Whitman County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  Whitman 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)
Whitman County, Washington was created 29 November 1871.

County Seat: Colfax. For Courthouse, see Archives, libraries, etc.

Neighboring Counties
is surrounded by: Adams | Asotin | Columbia | Garfield | Franklin | Lincoln | Spokane | Walla Walla | Idaho counties: Benewah | Latah | Nez Perce

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
Albion Cemetery Bethel Cemetery Coleman Cemetery Colfax Cemetery Colton Cemetery Colyar Cemetery Dusty Cemetery Eaton Cemetery (Rock Lake Cemetery) Eden Valley Cemetery Elberton Cemetery Ewartsville Cemetery (Lone Pine Cemetery) Farr Cemetery Garfield Cemetery Goldenrod Cemetery, Tekoa Greenwood Cemetery Gresham Cemetery Hatley Cemetery Hay Cemetery Holy Rosary Cemetery Johnson Cemetery Lone Pine Cemetery McConnell Cemetery Mountain View Cemetery (Endicott) Mountain View Cemetery (Farmington) Myers Family Cemetery Oakesdale Cemetery Old German Methodist Cemetery Onecho Cemetery Pine City Cemetery Pullman I.O.O.F. Cemetery Riggs Cemetery Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery Saint Boniface Cemetery Saint John Cemetery Selbu Cemetery Sheahan Cemetery (Old Thornton) Silver Creek Cemetery Thornton Cemetery Uniontown Community Cemetery Whelan Cemetery Winona Cemetery Zion Lutheran Cemetery

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
Washington State University is located in Pullman.

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. Whitman County -- Thumbnail History,History Link.org Essay 7327.


 * Whitman County, was home to bands of Palouse and other Sahaptin-speaking people, including the Nez Perce tribe.
 * 1805 October 11-13 - Lewis and Clark canoed on the Snake River along the southern boundary of Whitman County.
 * 1859 June - The first recorded Euro-American exploration along Union Flat Creek, the birthplace of settlement for Whitman County, by Lieutenant John Mullan of the United States Army.
 * 1871 November 29 - The county was formed.
 * The county has a primarily agricultural history, with an emphasis on wheat (today it ranks first in wheat production among Washington counties and second among counties in the nation).

Maps



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

Naturalization and Citizenship
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.)

Newspapers

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

Birth

 * Washington State Digital Archives has a database of Whitman County Birth Records. This database contains the names and birth records of people who were born in Whitman County from 1890 to 1907.
 * Births from Whitman County Jan. 1875 to Aug 1907.

Marriage

 * 102 marriage entries from 23 Oct 1872 to 13 Dec 1909 are available at the Western States Marriage Index website.

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

 * Washington State Digital Archives has a database of Whitman County Death Returns containing names of people who died in Whitman County from 1891-1907. For FHL entries,
 * 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

 * Whitman County, Washington Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Whitman County, Washington Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

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
Whitman County Courthouse N 404 Main Street Box 390 Colfax, WA 99111-2031 Phone: 509–397–6240 County Clerk has marriage records 1872-1891, probate records from 1870, divorce and court records from 1864, and naturalization records 1862-1942. County Auditor has birth and death records 1891-1907 and land records.

Familysearch Centers

 * Colfax Washington Family History Center

Libraries
Local Libraries:

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