Thurston County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  Thurston County

Guide to Thurston County Washington genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Historical Facts
In August 1848 Congress established Oregon Territory, which included the future state of Washington. By 1850 there were more than 300 non-Indian inhabitants north of the Columbia River, and as the new communities on and near the southern shores of Puget Sound began to grow, so grew the need for a local organized government and a new county. Simmons (in honor of Michael Simmons) was proposed as the name of the new county.

Instead, Thurston was chosen as the new county’s name and Olympia was chosen as the county seat. The Oregon Territorial Legislature carved the new county out of Lewis County on January 12, 1852. The early Thurston County was considerably larger than it is today, covering territory from west of the Cascades to the coast and north to the Canadian border. However, other counties were quickly formed from parts of Thurston County and by 1877 it had been reduced to its present size.

Thurston County’s name came from Samuel R. Thurston (1816-1851), the first delegate to Congress in 1849 from the new Oregon Territory, who had made a name for himself during his brief tenure in office defending the territorial rights of the northern part of Oregon Territory against the claims of the Hudson’s Bay Company.


 * Parent County: created 12 January 1852 from Lewis
 * County Seat: Olympia
 * Neighboring Counties: Grays Harbor | Lewis | Mason | Pierce

Cemeteries

 * Thurston County, Washington Cemeteries - USGenWeb project.
 * Thurston County, Washington Cemeteries.
 * Ruddel Cemetery, Lacey, Thurston County, Washington.

Census

 * United States Census 1860
 * United States Census 1870
 * United States Census 1880
 * United States Cenus 1890 Veterans
 * United States Cenus 1900
 * United States Cenus 1910
 * United States Census 1920
 * United States Cenus 1930
 * United States Census 1920
 * United States Cenus 1930

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

History

 * Thurston County History, People and Places
 * Thumbnail History of Thurston County, Washington
 * Thurston County, Washington - Wikipedia
 * Thruston County, Washington - USGen Web project
 * Thumbnail History of Thurston County, Washington
 * Thurston County, Washington - Wikipedia
 * Thruston County, Washington - USGen Web project

Maps
Area map and other information from 1895: http://www.livgenmi.com/1895/WA/

Military
Some military records for this county have been digitized at the Washington State Digital Archives.

Newspapers

 * The Olympian
 * Nisqually Valley News
 * Nisqually Valley News

Obituaries

 * Washington State Cemetery & Obituary Resources
 * Thurston County, Washington Obituaries

Courthouse
Thurston County Courthouse 2000 Lakeridge Dr SW; Olympia, WA 98502 Phone: 360.786.5438 County Auditor has birth and death records 1891-1907 and marriage records from 1891. County Clerk has divorce probate and court records.

Many civil records have been digitized and are available through the Thurston County Clerk's Office: http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/clerk/citizens%20guide.html

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Olympia Washington Family History Center

Libraries

 * Olympia Timberland Library

Societies

 * Olympia Genealogical Society: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~waogs/

Websites

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

Places

 * Thurston County, Washington. Geographic features, communities, populated places.