Multnomah County, Oregon Genealogy

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

Description
Multnomah County was named for the Chinookan word for the "lower river", and also after people recorded in the journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Multnomah's, who inhabited the area of Portland, most specifically on Sauvie Island. The county is located in the northwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Multnomah County Courthouse 1200 SW 1st Avenue Portland, OR 97204-1123 Phone: 971-274-0570 Multnomah County Website
 * County Clerk has divorce, court and land records from 1854
 * County Records Inventory listing Multnomah County records as of October 2006 inventory.

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:

 Defunct Post Offices
 * Albina: Albina post office was in service from 1876 to 1892.

Cemeteries

 * Mt. Calvary &amp; Gethsemani Catholic Cemeteries, online index.

Church Records
 Lutheran
 * Records of Central Lutheran Church, Portland, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).
 * 1781-1969 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 at Ancestry — index & images ($)

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

Court Records

 * County Records Inventory listing Multnomah County records as of October 2006 inventory.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Maps and Gazetteers

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

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Multnomah County for European and African American settlers included:
 * Oregon Trail 1830s to 1890s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon
 * Barlow Road 1846 from The Dalles to Oregon City
 * Oregon Trail 1830s to 1890s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon
 * Barlow Road 1846 from The Dalles to Oregon City

 Rivers and Waterways 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 & images

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

 World War II
 * 1942-1945 at FamilySearch — index

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1868-1991 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.

Voter Registration Records

 * 1908-1958 at FamilySearch — index

Poor Farm Records

 * 1900-1962 at FamilySearch — index

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records


 * 1833-1963 Oregon Wills and Probate Records 1833-1963 at Ancestry.com — index & 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
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Birth

 * 1842-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1855-1970 Oregon, U.S., County Births and Deaths, 1855-1970 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1860-1952 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1903-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage
The Genealogical Forum of Oregon has placed an index on-line to the following marriage books: Access Codes: FI$


 * 1849-1884;1991-2006 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1826-1975 Oregon, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1906-1968 Oregon, U.S., State Marriages, 1906-1968 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * Western States Marriage Index at BYU-Idaho
 * 1855-1901 1855-1901 of the Multnomah County Marriage Books

Death

 * 1855-1970 Oregon, U.S., County Births and Deaths, 1855-1970 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1864-1968 Oregon, U.S., State Deaths, 1864-1968 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1915-1924 Portland, Oregon Deaths, 1915-1924 at Ancestry - index & images ($)

FamilySearch Centers

 * Hillsboro Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * Lake Oswego Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * Portland Oregon FamilySearch Center
 * The Genealogical Forum of Oregon - an affiliate library
 * Hillsboro Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Lake Oswego Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Multnomah County Library Administration 919 NE 19th Ave Suite 250 Portland OR 97232 503-988-7870 Website

Societies
Genealogical Forum of Oregon 2505 SE 11th Ave., Suite B-18 Portland, OR 97202 Phone: 503-963-1932 Email: [mailto:info@gfo.org info@gfo.org] Website Facebook East County Historical Organization PO Box 946 Fairview, OR 97024 503-618-0946 Website Multnomah Historical Association PO Box 19785 2929 SW Multnomah Blvd Portland, OR 97219 503-893-5549 Website David Douglas Historical Society 11300 NE Halsey St Portland, OR 97220 503-252-2900 Website

Websites

 * Multnomah County, OR GenWeb, and OR GenWeb
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * – 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.