Lincoln County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  Lincoln 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)
Lincoln County, Washington was created 24 November 1883.

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

Neighboring Counties

 * Neighboring Counties: Adams | Ferry | Grant | Okanogan | Spokane | Stevens | Whitman

Boundary Changes

 * Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

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

 * Odessa Cemetery, Odessa BillionGraves


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

Census

 * 1911-1920 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)


 * The 1860 census records of Sawamish County, Washington Territory (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)


 * 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


 * Inventory of the county archives of Washington, no. 22. Lincoln County (Davenport) (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

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. Lincoln County -- Thumbnail History, History Link.org Essay 7859.


 * The land that would become Lincoln County was home to the Spokane tribe.
 * Fur traders traversed the region en route to Spokane House in present-day Spokane County.
 * 1869 - Russell M. Bacon, a Bostonian who came to the Crab Creek area of the future Lincoln County and Patrick Cumasky, were among the region's first permanent settlers.
 * 1880 - The United States government established a military reservation called Camp Spokane at the confluence of the Spokane and Columbia rivers in Lincoln County.
 * 1883 November 24 – Lincoln County was formed.
 * Early 1880s - Early settlers planted wheat crops.

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.)

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.


 * 1877-1971 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Naturalization Records, 1906-1970 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Registers of Certificates of Naturalization, 1886-1906 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Registers of Declarations of Intention, 1886-1906 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Newspapers

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

Obituaries
Also check:


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

Postmaster Indexes

 * Prior to 1965 Part of: County Records, Prior to 1965 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Probate Records

 * 1884-1982 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

School Records

 * 1900-1930 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Marriage

 * Marriages from 29 Jan 1884 to 30 Jan 1887 are listed on 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 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:


 * 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.
 * Lincoln/ Web Sites at RootsWeb - Lincoln WA (Free)

Sites that search the Internet for records online:


 * 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


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

 * Inventory of the county archives of Washington, no. 22. Lincoln County (Davenport)(If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search

Lincoln County Courthouse 450 Logan Street; PO Box 369 Davenport, WA 99122 Ph. 509.725.1401 County Auditor has birth and death records 1891-1907, marriage and land records from 1891. County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records.

Family History Centers

 * Davenport Washington Family History Center

Libraries

 * Davenport Public Library, 505 7th St, Davenport 99122 Phone: (509) 725-4355


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Public Library, po box 496, Harrington 99134 Phone: (509) 253-4345


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Odessa Public Library, 21 E. First Street, Odessa 99159 Phone: (509) 982-2654


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Reardan Memorial Library, 120 S Oak, Reardan 99029 Phone: (509) 994-9997


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Sprague Public Library, 119 West Second, Sprague 99032 Phone: (509) 257-2662


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Wilbur (Hesseltine) Public Library, 14 Nw Division, Wilbur 99185 Phone: (509) 647-5828


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:

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