Montana, Cascade County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection consists of county record collections from the following record custodians. History Museum in Great Falls:
 * Probate
 * Voter register
 * Naturalization and immigration records

Great Falls Genealogy Society:
 * Probate case files, # 535-3165, 1903-1926
 * Court orders for dependent children, 1903-1937
 * Old age applications
 * Naturalization records, pre 1945

County Clerk's Office: This collection covers the years 1880 to 2009.
 * Deeds from 1880-1941 and index to 1995.
 * Includes mining deeds, 1880-1891 from Meagher County

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth
 * The name of the child
 * Child's date of birth
 * Child's gender
 * Child's race
 * Parents' names
 * Parents' birth place
 * Parents' residence
 * Date of filing

Death
 * Name of deceased
 * Age in years, months and days
 * Gender, race, marital status and residence of deceased
 * Birth date and place of birth
 * Date of death
 * Cause of death
 * Name of spouse, if married
 * Date and place of burial
 * Filing date of death record
 * Book and page number where recorded

Marriage
 * Groom's name, age, race and residence
 * Groom's date of birth and place of birth
 * How many times previously married
 * Groom's parents' names, including maiden name of mother
 * Bride's name, age, race and residence
 * Bride's date of birth and place of birth
 * How many times previously married
 * Bride's parents' names, including maiden name of mother
 * Names of witnesses

Naturalization
 * Name, age and occupation of applicant
 * Physical description
 * Birth date and place of birth
 * Current residence
 * Last residence before immigration
 * Marital status
 * Name of spouse
 * Spouse's birth date and place of birth
 * Spouse's last place of residence
 * Date and place of arrival in the U.S.
 * Court and date of filing

Court orders
 * Name of deceased
 * Name of executor
 * Court where will is filed
 * Date of filing
 * Conditions of the will
 * Name of spouse
 * Names of dependents or minor children
 * Name of other relatives
 * Names of neighbors and witnesses
 * Land descriptions
 * Inventory of property or estate

Military
 * Names of citizens subject to military duty
 * If citizen is able-bodied
 * If citizen is between the ages of 18 and 45
 * If citizen is a civil military officer
 * If citizen is a civil officer of the state
 * If citizen is subject to military duty

School
 * Name and age of child
 * Names of parents or guardians
 * County, town and school district
 * Month of birth
 * Gender
 * Address

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The age of your ancestor
 * The names of relatives
 * The type of event such as marriage or naturalization
 * The approximate date of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the age to calculate the birth date to find vital records such as birth, christening, marriage, and death
 * Use the probate date as a substitute for the death date
 * Use the name of the undertaker, mortuary, or cemetery to find funeral and cemetery records
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family
 * Use the occupations to find employment or military records
 * Use the information to find the family in census records

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Montana.
 * Montana Guided Research
 * Montana Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Montana Research, 1880-Present
 * Montana Record Finder

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Treasure State Lines. Great Falls, Montana : Great Falls Genealogy Society, 1976- FHL 978.6611/G1 D25t


 * Census of Hill 57, 1956
 * 1910 census card index
 * birth and death index, 1895-1907
 * birth records, 1893-1933
 * cemetery records, ca. 1880s-1980s
 * court orders for dependent children, 1916-1937
 * death records, 1893-1908
 * deed records, 1887-1934
 * index to obituaries, 1880-2002
 * index to probate records and abstracts of wills, 1888-1978


 * indigent burials
 * marriage records, 1950-1967
 * military records, 1896-1911
 * identification card index, ca. 1958-1978
 * municipal census
 * naturalization records, 1888-1999
 * old age pension applications, 1923-1935
 * pedigree charts, 1500s-2000s
 * probate case files, 1903-1926, 1888-1978

Great Falls
 * probate records, 1888-1978
 * record of separate property of married women and sole traders, 1895-1914
 * record of wills, 1895-1930
 * school census records, 1896-1955
 * tax records, 1889-1936
 * voter registration cards, ca. 1937-1992
 * Meagher County, mining deeds, 1880-1891
 * Great Falls Tribune. Obituaries : some early Great Falls Pioneers, 1917-1944
 * Official census of the City of Great Falls, Montana, 1896-1913
 * Great Falls tribune vital records, 1900-1999
 * Great Falls, voter registers, 1889-1931

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * S. V. Frohlicher, "Stone age to space age in 100 years" : Cascade County history and gazetteer Great Falls, Montana : Cascade County Historical Society, 1981

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.