Chelan County, Washington Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for a Chelan Indian word meaning "deep water," likely a reference to 55-mile (89 km)-long Lake Chelan, which reaches a maximum depth of 1,486 feet (453 m). The County is located in the northcentral area of the state.

County Courthouse
Chelan County Courthouse 350 Douglas Street Wenatchee, WA 98801 Phone: 509-667-6600 Chelan County Website

County Auditor has birth and death records 1900-1907 and marriage records from 1900. City Clerk has burial records. County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records.

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:

History Timeline

 * 1803 Before this time, the (also spelled Wenatchi) lived along the Wenatchee River, which flowed from the Cascades into the Columbia.
 * 1853 March 2, U.S. President Millard Fillmore establishes Washington Territory.
 * 1863 The first non-Indians to live in the Chelan and Wenatchee valleys were Chinese prospectors looking for gold in the rivers and streams, starting at about this time.
 * 1886 Lake Chelan’s first white settlers were William Sanders and William Dumke. They arrived at the south end of the lake the hard way, from the north.
 * 1899 March 13, Washington State Legislature created Chelan County.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * Professional License Records at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Cemeteries

 * Wenatchee Area Cemetery Records (Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS))

Census Records

 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives
 * 1850-1914 Web: Washington, U.S., Various County Census Records, 1850-1914 at Ancestry (Free)
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only. Select Browse all images, click county
 * 1910 U.S. Federal Census, Chelan County, U.S. Census Bureau

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

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records
 * 1978-2021Chelan County Superior Court Case Files at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * Inventory of the county archives of Washington, no. 4. Chelan County (Wenatchee) (If the link does not work, log in to Ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
American Indians The Colville Indian Reservation is located in southern Ferry and southern Okanogan Counties, including a small portion of Chelan County.
 * 1911-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Japanese
 * World War II Files, 1942-1946. Public Welfare/Social Security Department, (Japanese Internment) Assistance Cases, Evacuee Referrals for Resettlement and Assistance, 1945-1946 from the Washington State Archives – Digital Archives.

Funeral Homes

 * Funeral Home Records (Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society, (WAGS)). From Jones & Jones Funeral Home, when it merged with Betts Funeral Home of Wenatchee. 27,000 records between the years 1906-2001 for Jones & Jones of Wenatchee, Kuelbs or Braun of Cashmere, Waterville of Waterville and a few from Wards of Leavenworth have been archived and indexed. Records may include only the funeral card with/without parents, etc. Other records may include death certificates, obituaries, gift lists, military records, etc.  See WAGS database to search for information on your family members, and options for ordering that information.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * County Recorder's Office: check deeds, file mining claims, get assistance in finding ownership of a particular property, and obtain copies of county plat maps. This office has county plat records dating back to 1878, prior records having been destroyed in a fire.
 * Land 1888 - 2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Plats and Surveys Records at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Recorded Agreements and Contracts 1974 - 2008, 1900 - 2008 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Local Histories

 * A history of central Washington : including the famous Wenatchee, Entiat, Chelan and the Columbia Valleys, with an index and ei
 * Illustrated History of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan Counties, State of Washington by Richard F. Steele [(Spokane, Wash.): Western Historical Pub. Co., 1904] Commonly known by title History of North Washington. Online at Washington Secretary of State site (Free).
 * This book has numerous errors and its facts should viewed with circumspection.

Maps and Gazetteers

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

World War I

 * 1921-1925 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

World War II

 * World War II enlistments of Chelan County, Washington residents. This is a partial list. The NARA website cautions: "This series does not contain records of all World War II Army enlistees."

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * Naturalization Records, 1900-1973 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only. Includes:
 * Collection of various records including vital, probate, school, tax, naturalization and other records. The records are from various counties in Washington State, 1856-2010. This is an ongoing collection. Check the wiki or browse the collection to determine current record and county coverage.

