Walla Walla County, Washington Genealogy

Guide to Walla Walla 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 the Walla Walla people. The County is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Walla Walla County Courthouse 317 West Rose Street Walla Walla, WA 99362 Phone: 509-524-2760 Walla Walla County Courthouse

County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records from 1860.

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
With the signing of the Treaty of 1818, Great Britain and the United States jointly claimed the Pacific Northwest, including current Walla Walla County.

On August 14, 1848, the Oregon Territory formed, and Clackamas County included current Walla Walla County.

On March 2, 1853, the Washington Territory was formed.

Original Walla Walla County boundaries commenced at a point opposite the mouth of the Deschutes River on the north bank of the Columbia River, thence running north to the 49th parallel, thence along said parallel to the summit of the Rocky Mountains, thence south along the summit of the Rocky Mountains to the 46th degree of parallel, thence west along said 46th parallel to where it crosses the Columbia River, thence along said Columbia River to the place of beginning.

Western Montana, Northern Idaho, and all Eastern Washington counties broke off from Walla Walla County starting with Spokane County in 1860 and finishing with Asotin County in 1883.


 * Groups that lived in the Walla Walla Valley included the Nez Perce, Cayuses, Umatillas, and Walla Wallas.
 * 1805 Among the earliest records of Euro-Americans coming to the Walla Walla Valley are those from the expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
 * 1836 Presbyterian Missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman arrived in the Walla Walla Valley and established a mission.
 * 1853 March 2, U.S. President Millard Fillmore establishes.
 * 1846 Joint American-British occupation of the Oregon country ended and the Treaty of Oregon established the present international border between Canada and the United States.
 * 1853 Washington Territory was created out of Oregon Territory and Isaac Stevens was appointed the new territory’s first governor.
 * 1854 April 25, Walla Walla County is formed.
 * 1855 May Stevens arrived at the future site of the city of Walla Walla to negotiate treaties with the Nez Perce, Yakima, Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Cayuse tribes.
 * 1859 The land east of the Cascades was declared fully open for settlement, a small collection of cabins, shacks, and tents were situated around Steptoe’s fort and five land claims had been located in the surrounding area.
 * 1880 A gold rush in the early 1860s, followed by a growing agricultural industry, made Walla Walla the largest city in Washington Territory.

Census Records

 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital ArchivesIndex to the 1880 census of Walla Walla County, Washington Territory
 * Federal: 1910
 * Territorial: 1885,1887,
 * State-funded: 1910


 * 1850-1914 Web: Washington, U.S., Various County Census Records, 1850-1914 at Ancestry (Free)

Church Records
Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 * Walla Walla

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
 * 1994-2012 Power of Attorney Records 1994 - 2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1868-1889 Includes Case files
 * 1860-1899District Court case files


 * 1853-1889 Walla Walla Frontier Justice. Part of "Frontier Justice’’: Guide to the Court Records of Washington Territory, 1853-1889 at Washington State Digital Archives. (Free Index, no images)
 * The court procedure of Frontier Justice touch nearly all pioneers of Washington Territory. The index has many abstracts that provide names and what is happening in disputes, settlements in civil and criminal cases as well as probate, equity and admiralty cases.

Directories
County and City Directories exist for Walla Walla County. Ancestry has searchable directories from 1902 to 1935.

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

Genealogies
Note: Community Tree lists Lewis County, from which Skamania (later Walla Walla) County was formed in 1854. Very early residents of the Walla Walla area would be included.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1994-2012 Land Records 1994 - 2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * 1994-2012 Plats and Surveys Records 1994 - 2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * 1994-2012 Recorded Agreements and Contracts 1994 - 2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Local Histories

 * History of Old Walla Walla County Volume 1; Volume 2 by William Denison Lyman [(Chicago) S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.,1918] online at Washington History
 * Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, by W.D. Lyman online at Hathi Trust Digital Library.
 * An illustrated history of Walla Walla County, state of Washington
 * Historic sketches of Walla Walla, Whitman, Columbia and Garfield Counties, Washington Territory, and Umatilla County, Oregon

