Cassia County, Idaho Genealogy

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County Courthouse
Cassia County

Parent County
1879--Cassia County was created 20 February 1879 from Owyhee County. County seat: Burley Albion was the county seat from 1879 until 1919 when the county seat was moved to Burley.

Some sources list both Owyhee and Oneida Counties as the parent county of Cassia. Owyhee County, the fifth county in the Idaho Territory, was created on 31 December 1863. Oneida was formed on 22 January 1864 Owyhee County included "All territory lying south of the Snake River and east to the range of the Rockies, the southern boundary being the Nevada and Utah State lines. The width of Idaho Territory at its southern boundary was 397 miles. Of this distance, over 300 miles were in Owyhee County." Oneida County bordered Owyhee and Alturus Counties on the east and continued to the territory line. A Cassia County surveyor (November 2008) indicated that he has seen title searches in Cassia County that trace back to Oneida County. He suggested that it was probably due to a boundary correction straightening out the eastern border between Cassia and Oneida rather than large amounts of land taken from Oneida to create Cassia County.

A handwritten statement made sometime after 1917 on the front page of the Cassia County Transcript Book #1 states: "From Page 1 this Book to Page 56 both inclusive contains Instruments transcribed from Owayhee County to November 11, 1878 . Cassia County and Twin Falls County at above date was included in Owayhee County. Cassia County including Twin Falls County at that date was known as Cassia County and was sometime about the first of 1879 set off from Owayhee County to be known as Cassia." Simon P. Weatherman, County recorder, traveled to Silver City, the county seat of Owyhee County, and transcribed all of the Owyhee County records which involved Cassia County residents. A photocopy of the Transcript Book is available to the public at the Recorder's office in the Cassia County Courthouse and the original book has been archived There are shelves of original books containing marriage records, some birth and death records, deeds, mortgages, etc. Court records are also available, though they have been archived and require the county officials to locate them.

The Old Oregon Trail, the California Cutoff, Hudspeth's Trail, the Salt Lake Cutoff and the Applegate Trail all went through the area. It wasn't until the early 1870's, however, that families began to settle here. Early settlers in Almo, Elba and Oakley areas were largely descendants of the Mormon Pioneers. The lands along the Wasatch Front were becoming "crowded" and many families moved northward, congregating along the streams where water was available for irrigation and the native grasses grew in meadows that could be harvested for hay. L.D.S. Church Branches were created, schools established, and a few stores opened.

The stage and freight trains passed through the Albion valley, and in the 1870's, some travelers decided that the mountain valley was a good place to settle. While there were members of the L.D.S. Church who settled there, a bustling town soon sprang up with shops, saloons, hotels, a Masonic Hall, and churches of various denominations. A teacher's college was established in 1894.

In the early 1900's, the Minidoka Project, a reclamation program, built dams on the Snake River, establishing a series of canals which opened thousands of acres of fertile land in the Magic Valley for irrigation. The influx of people coming to claim the land established the towns of Burley, Rupert, Twin Falls, Declo, etc. Many people found farming the fertile soil with plentiful water a much more profitable lifestyle than the small ranches scattered along the creeks of the west. "In 1904, the lower Minidoka Project area around the present cities of Burley and Rupert was a nearly uninhabited sagebrush desert with only a few scattered ranches. After construction of the initial phases of the project brought water to the land, giving opportunity for expansion, it became a prosperous, highly developed farm area. By 1919, 2,208 farms were in operation, there were 6 towns, and the total population was about 17,000."

Boundary Changes
Twin Falls County was separated from Cassia County on 21 Feb 1907. Some websites suggest that Power County, which was created in 1913, included some land from Cassia County. This may have been due to boundary corrections.

