Washington County, Utah

Stake(s): Parowan Stake, Utah  · St. George Stake, Utah  · Zion Park Stake, Utah

Central  · Enterprise  · Grafton · Gunlock · Hamblin · Harrisburg · Hebron · Hurricane · Ivins · La Verkin · Leeds · Little Pinto or Pinto · Pine Valley · Rockville · Santa Clara · Springdale · St. George · Toquerville · Veyo · Virgin · Washington

Church units without place names: Apple Valley  · Dammeron Valley · Duncan's Retreat · Hildale · New Harmony · Pintura · Silver Reef ·

To research:

• Price ?? In Washington County?

Court Records

• Court Records . of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Directories

• Directories . of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Emigration and Immigration

• Emigration and Immigration. of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Ethnic and Other Groups

Funeral Homes

Hurricane Valley Mortuary^[2]
140 North Main Street
Hurricane, UT
Phone:(435) 635-9922
Fax: 435-635-3200

Metcalf Mortuary^[3]
288 West St George Blvd
St George, UT 84770
Phone: 435-673-4221
Toll Free Phone: 888-673-4221
Fax: 435-674-0209

Pine VIew Mortuary^[4]
566 North Mall Dr
St. George , UT 84790
Phone: 435-986-4222
Fax: 435-986-4223

Spilsbury Mortuary^[5]
110 South Bluff St
St George, UT 84770
Phone:435-673-2454
Toll Free Phone: 888-673-2454
Fax: 435-673-0911

Gazetteers

Genealogy

• Genealogies . of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

A FamilySearch Community Tree is available for this place.

Guardianship

• Guardianship Records . of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

History

• Histories. of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Named for George Washington, the first President of the United States.

A History of Washington County online at Marriott Library Digital Collections.

History Timeline

Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Wikipedia for Washington County. 

• 1852. 3 March. Washington County founded.  Named after George Washington, first President of the United States.
• 1854. City of Santa Clara settled by Jacob Hamlin.  Location of Jacob Hamblin home.
• 1861. St. George founded as a cotton mission under direction of Brigham Young.  Named after LDS Apostle George A. Smith. County seat.
• 1862. Springdale settled as Mormon farming community. Now thriving tourist industry. Located just outside Zion National Park.
• 1891. City of Enterprise founded by Orson Welcome Huntsman. Early residents were Mormon settlers.
• 1896. City of Hurricane settled.  Received its name after a whirlwind blew top off buggy that Erastus Snow, early LDS Apostle, was riding in.
• 1963. City of Hildale founded.  Headquarters of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Local Histories

• Stout, Wayne. A History of Rockville, Utah 1862-1972. Salt Lake City, Utah, 1972. Digital version at Internet Archive.

Land and Property

• Land and Property Records. of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.
• Maps listing the names of landholders locate where an ancestor lived. The Family History Library has a plat map for St. George:
• Pioneer Map: City of St. George, Washington County, Utah. N.p.: 1982?. (Family History Library FHL map 979.248/S1 E7p.) This map lists the names of land owners on the map and the designation of the ward where they lived. The index to this map has St. George wards listed in: Hardesty, Patricia N. Pioneer Map, City of St. George, Washington County, Utah Index with LDS Wards. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982. (Family History Library FHL fiche 6031575; book 979.248/S1 E7p index.)
• Washington County Document Search at Washington County Recorders office, Deed from 1983, Maps and Surveys earlier. Older documents require visit to

       Recorders Office
       87 North 200 East STE 101
       St. George, UT 84770
       Phone: (435)634-5709

Maps

Google highway map of Washington County 2012

Migration

Early migration routes to and from Washington County, Utah for emigrant settlers included:

• Mormon Trail 1846 to 1869 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah^[6]
• Mormon Trail to Southern California 1847 from Salt Lake City, Utah to Los Angeles, California^[7]
• Union Pacific Railroad 1869 Ogden, Utah (among others) to Omaha, Nebraska^[8]

Military

• Military Records . of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Native Races

• Native Races Records . of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Small town newspapers contain obituaries, birth or death notices, community news (such as the visit of someone's relatives), legal notices and provide historical content. See Utah newspapers for tips, resources, and details.

