Skagit County, Washington Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for the Skagit Indian tribe, which has been indigenous to the area prior to European-American settlement. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Skagit County Courthouse 700 South 2nd Street Mount Vernon, WA 98273 Phone: 360-336-6205 Skagit County Website

County Auditor has birth and death records 1891-1907, marriage records from 1884 and land records from 1872. County Clerk has divorce, probate county records from 1870.

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

 * People have lived in present-day Skagit County and its environs for nearly 10,000 years. They were known as the Coast Salish.
 * 1791 Rosario Strait is on the most western edge of Skagit County. The Spaniard Juan Francisco de Eliza charted it, and named it Canal de Fidalgo.
 * 1824 John Work, a trader with Hudson’s Bay Company, came through the area.
 * 1852 The first Euro-American to live in the county, was Englishman William (Blanket Bill) Jarman with his Coast Salish wife.
 * 1853 March 2, U.S. President Millard Fillmore establishes.
 * 1863 Settlement on the county’s mainland took hold when Michael Sullivan and Samuel Calhoun began diking the marshy flats near present day LaConner.
 * 1860s-1870s New settlements and trading posts appeared on Guemes Island and Samish Island.
 * 1883 November 28, A bill passed in the territorial legislature separated Skagit County from Whatcom County.

Census Records

 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives
 * Federal: 1910
 * Territorial: 1885,1887,1889


 * Census Enumerator Cards, 1944 at Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only Includes: Anacortes, Burlington, La Conner, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley.
 * 1850-1914 Web: Washington, U.S., Various County Census Records, 1850-1914 at Ancestry (Free)

Church Records
Lutheran
 * Records of Burlington Lutheran Church, Burlington, 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
Online Court Indexes and Records
 * 1972-Present Skagit County Superior Court Case Files at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * Skagit Frontier Justice Part of "Frontier Justice’’: Guide to the Court Records of Washington Territory, 1853-1889 at Washington State Digital Archives. (Free Index, no images)
 * The court procedure of Frontier Justice touch nearly all pioneers of Washington Territory. The index has many abstracts that provide names and what is happening in disputes, settlements in civil and criminal cases as well as probate, equity and admiralty cases.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
American Indians
 * 1911-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Japanese
 * 1942-1946 World War II Files
 * 1945-1946 Public Welfare/Social Security Department, (Japanese Internment) Assistance Cases, Evacuee Referrals for Resettlement and Assistance, from the Washington State Archives – Digital Archives

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * County Recorder's Office: check deeds, file mining claims, get assistance in finding ownership of a particular property, and obtain copies of county plat maps. This office has county plat records dating back to 1878, prior records having been destroyed in a fire.

Local Histories

 * History of the Puget Sound Country, Volume 1, Volume 2 by William Farrand Prosser [New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company, 1903] online at Washington History

Maps and Gazetteers

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

Military Records
World War I
 * 1921-1925 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Louis Jacobin, comp. With the colors, from Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan Counties : an honor roll containing a pictorial record of the gallant and courageous men from northwestern Washington, U.S.A., who served in the world war, 1917-1918-1919.Seattle, Washington : Peters Pub. Co, 1921

Naturalization and Citizenship
Washington State Digital Archives has digitized various types of naturalization-related records, including declarations of intentions, delayed birth files, naturalization affidavits, notifications of application for admission to US citizenship, orders fixing naturalization terms, petitions and records, petitions, receipts for certificates of citizenship, record of final decrees of citizenship and record of petitions dockets. Depending on the county, records range from 1854-1988.

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only; 1922-1926, Includes Certificates of naturalization; 1896-1906 Citizenship record; 1944 Concrete census enumerator cards; 1878-1945 Declarations of intention; 1928-1945 Naturalization card index; 1906-1925 Naturalization proceedings and index; 1906-1955 Petition and record; 1930-1945 Reports of naturalization petitions granted or denied

Newspapers

 * Washington Digital Newspaper at Washington State Library
 * Skagit County, Washington Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)
 * 1855-2009 Washington Newspapers, 1855-2009 at MyHeritage — index & images, ($)

Other Records
Public Records
 * Prior to 1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only

Voting Records
 * 1876-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Periodicals

 * Washington Periodicals

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1853-1929 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only

School Records
Online School Indexes and Records
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only

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
1892-1946 Birth and death record index; 1869-1907 Birth certificates; 1869-1907 Births (delayed); 1892-1946 Birth and death record index
 * 1803-2010 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only; Includes:
 * 1871-1921 Department of Health, Delayed Birth Records at Washington State Archives - index and images; includes some earlier and later dates
 * 1873-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1891-1908 Birth Records, 1891-1908 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Marriage

 * 1801-1962 Washington, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1855-2008 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1884-2000 Marriage Records, 1884-2000 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection.(Free)
 * 1968-1997 Department of Health, Marriage Certificates, 1968-1997 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1969-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index Includes: 1891-1898 Birth, Marriage, Death Index; 1923-1947 Index to Licenses; 1909-1939 Affidavits; 1940-1985 Applications Index; 1905-2001 Applications; 1884-1923 Certificate Index; 1940-1959 Licenses; 1925-1994 Record Index; 1891-1948 Register; 1891-1948 Returns
 * 1969-2022 Department of Health, Marriage Index, 1969-2022 at Washington State Archives - index and images

Death

 * 1881-1979 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1891-1908 Death Returns, 1891-1908 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection
 * 1907-1960 Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960 at MyHeritage — index, ($)
 * 1907-1960 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1907-1997 Department of Health, Death Certificates, July 1, 1907-1997 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1907-2020 Department of Health, Death Index, 1907-1960; 1965-2020 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1915-1928 Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Fatal Accident Cards, 1915-1928 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1919-1921 Department of Health, Fetal Death Records, 1919-1921 at Washington State Archives - index and images

Divorce

 * 1968-1997 Department of Health, Divorce Certificates, 1968-1997 at Washington State Archives - index and images
 * 1969-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1969-2017 Department of Health, Divorce Index, 1969-2017 at Washington State Archives - index and images

FamilySearch Centers

 * Camano Island-Stanwood Washington Family History Center
 * Everett Washington Family History Center
 * Lake Stevens Washington Family History Center
 * Mount Vernon Washington Family History Center
 * Oak Harbor Washington Family History Center
 * Port Townsend Washington Family History Center
 * San Juan Washington Family History Center
 * Northwest African American Museum - an affiliate library

Libraries
Resources for Skagit County are available in libraries, archives, and other repositories at all levels: the town, the county, the state (including universities), and the nation.


 * Anacortes Public Library 1220 10th Street Anacortes, WA 98221 Phone: 360-293-1910
 * Burlington Public Library 820 East Washington Avenue Burlington, WA 98233 Phone: 360-755-0760
 * La Conner Regional Library 614 Morris Street La Conner, WA 98257 Phone: 360-466-3352
 * Mount Vernon City Library 315 Snoqualmie Street Mount Vernon, WA 98273 Phone: 360-336-6249
 * Sedro-Woolley Public Library 802 Ball Street Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284 Phone: 360-855-1166
 * Upper Skagit Library District 45952 Main Street Concrete, WA 98237 Phone: 360-853-7716

Societies

 * Skagit Valley Genealogy Society 820 E Washington Ave Burlington, WA 98233 E-mail: [mailto:emailofsociety genealogy0715@gmail.com]

Websites

 * Skagit WAGenWeb
 * USGW Archives
 * Washington State Digital 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.