Custer County, Montana Genealogy

United States Montana Custer County

Guide to Custer County, Montana ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

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Description
Custer County, Montana was formed in 1882 and the county seat is Miles City. The county was named after General George Custer. It is located in the south eastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Custer County Courthouse 1308 Main Street Miles City, MT 59301-3419 Phone: 406.232.7800 Custer County Website County Clerk has birth and death records from 1907 and land records from 1909; Clerk District Court has marriage, divorce, and probate; Justice Peace has court records

Custer County, Montana Record Dates

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 * width="91%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" colspan="7" | Beginning Dates for Major County Records
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Birth*
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Marriage
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Death*
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Court
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Land
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Probate
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Census
 * width="13%" align="center" | 1895*
 * width="13%" align="center" | 1877*
 * width="13%" align="center" | 1896*
 * width="13%" align="center" | 1877
 * width="13%" align="center" | 1877
 * width="13%" align="center" | 1877
 * width="13%" align="center" |
 * colspan="7" | * For earlier dates, try... Church &#124; Obituaries &#124; Cemeteries
 * }
 * width="13%" align="center" |
 * colspan="7" | * For earlier dates, try... Church &#124; Obituaries &#124; Cemeteries
 * }
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Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

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


 * Parent County: created 2 February 1865 as an original county
 * County seat: Miles City 

Populated Places

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Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for Montana starting in 1870. For links to federal census indexes, see "Montana Census" link above.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Records


 * 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

Maps and Gazetteers



 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Montana - shows boundary changes for Montana Counties
 * Historical Maps and Atlases of Montana - maps and atlases of Montana

Military Records
Civil War World War I For further information see Montana Military Records.
 * 1890 at FamilySearch.— index
 * 1890 - 1918 Montana Military Enlistments at Montana Memory Project
 * 1917 - 1918 at FamilySearch — Index and images
 * Soldiers of the Great War from the State of Montana at USGenWeb.
 * Military Enlistments Montana World War I at Montana Memory Project

Newspapers
 Montana Newspapers Online Montana Newspaper Catalogs
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Montana newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Montana newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some Montana newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * 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 Records

 * 1831 – 1952 Montana Wills and Probate Records 1831-1952 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Birth

 * 1840 - 2004 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1840 - 2004 Montana, County Births and Deaths, 1840 - 2004 at Ancestry ($) — index

Marriage

 * 1865-1887 - Western States Marriage Index includes marriages from 1865-1887

Death

 * 1840–2004 -  at FamilySearch — index and images

Family History Centers

 * Miles City Montana Family History Center

Websites

 * USGenWeb Custer County, Montana project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records