Owyhee County, Idaho Genealogy

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County Courthouse
Owyhee County

Owyhee County Courthouse in Murphy

Parent County
1863--Owyhee County, Idaho was an original county of Idaho Territory. It was formed 31 December 1863, with Ruby City as its county seat. The county seat was moved to Silver City in 1867 and then in 1934 to its current seat of government -- Murphy, located near the middle of the northern edge of the county. It is a very rural county, noted mostly for mining, ranching, and farming. It is the second largest county in land area in Idaho, but has only slightly more than 10,000 residents. Owyhee is a corruption of "Hawaii", a reference to Hawaiian fur trappers who explored the area in 1819 and 1820. Part was taken to create Canyon County 7 March 1891. County seat: Murphy

Boundary Changes
20 February 1879 -- Cassia County created from part of Owyhee County

7 March 1891 -- Canyon County created from parts of Ada and Owyhee Counties

Record Loss
There has been no significant record loss for Owyhee County. The records are maintained in a modern courthouse and are well preserved.

Places/Localities
The following list of places includes incorporated cities and towns, unincorporated towns and communities, and place names that may have been used in family histories. Some have well-organized records and even have web sites. Some are simply social communities with no official records, but which may be referenced in small-town newspapers. The list is provided to help researchers identify localities within the county. As records or histories of these localities are identified, a page will be added for each of these place names.

This list of places in Owyhee County, Idaho was compiled from the Lists of Places in Idaho in Wikipedia and from the map of Owyhee County in Virtual Earth.

Cities
Grand View | Homedale | Marsing

Other inhabited places

 * Unincorporated Communities: Bengoechea Place | Bruneau | Bruneau Valley | Buncel Place | Carothers Place | China Hat | Claytonia | Cliffs | Collier Place | Comical Turn | Cottonwood | Crill Place | Dans Place | De Lamar | Democrat | Dew Drop Place | Dewey | Dickens Place | Dickshooter | Doyle Place | Dry Forty | Duck Valley Indian Reservation | Empire City | Fairylawn | Flint | Four Corners | Frost Place | Givens Hot Springs | Grasmere | Guffey | Harvey Place | Hot Springs | Indian Cove | James Place | Little Sugar Loaf | Miller Creek Settlement | Morgan Place | Murphy | Murphy Hot Springs | Northside | Oreana | Owyhee Heights | Petersons Crossing | Pleasant Valley Place | Reynolds | Rickard Crossing | Riddle | Rockville | Sands | Silver City | Sinker | Slacks Corner | South Mountain | Spiry Place | Telegraph Hill | Three Creek | Three Forks | Tindall | Triangle | Wickahoney | Wilson

Neighboring Counties
Ada | Canyon | Elmore | Twin Falls | Elko County, Nevada | Humboldt County, Nevada | Malheur County, Oregon

Resources
Many of the older court, land, naturalization, probate, pension, and vital records for Owyhee County have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and through their family history centers. They are also available 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 which have been microfilmed and more recent records are in the county courthouse in Murphy.

Cemeteries
There are a number of cemeteries in Owyhee County. Those that have been identified are listed below, with their location and any links to abstracts of their records.

Directions to some of the cemeteries of Owyhee County are on the USGenWeb site for Owyhee County under Owyhee County Cemeteries.

Burials gathered by June Davies and Wilma Lewis Statham and published in a book entitled "Owyhee Gleanings" have been alphabetized together and are also avilable at the USGenWeb site for the county under "Owyhee Burials."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons)
The following are local congregations (wards) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints which existed in Owyhee County, Idaho prior to 1950. Many of the original records of these church units are in the Historical Library in Salt Lake City. Many of the membership records covering these units from the date of their creation to about 1948 have been microfilmed and are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.


 * Rowland (Grasmere)
 * Homedale
 * Marsing

History
No comprehensive history of Owyhee County has been written. However, several histories of towns within the county have been published and are listed under the pages for those localities.

The Owyhee County Historical Society has a good collection of historical materials for the county and has an ongoing program of improving its holdings, including a biographical collection regarding those who have resided in the county. The Historical Society also maintains a modern museum for the county, located in the county seat of Murphy, Idaho.

The Idaho State Historical Society in Boise has compiled a series of reference leaflets regarding the counties of Idaho. Their reference paper for Owyhee County is available online as a part of their Idaho Digital Publications.

Land
The land records for Owyhee County are maintained at the Owyhee County Courthouse in Murphy, Idaho, including deeds, 1865 to present, homestead records, mortgages, etc. Some of these records have been microfilmed and copies are available at the Idaho State Historical Library in Boise and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Records which have been microfilmed include:


 * Homestead records, 1885-1968, including a general index and the actual records.
 * A General Index to Deeds, 1864-1973
 * Deeds, 1865-1902

Military
World War I draft registration cards, 1917-1918, for Owyhee County have been microfilmed. Copies of these records are available at the Family History Library (their microfilm number 1452220) and are also available online at Ancestry.com, for a subscription fee. The original cards are maintained in the Southeast Regional Archives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in East Point, Georgia and have been microfilmed by the National Archives as their Microcopy M1509.

Current

 * Owyhee Avalanche

Historical
Several newspapers have been or are being published in Owyhee County. Copies of many of them are available at the Idaho State Historical Society Library in Boise.

Probate
The original probate records are maintained at the Owyhee County courthouse in Murphy, Idaho. Some of the earlier records of probate cases have been microfilmed and copies are available at the Idaho State Historical Library and at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. These include:


 * Wills, 1882-1919
 * General index to probate records, 1864-1926
 * A probate journal, 1864-1867
 * Probate records, vols. 1-6, 1875-1926
 * Old-age pensions, 1931-1935

Taxation
The tax assessment rolls for Owyhee County, 1883-1920, have been microfilmed. Copies are available at the Idaho State Historical Society Library in Boise.

Vital Records
Birth and death records for the State of Idaho began in 1911. Prior to that date, some records were kept by the counties. Owyhee County has both birth and death records, 1907-1911, in the county courthouse in Murphy, Idaho. Those records have been microfilmed and copies are available at the Idaho State Historical Library in Boise and at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Marriage records for Owyhee County, 1876-1947, have also been microfilmed and copies of those records are also available at the Idaho State Historical Library in Boise and at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Societies and Libraries

 * Owyhee County Historical Society and Museum

Web Sites

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