has marriage, divorce, probate and court records

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

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:

Indian Reservation The Crow Indian Reservation is primarily located in Big Horn County, with a smaller portion in Yellowstone County.

The Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation is about equally divided in land area between Big Horn County and Rosebud 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
 * 1908 - 2002 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection;  Index and images; various land and property records from 1908-2002

Local Histories
Online County Histories
 * The Arikara Narrative of the Campaign Against the Hostile Dakotas, June, 1876. c1920. By Orin Grant Libby. North Dakota: Bismarck. Online at: Google Books;.
 * Custer Battlefield National Monument, Montana. c1949. By Edward S. and Evelyn S. Luce. Washington D.C:U.S. Department of Interior. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library;.
 * Hokahey! A Good Day to Die!: The Indian Casualties of the Custer Fight. c1993. By Richard G. Hardorff. University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln and London. Online at: Google Books;.

Offline County Histories
 * The Custer Battle: Brief Story of Indian Who Fought There; Combined with Three Poems by White Eagle. c1916. By Two Moons. N.p:n.p..
 * Trails and Tales, South of the Yellowstone: An Unrecorded History of the Area South of Billings and the Yellowstone River. c1983. By Trails and Tales Historical Committee. Billings, Montana: Trails and Tales Historical Committee..

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
 * 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 World War I World War II For further information see Montana Military Records.
 * 1890 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1890 - 1918 Montana Military Enlistments at Montana Memory Project
 * 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
 * WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualties for Montana - Index only

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and 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
 * 1913-1956 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index and images; various naturalization and citizenship records from 1913-1956

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 - ($), contains images of Montana newspapers
 * Montana Newspapers by the Montana Historical Society
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), 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.(Ancestry)

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

Probate Records

 * 1831 – 1952 Montana Wills and Probate Records 1831-1952 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1884-2011 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index and images; various probate records from 1913-1947
 * 1913-1947 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — images.
 * 1913-1947 (*); at FamilySearch Catalog — 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 ($) — index
 * Montana Department of Health Department of Health Birth and Death Records
 * 1897-1988 Montana, U.S., Birth Records, 1897-1988 at Ancestry — index & images, ($)
 * 1899-1982 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index and images; various birth records from 1899-1982

Marriage

 * 1800-1994 Montana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1865-1950 at FamilySearch  How to Use this Collection;  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
 * 1913-1996 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index and images; various marriage records from 1913-1996
 * 1943-1988 Montana, U.S., Marriage Records, 1943-1988 at Ancestry — index & images, ($)
 * 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
 * 1909-2011 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Index and images; various death records from 1909-2011
 * 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

Divorce

 * 1943-1988 Montana, U.S., Divorce Records, 1943-1988 at Ancestry — index & images, ($)

Voting Records

 * 1884-1992 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Family History Centers

 * Billings Montana Family History Center
 * Colstrip Montana Family History Center
 * Hardin Montana Family History Center
 * Livingston Montana Family History Center
 * Lovell Wyoming Family History Center
 * Miles City Montana Family History Center
 * Sheridan Wyoming Family History Center

Libraries
Big Horn County Public Library 419 North Custer Avenue Hardin, Montana 59034-1892 406-665-1808 Website

Museums
Big Horn County Historical Museum and Visitor Center 1163 3rd St. East Hardin, MT 59034 406.665.1671 Email: [mailto:info@bighorncountymuseum.org info@bighorncountymuseum.org] Website

Societies
Big Horn County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 51 Hardin, MT 59034 E-mail: [mailto:mminear11@mcn.net mminear11@mcn.net]

Big Horn County Historical Society and Museum 1163 3rd St. East Hardin, MT, 59034 406-665-1671 Email: [mailto:info@bighorncountymuseum.org info@bighorncountymuseum.org] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Big Horn County at Cyndi's List — a comprehensive, categorized & cross-referenced list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online
 * Big Horn County at Genealogy Trails — volunteer transcriptions of genealogical and historical data
 * Big Horn County at Montana USGenWeb - free online resources for genealogical research
 * Big Horn County at Montana USGenWeb Archives - free online data for genealogical research
 * Big Horn County, Montana at Linkpendium - genealogy and family history
 * Big Horn County, Montana Genealogy at LDSGenealogy.com - collection of links by state, county, city, and record type
 * 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.