Neighboring Counties
Blaine | Jerome | Minidoka | Power | Oneida | Twin Falls | Elko County, Nevada | Box Elder County, Utah

Resources
Many of the older court, land, naturalization, probate, pension, and vital records for Cassia County have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and at the Idaho State Historical Society's Library in Boise. Details of the county records in these respective institutions can be obtained from their online catalogs or listings. Original records of those which have been microfilmed and of more recent records are in the county courthouse in Burley.

Cemeteries
Albion has three cemeteries. The Masonic Cemetery--also known as Pleasant Hill, the City Cemetery, and the L.D.S. Cemetery. The Masonic Cemetery and the City Cemetery are west of the old Albion Normal School just off of Highway 77. The L.D.S. Cemetery is south off of 1000 South. The Masonic Cemetery was better cared for so many people whose relatives were Masons are buried there, even though they weren't Masons. Outlaws were buried in unmarked graves in the corner of the City Cemetery. The L.D.S. Cemetery contains graves of people, mostly church members, who lived in the southwestern part of the valley. Burials started in the late 1870's.

The Sunny Cedar Rest (Almo Cemetery) is north of the Elba Almo Highway. Pictures of the headstones are posted at www.almoidaho.com under History and Pictures, Library.

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Albion: Wednesday, 23 November 1887, " The Saints at Albion, Cassia Co., Idaho, were organized as a Ward of the Cassia Stake, Wm. T. Harper, Bishop".
 * Almo: Friday, 25 November 1887, "The Almo branch, Cassia Co. Idaho, was organized as a Ward: Thomas O. King, Bishop."
 * Basin (Oakley): Tuesday, 22 November 1887, " At a special meeting held at Spring Basin, Cassia Co. Idaho, the branch of the Church previously established there was organized as a ward.  Enoch R. Dayley Bishop."
 * Burley
 * Burley 1
 * Burley 2
 * Burley 3
 * Burley 4
 * Burley 5
 * Butte

Cassia Stake:  In  November 1887,  Apostle John W. Taylor and Elder Seymour B. Young visited the early towns of Cassia County, organizing a new stake and  creating wards from the existing branches. The Cassia Stake was organized on Saturday, 19 November 1887. The Cassia Stake Relief Society was organized the next day. "'At a special conference held at Oakley, Cassia Co., Idaho, Cassia Ward embracing the Saints who had settled in Goose Creek Valley and Vincinity, were organized as the Cassia Stake of Zion, Horton D. Haight, president.'""The stake boundaries encompassed most of southern Cassia County and the stake leaders had to cross several mountain ranges on horseback or in buggies to visit the wards." Oakley:   Sunday, 20 November 1887  "Apostle John W. Taylor and Elder Seymour B. Young organized the Saints constituting the Oakley Branch, Cassia Co. Idaho as a ward.  John L. Smith Bishop."
 * Churchill (Oakley)
 * Declo
 * Elba: Thursday, 24 November 1887, "The Elba branch of the Church, Cassia Co., was organized as a ward, Thos. Taylor Bishop.
 * Hazel
 * Jackson
 * Malta
 * Marion (Oakley) : Tuesday, 22 November 1887, "The Saints residing northwest of Oakley, Cassia Id. were organized as the Marion Ward, Adam G. Smith Bishop."
 * Naf


 * Oakley 1
 * Oakley 2
 * Oakley 3
 * Oakley 4
 * Pella (Burley)
 * Raft River Stake: "John A. Elison in April 1915 appointed president of the Raft River Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." The Stake headquarters was located in Almo.  President Elison and his family were called to leave their home in Oakley and move to Almo.  When the Stake headquarters was moved to Malta, President Elison and other leaders were called to move to Malta.
 * Springdale (Burley)
 * Star (Burley)
 * Sublett
 * Unity (Burley)
 * View (Burley)

Vital Records:
15,077 marriages from 11 Mar 1874 to 31 Dec 2003 are listed on Western States Marriage Index.

Web Sites

 * The Cassia County Idaho GenWeb Project, a member of The IDGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project
 * Family History Library Catalog