Newspapers

 * Chelan County, Washington Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)
 * 1855-2009 Washington Newspapers, 1855-2009 at MyHeritage — index & images, ($)
 * Washington Digital Newspaper at Washington State Library

Obituaries
The Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS) has an Obituary database that contains an index of over 110,000 obituaries from the Wenatchee Area from 1895 to 2014. These obituaries may be ordered thru WAGS. See Obituaries.
 * Web: Wenatchee, Washington, Obituary Index, 1884-2009

Other Records
Public Records
 * Prior to 1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only. Collection of various records including vital, probate, school, tax, naturalization and other records. The records are from various counties in Washington State, 1856-2010.

Voting Records
 * 1876-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Periodicals

 * Washington Periodicals

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only. Includes collection of various records including vital, probate, school, tax, naturalization and other records. The records are from various counties in Washington State, 1856-2010. This is an ongoing collection. Check the wiki or browse the collection to determine current record and county coverage.

School Records
Online School Indexes and Records


 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only. Includes School Census Records 1914-1925.

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

 * 1871-1921 Department of Health, Delayed Birth Records at Washington State Archives - index and images; includes some earlier and later dates
 * 1873-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images. Also includes:
 * 1888-1926 at FamilySearch  — How to Use this Collection; images only.
 * 1900-1907 Birth Returns, 1900-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.

Marriage

 * 1801-1962 Washington, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1855-2008 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1900-1920 Washington State Digital Archives has a database for Marriage Records.This database is an index to marriage records filed with the Auditor in Chelan County, from 1900 to 1920. The records contained within this index include Marriage Returns (1900-1910) and Marriage Certificates (1911-1920).
 * 1900-2008 Marriage Records, 1900-2008 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * 1900-2002 at FamilySearch  — How to Use this Collection; images only.
 * 1968-1997 Department of Health, Marriage Certificates, 1968-1997 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1969-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Includes Index to affidavits 1999; Index to certificates 1900-1983; Index to licenses direct and reverse 1900-1983; Index to licenses 1900-1907 and 1974-1983; Affidavits 1900-2001; Application returns 1939-1945; Certificates 1900-1970; Returns 1900-1939.
 * 1969-2022 Department of Health, Marriage Index, 1969-2022 at Washington State Archives - index and images

Death

 * 1881-1979 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1899-1907 Death Returns 1899-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.
 * 1899-1905 at FamilySearch  — How to Use this Collection; images only.
 * 1907-1960 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1907-1960 Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960 at MyHeritage — index, ($)
 * 1907-1997 Department of Health, Death Certificates, July 1, 1907-1997 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1907-2020 Department of Health, Death Index, 1907-1960; 1965-2020 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1915-1928 Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Fatal Accident Cards, 1915-1928 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1919-1921 Department of Health, Fetal Death Records, 1919-1921 at Washington State Archives - index and images

Divorce

 * 1968-1997 Department of Health, Divorce Certificates, 1968-1997 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1969-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1969-2017 Department of Health, Divorce Index, 1969-2017 at Washington State Archives - index and images

FamilySearch Centers

 * Brewster Washington FamilySearch Center
 * Chelan Washington FamilySearch Center
 * Coulee Dam Washington FamilySearch Center
 * Issaquah Washington FamilySearch Center
 * North Bend Washington FamilySearch Center
 * Omak Washington FamilySearch Center
 * Wenatchee Washington FamilySearch Center
 * Northwest African American Museum - an affiliate library
 * The Seattle Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Snohomish Washington Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

Libraries
Resources for Chelan County are available in libraries, archives, and other repositories at all levels: the town, the county, the state (including universities), and the nation. Inventory of the county archives of Washington, no. 4. Chelan County (Wenatchee) (If the link does not work, log in to Ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)Website

North Central Regional Library System  Branch: Chelan Public LibraryWebsite Online Resources: History and GenealogyWebsite

Societies

 * Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society 127 S Mission Wenatchee, WA (509) 888-6246 Website
 * Has a genealogical library located in the Annex adjacent to the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. The WAGS library is rich with resources that share the data and history of families of the region.

Websites

 * Chelan County WAGenWeb Project
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Washington State Digital Archives
 * – 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.