eService Center - Administrative Office of the Courts

Where can I search for public records prior to the early 1980s as well as for more current records?

http://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/archives_state.aspx

The following resources are available for help with researching records prior to the 1980s.

The Washington State Archives has Inmate files, admissions and Commitment Registers, and Mug shots for the Washington State Penitentiary and Reformatory from 1877-1961.  The Territorial District Court cases include abstracts of more than 37,000 cases in civil, criminal, and probate proceedings.  An index includes the names of all plaintiffs and defendants.  Contact either the Washington State Government Archives or the nearest Washington State Archives Regional Branch to access this index.

The Washington State Library has several publications produced by the Daughters of the American Revolution: Family Records of Washington Pioneers, Genealogical and Historical Gleanings in 9 volumes, Miscellaneous Records:  Series 2:  Volumes 5-38.  The library also has Every Name Index to the Washington State Society Daughters of the American Revolution Genealogical Records Committee Collection covering the years 1927-2000 Series 1-3.  These publications may only be used at the library.

The Washington State Archives has a microfilm index of deaths in Washington from 1907-1979.  The index shows the name of deceased, date of death, place of death, age at time of death, and certificate number.  A microfiche index of deaths in Washington from 1965-2000 is organized by the Soundex system.  The index shows the name of the deceased, date of death, place of death, age at time of death, and certificate number.  Contact either the Washington State Government Archives or the nearest Washington State Archives Regional Branch to access this index.

For use in the library, the Washington State Library has microfilm indexes of deaths covering the period 1907-2000. The indexes are organized by the Soundex system.   Additional print transcriptions, records, or indexes for deaths are also available in the Northwest Collection.

Please note copies of death certificates dating from July 1, 1907, through the present may only be obtained through the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), Center for Health Statistics.

Beginning in 1968 the Washington State Department of Health assumed the official duty of recording marriages and divorces for the state.

The Washington State Archives has a Soundex index of Divorce Records arranged by the name of Husband or name of Wife.  Available information includes the husband’s name, wife’s name, date of divorce, city, county, and certificate number.  This index is available on microfiche.  Contact either the Washington State Government Archives or the nearest Washington State Archives Regional Branch to access this index.

Please note copies of divorce certificates from years between 1968 and the present may only be obtained through the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), Center for Health Statistics.

The Washington State Library has gazetteers and business directories dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Among some of the titles are Pacific Coast Business (1867), Disturnell’s Business Directory and Gazetteer of the West Coast of North America (1882), McKenney’s Pacific Coast Directory (1883-4, 1886-7), and Oregon, Washington and Idaho Gazetteer and Business Directory (1886-7, 1892).   These are available for on-site use only.

The Washington State Library has access to HeritageQuest Online which includes: ProQuest’s Genealogy & Local History Collection of family and local history books; images and head-of-household indexes to the U.S. Federal Census, 1790-1930; the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), which is a subject index to genealogy and local history periodicals; and digitized images of Revolutionary War Pension files. The HeritageQuest Online resource is available for on-site use only.

The Washington State Government Archives has licensing records spanning from 1880-1985 for a variety of professions, including barbers, dentists, drugless healers, embalmers, notary public, optometry, physicians, registered nurses, and veterinarians.

The Washington State Library has Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps and Metsker atlases of topographical maps for each Washington County available for on-site use only.

The State Archives Regional Branches have multiple types of marriage records (Marriage Returns, Marriage Registers, Applications, Licenses, Affidavits, and Certificates) which were filed with county auditors and date from a county’s formation through 1968. Additionally, the Regional Archives can provide assistance in locating divorce records for this period.  Contact the Washington State Archives Regional Branch representing the appropriate county.

Beginning in 1968 the Washington State Department of Health assumed the official duty of recording marriages and divorces for the state.

The Washington State Archives has a Soundex index to Marriage Records arranged by name of groom or name of bride.  Available information includes groom’s name, wife’s name and maiden name (if different), date of marriage, city, county, and certificate number.  This index is available on microfiche.

The Washington State Archives Regional Branches may have additional marriage records filed with counties from 1968 through the present, such as Applications, Licenses, Affidavits, and (county) Certificates.   Contact either the Washington State Government Archives or the nearest Washington State Archives Regional Branch to access this index.

Please note that copies of marriage and divorce certificates between 1968 and the present may only be obtained through the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), Center for Health Statistics.

The Washington State Government Archives has military records, serviceman cards, bonus applications, or rosters from the Indian War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War. Admissions files for the Orting Soldiers’ Home, 1891-1987, and Retsil Veterans’ Home, 1910-1992 are also available.

Some naturalization records are available through the Secretary of State's Historical Records Search page.

