Adair County, Oklahoma Genealogy

United States Oklahoma  Adair County

Adair County, Oklahoma genealogy and family history research page. Guide to genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

County Courthouse
Adair County Courthouse 2nd &amp; Division Streets; PO Box 169 Stilwell, OK 74960-0169 Phone: 918.696.7198 Clerk Court has marriage, divorce, probate, and court records from 1907; County Assessor has land records

Parent County
1907--Adair County was created 16 July 1907 from Cherokee Lands. County seat: Stilwell

Description
Adair County is located in the easter part of Oklahoma adjoining the counties of Benton and Washington, State of Arkansas, on the west and Cherokee County, Oklahoma, on the east. The western slope of what is called the "Ozark Uplift" of Arkansas extends into Adair County, giving it a healthful altitude of one thousand feet or more. It is about thirty-six miles in length north and south, with an average width of sixteen miles containing 587 square miles of land. The greater part of the county is rough and hilly and originally was heavily timbered. The hilly sections are underlaid with sandstone, limestone, and granite which very closely resembles marble. These hills are plentifully supplied with sparkling springs, good grass, and of late years the residents are just becoming fully cognizant of the fact that much of this rough, cheap land is well adapted to fruit and berry culture. Founded in 1907, Adair County was named in honor of Watt Adair, one of the old time Cherokees who was one of the first settlers of Indian Territory. His son, Hugh m. Adair, took an active part in the development of Eastern Oklahoma and is still one of its honored citizens.

Adiar County boasts of being one of the best watered counties of the state, its numerous springs forming little streams which furnish pure water for every neighborhood. Of these streams the Barron Fork, Sallisaw Creek, Lee's Creek, Ballard Creek and others, all tributaries of the Illinois and Arkansas rivers, not only supply pure water to the inhabitants of the county, but furnish great sport for anglers.

The greater part of the hilly sections of this county is still covered with timber, consisting of oak, hickory, walnut, ash, elm and sycamore, much of which is suitable for making furniture and building material. No special effort has yet been made to develop the mineral resources. Fifty years ago some lead was found from which the Indians molded their bullets, but lead has not yet been found in paying quantities. Two attemps to drill for oil were made some time ago but without success, although the land owners are still hopeful of finding lead, oil and gas.

The Valleys of the numerous streams of Adair County are very fertile, producing practically all of the crops of the temperate zone. Corn, cotton, wheat and oats are the staple crops, but alfalfa, timothy and potatoes are produced in limited quantities.

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Oklahoma County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Oklahoma County Boundary Maps" (1819-1912) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.
 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Oklahoma - shows boundary changes for Oklahoma Counties
 * Oklahoma Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Populated Places
Cities
 * Stilwell (county seat)

Towns
 * Watts
 * Westville

Unincorporated communities


 * Ballard
 * Baron
 * Bell
 * Bunch
 * Cherry Tree
 * Chewey
 * Christie
 * Fairfield
 * Elohim City
 * Greasy
 * Lyons Switch
 * Marietta
 * Peavine
 * Rocky Mountain
 * Salem
 * Watts Community
 * West Peavine
 * Zion

Neighboring Counties

 * Benton County, Arkansas
 * Cherokee
 * Crawford County, Arkansas
 * Delaware
 * Sequoyah
 * Washington County, Arkansas

American Indians
Census
 * 1851 - 1959 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Indian Censuses and Rolls, 1851-1959 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1895 - 1914 U.S., Native American Citizens and Freedmen of Five Civilized Tribes, 1895-1914 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1898 - 1914 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Dawes Census Cards for Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * Dawes Final Rolls - Oklahoma Historical Society

Land and Property
 * 1884 - 1934 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Land Allotment Jackets for Five Civilized Tribes, 1884-1934 at Ancestry — index and images ($) *1889 Oklahoma County Plats 1889 - Oklahoma Historical Society


 * For more information see Indians of Oklahoma

Cemeteries

 * Adair County Oklahoma Cemeteries A complete list of available online transcriptions and gravestone photos for Adair County Oklahoma cemeteries.

State Census Records

 * 1890 Oklahoma Territorial Census 1890 - Oklahoma Historical Societ
 * 1890 and 1907 Oklahoma Territorial Census, 1890 and 1907 at Ancestry — index and image ($)

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for Oklahoma starting in 1860. For links to Federal census indexes, see Oklahoma Census.

Land
Online Land Records

For more information see Oklahoma Land and Property
 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796 - 1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1861 - 1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images
 * 1889 Oklahoma County Plats, 1889 - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * El Reno Homesteader Filings - Oklahoma Historical Society

Local Histories

 * Muskogee and Northeastern Oklahoma: including the counties of Muskogee, McIntosh, Wagoner, Cherokee, Sequoyah, Adair, Delaware, Mayes, Rogers, Washington, Nowata, Craig, and Ottawa. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1922

Maps

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Oklahoma - shows boundary changes for Oklahoma Counties
 * Maps n More - county and township maps.
 * Oklahoma Civil War Map of Battles


 * Map of 1922 Adair County, Oklahoma with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)

Revolutionary War

 * 1775 - 1783 - at FamilySearch - images only
 * For more nationwide Revolutionary War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Civil War

 * http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9236 Oklahoma, Confederate Pension Index, 1915-1955] at Ancestry — index (free)
 * For more nationwide Civil War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

WWI

 * For more nationwide World War I databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

WWII

 * Oklahoma Military Deaths - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * For more nationwide World War II databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Newspapers
Oklahoma Newspapers Online Oklahoma Newspaper Catalogs
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Oklahoma newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Nebraska newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some Oklahoma newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * Oklahoma State Historical Society - catalog of known Oklahoma newspapers; lists repositories that have the newspapers
 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper

Probate
Online Records
 * 1801 – 2008 Oklahoma Wills and Probate Records 1801-2008 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1887 – 2008 Oklahoma Probate Records 1887-2008 at FamilySearch — images

School Records

 * 1895 - 1936 at | FamilySearch — index and images

Births
Online Birth Records Indexes and Images
 * Early Oklahoma Birth Records

Marriage
Online Marriage Records Indexes and Images
 * 1841 - 1927 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Marriage, Citizenship and Census Records, 1841-1927 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1870 - 1930 at FamilySearch Index only. *1870 - 1930 Oklahoma, Select Marriages, 1870-1930 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1870 - 1930 Oklahoma, Marriages, 1870-1930 at My Heritage index ($)
 * 1889 - 1951 Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Marriage Index, 1889-1951
 * 1890 - 1995 at FamilySearch Index and images
 * OKGenWeb Oklahoma Marriages

Deaths
Online Death Records Indexes and Images
 * Obituaries Listed in the Oklahoman - Oklahoma Historical Society — index only
 * 1935 - 2014 U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1936 - 2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry, incomplete ($}
 * 1936 - 2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry, incomplete ($}

Divorces
Online Divorce Records Indexes and Images
 * 1923 - 1942 Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Divorce Index, 1923-1942

Societies and Libraries
Adair County Historical & Genealogical Association Rt. 2 Box 1710 Stilwell, OK 74960 Website

Cherokee Heritage Center 21192 S. Keeler Drive Park Hill, OK 74451 PO Box 515 Tahlequah, OK 74465-0515 Telephone: 918-456-6007 Toll Free: 888-999-6007 E-mail:[mailto:lucy-girty@cherokee.org lucy-girty@cherokee.org] Website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * Adair County, OK History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Oklahoma Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Oklahoma Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.