Island County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  Island County   Guide to  genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1861, when the county was formed.

Parent County(s)
Island County, Washington was created 6 January 1853.

County Seat: Coupeville. For Courthouse, see Archives, libraries, etc.

Neighboring Counties
is surrounded by: Jefferson | Kitsap | San Juan | Skagit | Snohomish | Yakima

Boundary Changes

 * Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

Topics
The types of records that follow are used for genealogy and family history. Most tell what you may learn and how to locate the records. Links to Internet sites usually go directly to entries with names, images, or information.

Cemeteries
In 1998 Ralph Seefeld and the Genealogical Society of South Whidbey Island (GSSWI) set out to record the inscriptions on all the gravestones in the cemeteries of Island County, Washington. These records are now available on the GSSWI website.

http://www.gsswi.org/cemetery/cemeteries.php


 * Alpha list of cemeteries in the county with links to online transcripts.

Census

 * See Washington Census for online indexes and images of US federal censuses. of: 1856, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940.
 * See statewide printed indexes, including 1856.
 * Check county indexes when online indexes fail. Created by people who knew the families of the area, they are often more accurate and they may have added insights. See periodicals and local libraries or other record holders.


 * 1890 Veterans
 * 1900
 * 1910
 * 1920
 * 1930
 * 1940
 * 1940


 * 1904-1908 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Church Records

 * Church records (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) for are listed in the . (Press space bar to select town.)

Court Records
Many of your ancestors may be found in court records as defendants, plaintiffs, witnesses, or jurors. Court records can establish family relationships and places of residence, occupations, and other family history information. See Washington Court Records for the various courts through the years.

For specialized court records, see Divorce · Guardianship · Land · Naturalization · Probate

Japanese
World War II Files, 1942-1946

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

Guardianship
Guardianship of orphans or adults unable to manage their own affairs were handled by the probate and the Federal District courts. See Washington Court Records.

History Timeline
Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library Emphasis for this timeline is on events that affected migration, records, or record-keeping. Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Wilma, David. Island County -- Thumbnail History, History Link.org Essay 7523.


 * For thousands of years, the only occupants of the Pacific Northwest were Indians
 * 1792 - The area that comprises Island County was first explored by Captain George Vancouver.
 * 1850 September 27 - Congress passed the Oregon Donation Land Act, granting a "donation" of free land -- 320 acres to each single man and 640 acres to each married couple -- to anyone who had settled on the land before December 1 of that year.
 * 1850 October 15 - Colonel Isaac Neff Ebey was the first man to file a claim, for 640 acres, in Central Whidbey Island.
 * 1853 January 6 - Island County was created by the Oregon Territorial Legislature from a portion of Thurston County.
 * 1850s - Irish immigrants began to settle in the Oak Harbor area, followed by Dutch immigrants in the 1890s.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Declarations of Intent before 1906 often include the nation of origin, his* foreign and "Americanized" names, residence, and date of arrival. See Washington Naturalization and Citizenship for more information. (*Women were not naturalized until 1922 in the United States.)

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.


 * 1890-1974 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Naturalization Records, 1890-1974 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Newspapers

 * Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)

Obituaries
Also check:


 * Newspapers of
 * Local Funeral Homes, Libraries, or family records.
 * Obituaries of neighboring counties

Ralph Seefeld, with the help of The Genealogical Society of South Whidbey Island has collected virtually all obituaries for Island County residents from local newspapers. These obituaries range from the 1890s through December 2010; however, there are gaps for The Island County Times in the early 1890’s and the South Whidbey Record before 1935 and during 1944. An index to the obituaries is now available on the GSSWI website.

http://www.gsswi.org/obits/searchObits.php

Postmaster Indexes

 * Prior to 1965 Part of: County Records, Prior to 1965 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Probate Records

 * County Probate Records, 1853-1929 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

School Records

 * 1898-1932 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Birth

 * 1870-1907 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Birth Records 1891-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Divorce
Divorce records give the names of the parties and may give the date and place of their marriage. See Washington Vital Records for excellent information.

Death

 * 1870-1907 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)


 * Washington Death Certificates 1907-1960 A free internet index to the 1907-1960 death certificates can be found at FamilySearch Record Search, no images are available. A transcribed death certificate may contain such information as name of the deceased, date and place of death, age, gender, birth date and birth place, mother’s maiden name and name of spouse, place of residence, occupation and certificate numbers.

Websites
Sites with online indexes or images of records:


 * USGenWeb Archives
 * WAGenWeb
 * Current Collections at Washington State Digital Archives (Free) Type county name, click Search, then select a collection. Collections were posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page in November, 2013.
 * Historical Collections at FamilySearch.org. (Free) Click "Last Updated." Collections through October 2013 have been posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page.

Sites that search the Internet for records online:


 * Island/ Web Sites at RootsWeb - Island WA (Free)
 * Linkpendium (free)
 * CyndisList (free)

Major catalogs to offline genealogical records: Catalogs refer to books, microfilm, manuscripts, and/or Internet images and indexes for various topics.


 * for (Select topics. Add comma to select towns.)
 * WorldCat To find libraries near you that have items of interest, see WorldCat Online Catalog.
 * Allen County Public Library (Indiana)
 * See also local libraries and Washington Archives and Libraries

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


 * Check websites and catalogs, such as items in (Utah) or Allen County Public Library (Indiana) for.

Courthouse
Island County Courthouse NE 6th &amp; Main St; PO Box 5000 Coupeville, WA 98239-5000 Phone 360.679.7359 County Auditor has birth and death records 1870-1907, marriage records from 1855 land records from 1853. County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records.

Family History Centers

 * Oak Harbor Family History Center

Libraries

 * Clinton Library, 4781 Deer Lake Rd, Clinton 98236  Phone: (360) 341-4280


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Coupeville Library, 788 Nw Alexander, Coupeville 98239  Phone: (360) 678-4911


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Freeland Library, 5495 Harbor Ave, Freeland 98249  Phone: (360) 331-7323


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Langley Library, 104 Second St., Langley 98260  Phone: (360) 221-4383


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Oak Harbor Library, 1000 Se Regatta Drive, Oak Harbor 98277  Phone: (360) 675-5115


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:

Societies

 * Genealogical Society of South Whidbey Island www.gsswi.org
 * Island County Historical Society www.islandhistory.org

Towns and Communities
See a list of towns and communities in Island County per Wikipedia.