Jefferson County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  Jefferson County   Guide to  genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1861, when the county was formed.

Parent County(s)
Jefferson County, Washington was created 22 December 1852.

County Seat: Port Townsend. For Courthouse, see Archives, libraries, etc.

Neighboring Counties
is surrounded by: Clallam | Grays Harbor | Island | Kitsap | Mason

Boundary Changes

 * Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

Dates of Major County Records
Note: The dates you see below have not yet been adapted to.

Topics
The types of records that follow are used for genealogy and family history. Most tell what you may learn and how to locate the records. Links to Internet sites usually go directly to entries with names, images, or information.

Cemeteries
Washington State Digital Archives has an index to the Brinnon Cemetery located on Church Road in Jefferson County. The index includes burials from 1895 – 2003.


 * Alpha list of cemeteries in the county with links to online transcripts.

Census

 * See Washington Census for online indexes and images of US federal censuses. of: 1856, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940.
 * See statewide printed indexes, including 1856.
 * Check county indexes when online indexes fail. Created by people who knew the families of the area, they are often more accurate and they may have added insights. See periodicals and local libraries or other record holders.


 * 1890 Veterans
 * 1900
 * 1910
 * 1920
 * 1930
 * 1940

Church Records

 * Church records (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) for are listed in the . (Press space bar to select town.)

Court Records
Many of your ancestors may be found in court records as defendants, plaintiffs, witnesses, or jurors. Court records can establish family relationships and places of residence, occupations, and other family history information. See Washington Court Records for the various courts through the years.

For specialized court records, see Divorce · Guardianship · Land · Naturalization · Probate

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

Guardianship
Guardianship of orphans or adults unable to manage their own affairs were handled by the probate and the Federal District courts. See Washington Court Records.

History Timeline
Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library Emphasis for this timeline is on events that affected migration, records, or record-keeping. Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Wilma, David. Jefferson County -- Thumbnail History, History Link.org Essay 7472.


 * For thousands of years the only occupants of the Olympic Peninsula were Coast Indians.
 * mid-1800s - White settlers came to the north Olympic Peninsula, but the rugged interior remained unexplored.
 * 1851 April 24 - The first permanent American settlement on the peninsula was Port Townsend.
 * 1852 December 22 - Jefferson County was created by the Oregon Territorial Legislature from a portion of Lewis County.
 * 1889-1890 - The great land boom was predicated on the arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad, linking Port Townsend with the rest of the nation. Due to financial difficulties, the Union Pacific Railroad abandoned the project, causing the boom to collapse in 1891.

Military
Some military records for this county have been digitized at the Washington State Digital Archives.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1855-1973 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Declarations of Intent before 1906 often include the nation of origin, his* foreign and "Americanized" names, residence, and date of arrival. See Washington Naturalization and Citizenship for more information. (*Women were not naturalized until 1922 in the United States.)

Washington State Digital Archives has digitized various types of naturalization-related records, including declarations of intentions, delayed birth files, naturalization affidavits, notifications of application for admission to US citizenship, orders fixing naturalization terms, petitions and records, petitions, receipts for certificates of citizenship, record of final decrees of citizenship and record of petitions dockets. Depending on the county, records range from 1854-1988.

Newspapers

 * Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)

Obituaries
Also check:


 * Newspapers of
 * Local Funeral Homes, Libraries, or family records.
 * Obituaries of neighboring counties

Probate Records

 * 1853-1889 Part of:"County Probate Records, 1853-1929" FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Birth

 * 1869-1907 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Divorce
Divorce records give the names of the parties and may give the date and place of their marriage. See Washington Vital Records for excellent information.

Death

 * 1891-1907 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)


 * Washington Death Certificates 1907-1960 A free internet index to the 1907-1960 death certificates can be found at FamilySearch Record Search, no images are available. A transcribed death certificate may contain such information as name of the deceased, date and place of death, age, gender, birth date and birth place, mother’s maiden name and name of spouse, place of residence, occupation and certificate numbers.

Websites
Sites with online indexes or images of records:


 * USGenWeb Archives
 * WAGenWeb (Inactive for Jefferson County?)
 * Current Collections at Washington State Digital Archives (Free) Type county name, click Search, then select a collection. Collections were posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page in November, 2013.
 * Historical Collections at FamilySearch.org. (Free) Click "Last Updated." Collections through October 2013 have been posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page.

Sites that search the Internet for records online:


 * Web Sites at RootsWeb - Jefferson WA (Free)
 * Linkpendium (free)
 * CyndisList (free)

Major catalogs to offline genealogical records: Catalogs refer to books, microfilm, manuscripts, and/or Internet images and indexes for various topics.


 * for (Select topics. Add comma to select towns.)
 * WorldCat To find libraries near you that have items of interest, see WorldCat Online Catalog.
 * Allen County Public Library (Indiana)
 * See also local libraries and Washington Archives and Libraries

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


 * Check websites and catalogs, such as items in (Utah) or Allen County Public Library (Indiana) for.

Courthouse
Jefferson County Courthouse 1820 Jefferson Street; PO Box 1220 Port Townsend, WA 98368-0920 Phone. 360.385.9125 County Clerk has divorce records from 1886, probate records from 1891 and court records from 1890. County Auditor has birth and death records 1891-1907 and marriage records from 1853.

FamilySearch Centers

 * Port Townsend Washington Family History Center

Libraries

 * Jefferson County Rural Library District, 620 Cedar Avenue, Port Hadlock 98339  Phone: (360) 385-6544


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Port Townsend Public Library, 1220 Lawrence Street, Port Townsend 98368  Phone: (360) 385-3181


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:

Towns and Communities
See a list of towns and communities in Jefferson County per Wikipedia.