Liberty County, Montana Genealogy

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

Description
Liberty County is located in the north central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Liberty County Courthouse 111 1st Street East Chester, MT 59522 Phone: 406.759.5365 Liberty County Website Liberty County Clerk County Clerk has birth and death and land records from 1902 Clerk District Court has marriage records from 1920, divorce, probate, and court records

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

Boundary Changes
Parent County: created 11 February 1920 from Chouteau and Hill County seat: Chester

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:

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

Funeral Homes

 * Rockman Funeral Home in Chester

Land and Property Records

 * Liberty County homesteader names

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

Local Histories

 * Our Heritage in Liberty. c1976. By Liberty County Museum (Chester, Montana). Chester, Montana : Liberty County Museum..

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - 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 index World War I World War II World War II For further information see Montana Military Records.
 * 1890 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection;
 * 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
 * 1939 - 1945 Montana, military records, 1939-1945
 * WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualties for Montana - Index only

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization 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

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.

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

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1831–1952 Montana Wills and Probate Records 1831-1952 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 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 ($) — index
 * 1897-1988 Montana, U.S., Birth Records, 1897-1988 at Ancestry — index & images, ($)

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
 * 1920-1993 Marriage records, 1920 - 1965; Index 1920 - 1993 Viewable
 * 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
 * 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

 * Chester Montana Family History Center
 * Conrad Montana Family History Center
 * Cut Bank Montana Family History Center
 * Shelby Montana Family History Center

Libraries
Liberty County Library 110 First East Street PO Box 458 Chester, MT 59522 406–759–5445 Email: [mailto:library@libertycountymt.gov library@libertycountymt.gov] Website

Museums
Liberty County Museum PO Box 417 230 Second Street East Chester, MT 59522 406-759-5256 Website

Societies
Broken Mountains Genealogical Society PO Box 261 Chester, MT 59522 406-759-5445 Website

Liberty County Museum and Archives Association PO Box 417 230 Second Street East Chester, MT 59522 406-759-5256 Website

Websites

 * Liberty County at Cyndi's List — a comprehensive, categorized & cross-referenced list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online
 * Liberty County at Genealogy Trails — volunteer transcriptions of genealogical and historical data
 * Liberty County at Montana USGenWeb - free online resources for genealogical research
 * Liberty County at Montana USGenWeb Archives - free online data for genealogical research
 * Liberty County, Montana at BrokenMountains.org - dedicated to gathering, digitizing, and preserving burials, marriages and other genealogical records of county residents
 * Liberty County, Montana at Linkpendium - genealogy and family history
 * Liberty 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.