Teton County, Idaho Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for the adjacent Teton mountains and valley. The County has Driggs as its seat and the County was created January 26, 1915. The County is located in the east area of the state.

County Courthouse
Teton County Courthouse 150 Courthouse Drive Driggs, ID 83422 Phone: 208-354-8780 County Website

County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate, court, and land records from 1916.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Home Town Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline

 * 1882 When the first settlers came to Teton Valley it was part of Bingham County.
 * 1893 When much of Fremont County was created from Bingham, the southern part of Teton Valley (Victor area) remained in Bingham County while most of the valley became part of the new Fremont County. (See 1900 census note).
 * Before 1910 The county line was adjusted and the Victor area also became part of Fremont County.
 * 1913 When Madison County was created from Fremont County, Teton Valley became part of Madison County. It was divided from Madison in January 1915.

Cemeteries
The county is organized into 6 cemetery districtswhich govern 8 cemeteries.Two of the districts have two cemeteries each.In addition, there is another cemetery located just across the border in Teton County Wyoming in which county residents have been buried.These 9 cemeteries are: Bates, Cache-Clawson, Cedron, Darby, Driggs, Felt, Haden, Victor (all in the county) and Pratt (in adjacent Teton county Wyoming).

Contact information for the cemeteries:

Bates - Kerry Buxton 208-354-2710; Cache-Clawson - Denny Thomas 208-456-2381; Darby &amp; Driggs - Ronda Moss 208-354-2964; Haden - Dale Breckenridge 208-456-2652; Victor &amp; Cedron - Carla Sherman 208-787-2445; Pratt - Jim Wilson 307-353-8116

All of the tombstones in these cemeteries were photographed by Jim Doman in 2006. They can be viewed at findagrave.com, an index to these photographs can be found at Valley of the Tetons Library in Victor, Idaho 208-787-2201, library@silverstar.com, http://tetons.lili.org/.

Census Records
Although census records can be searched by name, it is helpful to know where residents of Teton Valley, most of which became Teton County, were enumerated before the County was organized. 1900 - residents in the south part of Teton Valley (Victor area) were enumerated in Teton Precinct (District 17), Bingham County. Other residents were enumerated in (District 50) - Chapin Precinct, Haden Precinct, in Fremont County. Those living in the area now called Alta, Wyoming, (then called "Pratt Ward" at the mouth of Teton Canyon were enumerated in Teton District (District 65) Unita County, Wyoming. 1910 - residents of Teton Valley were enumerated in Bates, Cache, Chapin, Driggs, Haden, Leigh, Victor townships in Fremont County. Those living on the Wyoming side at the mouth of Teton Canyon were enumerated in Alta District (District 138), Unita County, Wyoming.  1920 - Teton, now a county, residents enumerated in Bates, Cache, Chapin, Clementsville, Driggs, Felt, Leigh, Richvale, Tetonia and Victor townships. Those on the Wyoming side were enumerated in Alta township, Lincoln County, Wyoming. By 1930 those in Wyoming were in Alta township, Teton County, Wyoming

Church Records
 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons)

 List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Court Records
Online County Records
 * 1900-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index/Images
 * (*) at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Register of Actions, 1924-1953; general index, 1921-1966 Idaho. County Court (Teton County)

Directories
The Idaho State Archives has in its collections copies of city, county, state and regional directories.

Local Histories
Benjamin Woodbury Driggs, History Of Teton Valley, Idaho, (Caldwell, ID: Caxton Priinters, 1926) Benjamin Woodbury Driggs, edited by Louis J Clements &amp; Harold S Forbush, History of Teton Valley, Idaho, (Rexburg, ID, Eastern Idaho Pub. Co., c 1970)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * A digital Teton County Idaho map
 * Map of Teton County, Idaho
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
Online Records

World War I
 * 1917-1918 World War I registration cards 1917-1918 for Oneida County at FamilySearch
 * 1917-1918 World War I registration cards 1917-1918 for Oneida County available online at Ancestry ($)
 * The original cards are maintained in the Southeast Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in East Point, Georgia and have been microfilmed by the National Archives as their Microcopy M1509.

