Douglas County, Oregon Genealogy

Guide to Douglas County, Oregon ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
Douglas County was named for Stephen A. Douglas, an American politician who supported Oregon statehood. The county is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Douglas County Courthouse 1036 SE Douglas Street Roseburg, OR 97470 Phone: 541-9557-2470 Douglas County Website
 * County Clerk has marriage, burial, divorce, land, probate, military discharge and court records from 1853 and naturalization records from 1850.
 * County Records Inventory listing the records held at the Douglas County Court House as of June 2005.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator

The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

History Timeline
11 January 1854 Part was taken to form Wasco County. 1856 Camas Valley of Umpqua County was annexed to Douglas County. 1862 Douglas County absorbed the remaining parts of Umpqua County. 1915 Boundary adjustments were made with Jackson and Lane counties.

Church Records
 List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Migration
Details about the rivers and waterways where farms and settlements are often found along them. See Rivers and Waterways

Military Records
 Civil War
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

World War I
 * 1919-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1921-1938 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Newspapers
Oregon Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1833-1963 Oregon Wills and Probate Records 1833-1963 at Ancestry.com — index and images ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Birth

 * 1842-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry($)
 * 1860-1952 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1876-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage

 * 1826-1975 Oregon, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1842-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1849-1884;1991-2006 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1906-1968 Oregon, U.S., State Marriages, 1906-1968 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
 * Western States Marriage Index at BYU-Idaho
 * Marriage Index 1885-1896 Actually is a book of affiants reporting the marriages. Historical Records Collection

Death
The FamilySearch Library has copies of some county records as following: Douglas County coroner inquests, 1896 to 1946

FamilySearch Centers

 * Roseburg Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * South Umpqua Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * The Genealogical Forum of Oregon - an affiliate library
 * Oregon Genealogical Society, Inc. - an affiliate library
 * Siuslaw Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Roseburg Public Library 1409 NE Diamond Lake Blvd Roseburg, OR 97470 541-492-7050

Societies
Douglas County Historical Society 544 Douglas St Roseburg, OR 97470 541-672-4386 Website Genealogical Society of Douglas County 1036 SE Douglas Ave Room 105B Roseburg, OR 97470 541-460-6178 E-mail: [mailto:emailofsociety info@GSDCI.org] Website

Websites

 * Douglas County GenWeb; part of OR GenWeb
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project
 * A wiki article describing an online collection is found at: Oregon, Couglas County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records


 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.