Maps and Gazetteers

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


 * Family Maps of Walla Walla County, Washington (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Walla Walla County for European and African American settlers included:
 * Columbia River
 * York Factory Express 1824 from Fort Vancouver to York Factory, Manitoba, Canada
 * Oregon Trail 1830s to 1890s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon

Military Records
 World War I 
 * 1921-1925 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Some military records that include this county have been digitized at the Washington State Digital Archives.
 * Fort Walla Walla Museum for military history

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only; 1886-1907 Includes Declarations of intention Naturalization index 1850-1960; Petitions for naturalization, 1898-1904; Petitions for naturalization and petition evidence, 1904-1906; Petitions for naturalization, petition evidence, special naturalizations, 1890-1904
 * 1906-1974 Naturalization Records, 1906-1974 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.
 * 1898-1906 Adult Applications and Orders of Naturalization, 1898-1906 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.
 * 1886-1906 Register of Declarations of Intention, 1886-1906 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.
 * 1949 and 1890-1904 Register of Minor Applications and Orders of Naturalization, 1890-1904 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.

Newspapers

 * Walla Walla Union Bulletin (Walla Walla, Washington)
 * Washington Digital Newspaper at Washington State Library
 * Washington State Library has early Walla Walla newspapers online.
 * Walla Walla County, Washington Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)
 * 1855-2009 Washington Newspapers, 1855-2009 at MyHeritage — index & images, ($)

Other Records
Public Records
 * Prior to 1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only

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

Periodicals

 * Washington Periodicals

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only

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

 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 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
 * 1889-1907 Walla Walla County, Health District, Birth Records, 1889-1907 at Washington State Archives - index and images

Marriage

 * 1801-1962 Washington, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only; 1924-1939 Includes Marriage affidavits; 1891-1950 affidavits and reports; 1865-1986 applications/certificates; 1869-1905 licenses /licenses indexes; 1924-1947 Marriage records; 1942-1947 Marriage index; 1891-1913 registers; 1891-1939 returns
 * 1855-2008 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1862-1910 Western States Marriage Index
 * 1865-2012 Marriage Records, 1865-2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)
 * 1891-1899 Marriage Affidavits, 1891-1899, 1917-1939 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)
 * 1922-1926 Marriage Certificates, 1922-1926 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)
 * 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
 * 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
 * 1888-1907 Death Records 1888-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection
 * 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

 * Columbia Basin Washington FamilySearch Center
 * Dayton Washington FamilySearch Center
 * Kennewick Washington FamilySearch Center
 * Pasco Washington FamilySearch Center
 * Richland Washington FamilySearch Center
 * Walla Walla Washington FamilySearch Center
 * Northwest African American Museum - an affiliate library

Libraries
Resources for Walla Walla County are available in libraries, archives, and other repositories at all levels: the town, the county, the state (including universities), and the nation.


 * Northwest Archives 345 Boyer Ave. Walla Walla, WA 99362 Phone: 509-527-5111 Website
 * materials that document the history of Whitman College and the Walla Walla region as well as rare books and other special collections." Digital Collections includes directories as early as 1881, photos of buildings, maps


 * Whitman College Library 345 Boyer Avenue Walla Walla, WA 99362 Phone: 509-527-5111 Website
 * Walla Walla Public Library 238 E. Alder Street Walla Walla, WA 99362 Phone: 509-527-4388 Website
 * Burbank Heights Library 875 Lake Road Burbank, WA 99323 Phone: 509-545-6549 Website
 * Prescott Library 103 D Street Prescott, WA 99348 Phone: 509-849-2411 Website
 * Touchet Community Library 161 Hanson Road Touchet, WA 99360 Phone: 509-394-2329 Website
 * Walla Walla County Rural Library District 37 Jade Avenue Walla Walla, WA 99362 Phone: 509-527-3284 Website
 * Weller Public Library 212 Main Street Waitsburg, WA 99361 Phone: 509-337-8149 Website

Museums
Museums


 * Fort Walla Walla MuseumWebsite
 * Whitman Mission National Historic SiteWebsite

Societies
Walla Walla Valley Genealogical Society P.O. Box 115 Walla Walla, WA 99362-0003

Websites

 * Walla Walla County WAGenWeb Project
 * USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Washington State Digital Archives
 * Websites at RootsWeb -Walla Walla WA (Free)


 * – 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.