Idaho Divorce Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Idaho

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of an index to divorces created by the Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics; covering divorces filed between May 1, 1947 and December 31, 1961.

Collection Content
Divorces before the twentieth century were uncommon and in some places illegal. Records of divorces contain data on family members, their marital history, their property, residences, and dates of other important events such as the children's births.

Some of the earliest divorces were granted by state legislatures and may be listed in legislature records. County officials began keeping divorce records as soon as a court was established in the area. Early divorce actions are found in dockets, minutes, and case files of the county, circuit, or district court. In some areas of the United States, divorces have been under the jurisdiction of a chancery, common pleas, domestic, probate, superior, or supreme judicial court.

Divorce records are often open to the public and can be obtained by contacting the clerk of the court. You will also find clues to separations and divorces in local newspapers.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Information found in this collection may include:


 * Names of husband and wife
 * Date of divorce
 * Divorce place
 * Certificate number

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know at least some of the following:


 * The names of your ancestors who divorced.
 * The date of the divorce.
 * The place where the divorce occurred.
 * The names of any children mentioned in the divorce decree.

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information in the list to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several persons in the list before you find your ancestor.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article [FamilySearch Tips and Tricks].

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the information to locate the actual divorce record.
 * Use the information to find other records such as birth, christening, census, land and death records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * 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 Who 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 Idaho, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Idaho Archives and Libraries.

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:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Top of Page