Garfield County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  Garfield County    Guide to  genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1881, when the county was formed.

County Formation
Garfield County, Washington was created 29 November 1881 from Columbia County.

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

Boundary Changes

 * Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

Neighboring Counties
is surrounded by: Asotin | Columbia | Whitman | Wallowa County, Oregon

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

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

Census

 * 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

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

 * Historic sketches of Walla Walla, Whitman, Columbia and Garfield Counties, Washington Territory, and Umatilla County, Oregon (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

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. Garfield County -- Thumbnail History, History Link.org Essay 7728.


 * Native Americans followed the Nez Perce Trail through Garfield County for many years.
 * 1806 - Lewis and Clark's first arrival in what is now Garfield County.
 * 1834 - Captain B. L. E. Bonneville passed through Garfield County, surveying the region on behalf of the United States government.
 * 1860 - One of the earliest permanent white settlers in what would become Garfield County.
 * 1870s - Settlers coming into the area began to establish farms and raise grain.
 * 1881-November 29 - Garfield County was formed from the eastern portion of Columbia County.

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.)


 * 1886-1945 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Naturalization Records, 1892-1952 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)  B


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


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

Probate Records

 * 1860-1962 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Birth

 * 1891-1907 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Marriage

 * Marriages from 16 Feb 1882 to 12 May 1889 are available 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.


 * 1891-1907 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Websites
Sites with online indexes or images of records:


 * Web Sites at RootsWeb - Garfield WA (Free)
 * The Garfield County WAGenWeb Project (free), a member of The WAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project (free) for Garfield County. (Mirror site)
 * 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.

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

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
Garfield County Courthouse PO Box 915; Pomeroy, Washington 99347 Phone: 509.843.3731 County Auditor has birth and death records 1891-1907 marriage and land records from 1891 and burial records 1891-1918. County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records from 1882.

Libraries

 * Pomeroy (Denny Ashby) Library, 856 Arlington St, Pomeroy 99347  Phone: (509) 843-3710


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:

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