World War II
 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index/Images

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1892-1990 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index/Images
 * 1911-1925 (*) at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Index to Naturalization at Idaho State Archives

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)

Current
 * Teton Valley News

Historical Copies of issues of many Idaho newspapers are found in the collections of the Idaho State Archives.

Obituaries

 * 1943-2013 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index/Images

County Commissioners' Records
The minute books of the County Commissioners contain interesting tidbits of history about the county as well as the names of individuals appealing to the County Commissioners for action on issues of concern to them. Minutes of those meetings were recorded from the formation of the county, for most counties. Some counties now post the minutes of current meetings online.

Most of these records have been preserved in the county courthouses of the State of Idaho. Few have been microfilmed. Contact the county clerk for information about years covered and availability.

Miscellaneous Series
Often overlooked by the genealogist, this group of volumes may contain affidavits for citizenship, final disposition of estates, divorce decrees, and many other types of valuable documents. The content varies from county to county, year to year and from clerk to clerk. When the estate case files, civil or criminal files are not available or have been destroyed, you may find key documents recorded here. Most counties will have an index to this series and it is a must search if the information you are seeking is not found elsewhere.

Both the Idaho State Archives in Boise, Idaho, and the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah have copies of the miscellaneous record of Teton County.The originals are held in the Teton County courthouse in Driggs, Idaho and can be accessed by visiting there.Copies in the Idaho State Archives are available for viewing in Boise.Those held by the can be viewed either at the Library in Salt Lake City or at any of its FamilySearch Centers.

Pension Records
Mothers' Pensions were provided by the State of Idaho for widows and/or orphans, under certain conditions. Petitions for those pensions were filed with the probate court in each county. The original papers for several counties have been transferred to the Idaho State Archives in Boise, and have been indexed. Teton County Mothers' Pensions are included in that index.

Old Age Pensions were also provided by the State of Idaho from 1931 to 1936. The original records for these pensions in the Idaho State Archives have also been indexed. Teton County Old Age Pensions are included in that index.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1857-1989 Idaho Wills and Probate Records 1857-1989 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Teton County Probate Records at Idaho State Archives

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

Birth

 * 1861-1911 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1883-1929 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index/Images

Marriage

 * 1800-1987 Idaho, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1864-1976 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Privacy law can't publish
 * 1864-1962 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index/Images
 * 1878-1898;1903-1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1947-1961 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * Western States Marriage Index

Death

 * 1883-1929 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index/Images
 * 1938-1961 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1911-1959 State-wide index to Idaho Deaths, 1911-1956
 * Eastern Idaho Death Index

Divorce

 * 1947-1963 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index

Archives

 * Idaho State Archives Digital Collections - Enter County in Search Bar
 * Idaho State Archives

FamilySearch Centers

 * Ashton Idaho FamilySearch Center
 * Driggs Idaho FamilySearch Center
 * Rexburg Idaho FamilySearch Center
 * Rigby Idaho FamilySearch Center
 * St Anthony Idaho FamilySearch Center
 * David O McKay Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

 * Valley Of The Tetons District 56 N Main Victor, ID 83455 Phone: (208) 787-2201 Website
 * Valley Of The Tetons District 79 N Main St Driggs, ID 83422 Phone: (208) 354-5522 Website

Museums
Museum includes artifacts donated by local families, organized into displays depicting scenes from the past.
 * Teton Valley Historical Museum 137 N Highway 33 Driggs, Idaho (208) 354- 6000 Website

Societies

 * State Historical Society 2205 Old Penitentiary Rd Boise, Idaho 208-334-2774 Website
 * National Society Daughters of the American Revolution-Idaho Chapter
 * The Idaho Welsh Society -- excellent cultural and historical site

Websites

 * Teton County ID GenWeb, ID GenWeb
 * Idaho, Teton County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records


 * – 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.