Lewis County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  Lewis 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)
Lewis County, Washington was created 21 December 1845 from Vancouver District, (later Clark County).

Parent County: organized 21 December 1845 as an original county in the Oregon Territory.


 * County seat: Chehalis

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

Neighboring Counties
is surrounded by: Cowlitz | Grays Harbor | Pacific | Pierce | Skamania | Thurston | Wahkiakum | 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.

Business and Commerce

 * 1882-1920 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Recorded Professional Licenses at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Cemeteries

 * 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

Church Records

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

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
LDS Ward and Branch Records: Chehalis

Lutheran

 * Records of the America Lutheran Church, Alpha, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

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


 * Inventory of the county archives of Washington, no. 21. Lewis County (Chehalis) (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)
 * Power of Attorney Records 1968 - present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

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
Online County Histories
 * A history of Winlock, Washington (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

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. Lewis County -- Thumbnail History, History Link.org Essay 7449.


 * Native Americans calling themselves Chehalis and Meshall lived along the banks of the Chehalis River.
 * 1818-1846 - The United States and Great Britain jointly occupied Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.
 * 1838 - The Hudson's Bay Company established the Puget Sound Agricultural Company.
 * Cowlitz Farms, a part of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, represented the first white settlement in the future Lewis County.
 * 1845 December 21 - The Oregon Territorial Legislature delineated Lewis County.
 * 1853 - Congress split off the land north of the Columbia to be Washington Territory.
 * 1855 February - Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens convinced coastal tribes to sign the Quinault Treaty with the U.S. government.

Land and Property

 * 1856-1926 Part of:"County Land Records, 1850-1954" FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)


 * Recorded Land Records 1974 and the present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Recorded Plats 1974 - present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Recorded Agreements and Contracts 1968-2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Military

 * Recorded Military Records at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1890-1972 Part of:"County Naturalization Records, 1850-1982" FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Naturalization Records, 1853-1971 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

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.)

Newspapers

 * Daily Chronicle (Centralia, Washington) (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)


 * Chehalis Bee-Nugget (Chehalis, Washington) (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)


 * Centralia Chronicle Advertiser (Centralia, Washington) ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)


 * Centralia Chronicle (Centralia, Washington) ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)


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

Obituaries
Also check:


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

Postmaster Indexes

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

Probate Records

 * County Probate Case Files, 1832-1950 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Birth

 * 1891-1907 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)
 * Birth Returns, 1891-1894 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Marriage

 * 1847-1990 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)


 * Web: Kitsap County, Washington, Marriage Index, 1986-2010 (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

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.


 * 1890-1920 Part of:"County Divorce Records, 1880-1924" FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

Death

 * 1891-1944 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:


 * 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.
 * Lewis/ Web Sites at RootsWeb - Lewis WA (Free)

Sites that search the Internet for records online:


 * 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


 * Lewis County, Washington Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Lewis County, Washington Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

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

 * Inventory of the county archives of Washington, no. 21. Lewis County (Chehalis) (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com  ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

Lewis County Courthouse 351 NW North Street Chehalis, WA 98532 Phone 360.740.2704

County Auditor has birth and death records 1891-1907 and marriage records from 1850. County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records from 1870’s.

Family History Centers

 * Centralia Washington Family History Center
 * Morton Washington Family History Center

Libraries

 * Centralia Timberland Library, 110 S. Silver St., Centralia 98531 Phone: (360) 736-0183


 * Online Resources:
 * Unique Collections:


 * Chehalis Timberland Library, 76 N.E. Park St., Chehalis 98532 Phone: (360) 748-3301


 * Online Resources:
 * Unique Collections:


 * Packwood Timberland Library, 109 W. Main St., Packwood 98361 Phone: (360) 494-5111


 * Online Resources:
 * Unique Collections:


 * Mountain View Timberland Library, 210 Silverbrook Rd., Randle 98377 Phone: (360) 497-2665


 * Online Resources:
 * Unique Collections:


 * Salkum Timberland Library, 2480 U.S. Hwy. 12, Salkum 98582 Phone: (360) 985-2148


 * Online Resources:
 * Unique Collections:


 * Winlock Timberland Library, 322 1st St., Winlock 98596 Phone: (360) 785-3461


 * Online Resources:
 * Unique Collections:

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