Oregon, Wasco County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection includes digital images of records filmed at the office of the Wasco County Clerk in The Dalles, Oregon. It includes Land records (1854-1960) and Marriage records (1856-1920).

Land transactions were recorded to document the transfer of land ownership, establish legal rights to land, track responsibilities for tax revenues, and designate persons to serve in various functions of the county, such as maintaining public roads in the early times.

Marriage records were created to legalize marital relationships and to protect the interests of the wife and other heirs to legal claims on property.

Record Content
Land records generally include the following information:


 * Names of interested individuals
 * Date of transaction
 * Monies exchanged
 * Legal description of the land parcel
 * Name of witnesses
 * Any other pertinent information, such as: death or estate information or names of dependent children

Marriage records generally include the following information:


 * Name of the groom and bride
 * County of residence
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of witnesses
 * Name of the Justice of the Peace

How to Use the Record
To begin your search in the land records, it is helpful to know the following:


 * Names of interested parties
 * Approximate date of the transaction
 * Location of the property

To begin your search in the marriage records, it is helpful to know the following:


 * The name of the person at the time of marriage
 * The approximate marriage date
 * The marriage place
 * The name of the intended spouse

Search the Collection =
To search the collection ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the "County" category ⇒Select the "Record Type, Date Range and Volume" category which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

The following examples show ways you can use the information:


 * Use the residence and names to locate church and census records.
 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the parents’ birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * The name of the officiator at the wedding may be a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
 * Search for the land transactions of all members of the family. The parents may have sold or given property to a son or daughter. Such transactions confirm relationships that might not be found in other records.
 * Search for records of people in the county who shared a surname. These may have been the couple’s parents, uncles, or other relatives. Your ancestor may have been an heir who sold inherited land that had belonged to parents or grandparents.
 * To find later generations, search the land records a few years before and after a person’s death. Your ancestor may have sold or given land to his or her heirs before death, or the heirs may have sold the land after the individual died. For daughters, the names of their husbands are often provided. For sons, the given names of their wives may be included. Heirs may have sold their interest in the land to another heir, even though the record may not indicate this. Continue this process for identifying each succeeding generation.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Some counties were subdivided or the boundaries may have changed. Consider searching neighboring counties as well since that courthouse may have been more convenient for the person.
 * When searching land records, one deed does not usually give sufficient information about a couple and their children. A careful study of all deeds for the person or the family will yield a richer return of information.
 * For each parcel of land owned, you should obtain two documents:


 * 1) The deed that documents when ownership transferred to the individual or the family
 * 2) The deed that documents when ownership was transferred to someone else


 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as records created after the late 1800s.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one marriage record to another record.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Check for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local historical and genealogical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

Related Websites
Wasco County, Oregon Free Public Records

Related Wiki Articles

 * Wasco County, Oregon
 * Oregon Land and Property Records
 * Oregon Vital Records

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation:

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