• Utah Digital Newspapers Project presents newspaper images online. Search All Newspapers by name or keywords, or Browse by County to view all newspapers digitized for Washington County, Utah.
  • Washington County News, covering 1908-1923 are included.
• Newspapers . of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.
• Existing copies of newspapers. newspapers for Washington County, Utah] are listed in Chronicling America by Library of Congress (LOC).
  • The list by dates and towns (from Chronicling America)
    
• Color Country Spectrum (Saint George, Utah) Ancestry.com ($) This database is a fully searchable text version of the newspaper for the following years: 1974 and 1976-77.
  
• The Spectrum  On-line issues available from 4/24/2006 to present.
   

Obituaries

Obituaries may mention birth, marriage, spouse, parents, and living family members. See Utah Obituaries for state level compendiums and United States Obituaries for tips and insights regarding this record type.

Obituaries for residents may be found in:

• Newspapers of Washington County, Utah
• Local Funeral Homes, Societies, Libraries, or in family records.
• Obituaries of neighboring counties
• Newspapers of major cities: Deseret News and/or The Salt Lake Tribune both in Salt Lake City

• Obituaries . of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

USGenWeb Archives of Washington County, Utah contains the obituaries of 2004 - 2005

Periodicals

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

In Utah, such records may be difficult to find. Try records of the church they may have attended. Realize, however, that such records may have not been preserved, and would not be in the typical records of membership.

It is possible there were records kept by civilian authorities. Ask town or county officials and local librarians and the State Archives. Also try National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (online).

Probate Records

• Probate Records . of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Public Records

• Public Records . of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Resource Repositories

Courthouse

87 North 200 East, 3rd Floor
St. George, Utah 84770
p: (435) 634-5728
f: (435) 656-3003

County Clerk/Auditor

Washington County Utah
197 East Tabernacle
St. George, UT 84770
Clerk/Auditor's phone (435) 634-5712

County Seat: St. George

Family History Centers

• Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
• Bloomington Utah Family History Center
• Enterprise Utah Family History Center
• Ivins Utah Family History Center
• New Harmony Utah Family History Center
• St George Utah Green Valley Family History Center
• St George Utah Large Multi-stake Family History Center
• St George Utah Morningside Family History Center
• Washington Utah Buena Vista Family History Center

Libraries

• Archives, Libraries. of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Societies

Schools

• School Records . of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

• Since 1913 - Dixie High School Yearbooks since 1913 at Skalooza - free.
  

Social Life and Customs

• Social Life and Customs Records. of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Taxation

• Taxation Records . of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Vital Records

• Vital Records . of Washington County, Utah are listed in the FamilySearch Library. To obtain closer-to-home access to resources, see. public libraries.

Birth

Below are the best sources to find birth information (dates and places of birth and names of parents) for Washington County, Utah. Also available: How to Find Birth Information in Utah.

Follow the suggestions under the year span that matches when your ancestor was born:

Before 1852

Washington County, Utah was formed on 3 March 1852.

Before county formation, go to Utah Censuses to locate the family around the time of birth.

1852-1897

No birth records were created for Washington County, Utah by either by county or state civil authorities in this time period.

Follow these suggestions to find birth information for this time period:

• Utah Death Certificates 1904-1961 give birth date and place (recorded at the time of death), names of parents, and name of spouse. Search by names or by exact death date.
• Church records usually give birth date and place and names of parents.
• See also other records that give birth information, such as Death records, Census, Cemeteries, Obituaries
• See also neighboring counties for birth information, due to family members living in that area, religious preferences, convenience, and other reasons.

1898-present

County clerks became responsible for recording births beginning in 1898.^[9] In 1905, the State Department of Health assumed responsibility and required the counties to forward copies of the records to them.

