Craig County, Oklahoma Genealogy

United States Oklahoma  Craig County Craig County, Oklahoma genealogy and family history research page. Guide to genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

County Courthouse
Craig County Courthouse 301 W Canadian Avenue Vinita, OK 74301-3640 Phone: 918.256-2507 Clerk Court has marriage records from 1902, divorce, probate and court records from 1907; County Clerk has land records

Parent County
1907--Craig County was created 16 July 1907 from Cherokee Lands. County seat: Vinita

Description
The county lies in the Osage Plains, accounting for the large area of fertile, rolling prairies. The Neosho Lowlands, a subdivision of the Osage Plains, extends into the county's eastern and southern portions, creating a rougher environment. The tributaries of the Neosho River drain the county, with Big Cabin Creek the main artery in southern Craig County. This region was hunting grounds for the Osage and other Plains Indian tribes. Beginning in the 1830s the Cherokee arrived, with many reaching the territory in 1838-39 following the Trail of Tears, when they were forced to leave their southeastern United States homes. The area became part of the Delaware and Cooweescoowee districts of the Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory. From the 1830s until the Civil War present Craig County was sparsely populated. The Military Road, or Texas Road, ran through the eastern part of the county, as did the East Shawnee Cattle Trail, which went to Baxter Springs, Kansas. There were other hunting trails used by various tribes. Between 1867 and 1871 the U.S. government moved the Shawnee and Delaware into the territory from northeastern Kansas. In 1871 the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway built tracks through present Craig County from the north to south. Also in 1871 the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway constructed a line to Vinita from east to west. After 1881 this railroad continued construction in Indian Territory, reaching Tulsa in 1882. The Oklahoma State Constitutional Convention created Craig County and named it for Granville Craig, a prominent mixed-blood-Cherokee farmer who had lived in the Welch-Bluejacket area since 1873. Vinita became the county seat.

Craig County, Oklahoma was founded 1907. The Government County Seat is Vinita. The Largest city is Vinita.

Boundary Changes

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Oklahoma - shows boundary changes for Oklahoma Counties
 * Oklahoma Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Cities

 * Vinita (county seat)

Towns

 * Big Cabin
 * Bluejacket
 * Ketchum
 * Welch

Census designated places

 * White Oak

Unincorporated communities

 * Centralia

Neighboring Counties

 * Cherokee County, Kansas
 * Delaware
 * Labette County, Kansas
 * Mayes
 * Nowata
 * Ottawa
 * Rogers

American Indians
Census
 * 1851 - 1959 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Indian Censuses and Rolls, 1851-1959 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1895 - 1914 U.S., Native American Citizens and Freedmen of Five Civilized Tribes, 1895-1914 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1898 - 1914 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Dawes Census Cards for Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * Dawes Final Rolls - Oklahoma Historical Society

Land and Property
 * 1884 - 1934 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Land Allotment Jackets for Five Civilized Tribes, 1884-1934 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1889 Oklahoma County Plats 1889 - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * For more information see Indians of Oklahoma

State Census Records

 * 1890 Oklahoma Territorial Census 1890 - Oklahoma Historical Societ
 * 1890 and 1907 Oklahoma Territorial Census, 1890 and 1907 at Ancestry — index and image ($)

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for Oklahoma starting in 1860. For links to Federal census indexes, see Oklahoma Census.

Land
Online Land Records

For more information see Oklahoma Land and Property
 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796 - 1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1861 - 1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images
 * 1889 Oklahoma County Plats, 1889 - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * El Reno Homesteader Filings - Oklahoma Historical Society

Local Histories
Muskogee and Northeastern Oklahoma: including the counties of Muskogee, McIntosh, Wagoner, Cherokee, Sequoyah, Adair, Delaware, Mayes, Rogers, Washington, Nowata, Craig, and Ottawa. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1922

Maps

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Oklahoma - shows boundary changes for Oklahoma Counties
 * Maps n More - county and township maps.
 * Oklahoma Civil War Map of Battles

Revolutionary War

 * 1775 - 1783 - at FamilySearch - images only
 * For more nationwide Revolutionary War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Civil War

 * http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9236 Oklahoma, Confederate Pension Index, 1915-1955] at Ancestry — index (free)
 * For more nationwide Civil War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

WWI

 * For more nationwide World War I databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

WWII

 * Oklahoma Military Deaths - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * For more nationwide World War II databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Newspapers
Oklahoma Newspapers Online Oklahoma Newspaper Catalogs
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Oklahoma newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Nebraska newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some Oklahoma newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * Oklahoma State Historical Society - catalog of known Oklahoma newspapers; lists repositories that have the newspapers
 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper

Probate
Online Records
 * 1801 – 2008 Oklahoma Wills and Probate Records 1801-2008 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1887 – 2008 Oklahoma Probate Records 1887-2008 at FamilySearch — images

School Records

 * 1895 - 1936 at | FamilySearch — index and images

Births
Online Birth Records Indexes and Images
 * Early Oklahoma Birth Records

Marriages
Online Marriage Records Indexes and Images
 * 1841 - 1927 - Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Marriage, Citizenship and Census Records, 1841-1927 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1852 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1870 - 1930 - at FamilySearch Index only.
 * 1870 - 1930 - Oklahoma, Select Marriages, 1870-1930 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1870 - 1930 - Oklahoma, Marriages, 1870-1930 at My Heritage index ($)
 * 1889 - 1951 - Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Marriage Index, 1889-1951
 * 1890 - 1995 - at FamilySearch Index and images
 * OKGenWeb Oklahoma Marriages

Deaths
Online Death Records Indexes and Images
 * Obituaries Listed in the Oklahoman - Oklahoma Historical Society — index only
 * 1935 - 2014 - U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1936 - 2007 - U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry, incomplete ($}
 * 1936 - 2007 - U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry, incomplete ($}

Divorces
Online Divorce Records Indexes and Images
 * 1923 - 1942 - Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Divorce Index, 1923-1942

Societies and Libraries
Craig County Genealogy Society PO Box 484 Vinita, OK 74301-0484 E-mail:[mailto:ccgs484@hotmail.com ccgs484@hotmail.com] Website

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.