The State Archives Regional Branches have Naturalization, Probate, and other court records collected on a county-by-county basis. Contact the Washington State Archives Regional Branch representing the appropriate county.

The Washington State Library has copies of Washington newspapers dating from 1853 through the present available on microfilm. Most microfilm is available through interlibrary loan from your local public library.  A library system may be loaned ten rolls or less per request per person for a 3-week period (including mailing time) with no renewals.  The most current holdings information on newspapers is in the Library Catalog. Information is also available in the Washington State Union List of Newspapers on Microfilm which is held in many libraries or may be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

The Washington State Library has a large number of local genealogical and historical periodicals available for reference including the following:  Bulletin, Yakima Valley Genealogical Society, from 1969 forward; Columbia:  The Magazine of Northwest History from Spring 1987 through the present; Courier, East Benton County Historical Society from July 1979 through the present; EWGS Bulletin from March 1983 through the present; Franklin Flyer from 1968 through the present; Okanogan County Heritage from 1963 through the present; Oregon Historical Quarterly from September 1926 through the present; Pacific Northwest Quarterly from 1936 through the present; Pacific Northwesterner from 1956 through the present; Sou’wester from 1966 through the present; Trail Breakers from 1983 through the present; Tri-City Genealogical Society Bulletin from April 1973 through the present; Washington Historical Quarterly from 1906-1935.  The library also has current issues available of some general genealogical journals including: Genealogy Bulletin, Family Tree Magazine, Family Chronicle, and HeritageQuest. To find more information on these or other periodicals search the Library Journals Catalog. You may request a copy of an article from any of our journals by making an interlibrary loan request from your local library.

The Washington State Government Archives has application files of people claiming ancestry to a Washington Pioneer (arrived in Washington prior to 1889).  The files include copies of vital records and other records documenting ancestry and lineage; indexed and cross-indexed to include the names of applicants and all ancestors.

The Washington State Archives Regional Branches have school censuses which were used to count children attending Kindergarten through 12th grade in school districts throughout the state. The censuses were conducted at the school district level and date from the late 1800s to the early 1930s.  These records do not exist for all districts and records for any one district often do not exist for the entire date span.  Contact the Washington State Archives Regional Branch representing the appropriate county.

The Washington State Library has a large collection of telephone directories for major and small towns in Washington available for on-site use only.  The date spans of the directories range from 1901 to the 1950s and 1960s to the present.

The State Archives has microfilm copies of the assessments for all privately owned property in Washington Territory.  The assessments show location of land (by legal description), names of owners, acreage, assessed value of land, and improvements. Years available are 1857, 1860, 1874, and 1875.  Contact either the Washington State Government Archives or the nearest Washington State Archives Regional Branch.

Some territorial censuses are available through the Secretary of State's Genealogy at the Washington State Library page.

The State and Regional Archives have territorial census records.  These censuses were taken intermittently in counties between 1857 – 1892.  The censuses are not indexed and not every county conducted a census each year.  Contact either the Washington State Government Archives or the Washington State Archives Regional Branch representing the appropriate county.

The Washington State Library has Washington Territorial Census Rolls for 1857-1892 available on microfilm. These censuses vary by county and years.  Some local genealogical societies have published indexes to Washington censuses which may be in the online catalog.

The Washington State and Regional Archives have select census data and indexes of the U.S. Federal Census.  Contact the Washington State Government Archives and the Washington State Archives Regional Branch for information about this record.  The official repository of the U. S. Federal Census is the National Archives and Records Administration.

The Washington State Library also has Federal census records of Washington State for the years 1850 – 1880 and 1900 - 1940 which are available on Ancestry.com, which the library subscribes to.  The State Library also has a copy of the 1790 Census in it's Rare Federal Documents.

Both the Washington State and Regional Archives have additional records of interest to genealogists, such as institutional records. Contact either the Washington State Government Archives or a Washington State Archives Regional Branch for assistance or click here to go the Archival Records Search page.

The Washington State Library has some additional collections of materials of interest to genealogists:  the Northwest Collection (materials documenting Washington State’s history and culture), the Regional Depository collection of federal publications (dating to the beginnings of our country), and the Depository collection of state agency publications.  Further information on these collections is available at the Washington State Library.

• Miscellaneous Resources 
  BRB's Free Resource Center, provided by BRB Publications, Inc., includes links to various free and for-fee public record sites, including:
  • Government
  • Federal Courts
  • Motor Vehicle
  • Death Index
  • Schools and Universities
  • Legislative Sites

See also: 

• Answer: National Victim Resources
• Answer: Public Records Available for Court Cases on the Washington Courts Website

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