It took a few years after the requirements for people, doctors, midwives, and officials to comply, so some early birth registrations were missed.

Records open to the public

Birth records created more than 100 years ago^[10] are open to the public.

• 1898-1905 Inventory of originals, Series #3166 at Utah State Archives. Not online, no online index. There are no names of children in the records.
  • FamilySearch Library copy: FSL film 1730426 .
  • Idea: use censuses and church records to learn those missing children's names.
• 1906-1910 online images for Washington County, Utah at the State Archives. Browse the "not yet indexed" area by year and county. Most entries do have names of children.
  
  • Later records open to the public are housed at the Utah State Archives, but not online.
• Online Utah, Births and Christenings, 1892-1941, a FamilySearch Historical Records Collection. (Index only, free). Created from the old IGI, this is a mix of some extracted records and submissions by patrons. Please realize it is not complete.

Restricted records

Access to official birth records within 100 years is restricted to those who meet certain requirements. Order copies:

• Office of Vital Records and Statistics, 288 North 1460 West, Salt Lake City, Utah, Phone: (801) 538-6105. How to order online, by mail, or in person.

• Southwest Utah Public Health Department Washington County, 620 South 400 East, St. George, UT 84770. Phone (435) 673-3528

Marriage

• 1855-1936 - Western States Marriage Index. Includes Washington County 1855-1936.^[11]

• 1862-1919 - Craig, Dr. Wesley W. Early Marriages (1862-1919) in Washington County, Utah: Male and Female Surname Indexes at UTGenWeb - free.
  

Death

• Utah Cemeteries and Burial Database at Utah State History.

• Utah Death Certificates 1904 - 1960 at Utah Government Services, Division of Archives & Records Services. This is a free internet search, the minimum information needed is the name of the deceased. Utah requires a death certificate before a burial is completed.  A death certificate may contain information as to the name of the deceased, date of death, and place of death, as well as the age, birthdate, parents, gender, marital status, spouse and place of residence.
  

Death Record Substitutes

• 1870 - U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 at Ancestry ($). Includes 1870 Washington County, Utah mortality schedule.
  

Voting Registers

Towns and Communities

Cities

Enterprise | Hildale | Hurricane | Ivins | La Verkin | Santa Clara | St. George | Washington

Towns

Apple Valley | Leeds | New Harmony | Pintura | Rockville | Springdale | Toquerville | Virgin

Unincorporated Communities

Central | Dammeron Valley | Gunlock | Pine Valley | Veyo

Ghost Towns

Duncan's Retreat | Grafton | Hamblin | Harrisburg | Hebron | Little Pinto | Silver Reef

References

1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Wasington County, Utah Page 688 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
2. ↑ Funeral Home and Cemetery Directory.(Youngstown, OH: Nomis Publications, Inc., c2009,937.
3. ↑ Funeral Home and Cemetery Directory.(Youngstown, OH: Nomis Publications, Inc., c2009,939.
4. ↑ Funeral Home and Cemetery Directory.(Youngstown, OH: Nomis Publications, Inc., c2009,939.
5. ↑ Funeral Home and Cemetery Directory.(Youngstown, OH: Nomis Publications, Inc., c2009,939.
6. ↑ "The Pioneer Story: The Mormon Pioneer Trail" in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at http://lds.org/gospellibrary/pioneer/pioneerstory.htm (accessed 18 July 2011).
7. ↑ "Jefferson Hunt" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Hunt (accessed 6 September 2011).
8. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Union Pacific Railroad" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_Railroad (accessed 14 September 2011).
9. ↑ Utah State Archives, Birth Records guide, accessed 28 July 2012.)
10. ↑ State Department of Health Birth, Marriage, and Death Certificates page. Accessed 7/31/2012
11. ↑ "Washington County, Utah: Family History and Genealogy, Census, Birth, Marriage, Death Vital Records and More," Linkpendium, http://www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/USA/UT/Washington/, accessed 1 February 2012.