User:RogersBA/ Sandbox WA 4

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

County Courthouse
Chelan County Courthouse 350 Douglas Street Wenatchee, WA 98801 Phone: 509.667.6380 Chelan County Website Chelan County Courthouse 350 Douglas Street Wenatchee, WA 98801 Phone: 509.667.6380 Chelan County Website County Auditor has birth and death records 1900-1907 and marriage records from 1900. City Clerk has burial records. County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

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. Chelan County -- Thumbnail History, History Link.org Essay 7624.
 * 1803 - Before this time, the (also spelled Wenatchi) lived along the Wenatchee River, which flowed from the Cascades into the Columbia.
 * 1853 - March 2, U.S. President Millard Fillmore establishes Washington Territory.
 * 1863 - The first non-Indians to live in the Chelan and Wenatchee valleys were Chinese prospectors looking for gold in the rivers and streams, starting at about this time.
 * 1886 - Lake Chelan’s first white settlers were William Sanders and William Dumke. They arrived at the south end of the lake the hard way, from the north.
 * 1899 - March 13, Washington State Legislature created Chelan County.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

 * Professional License Records at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Cemeteries

 * Wenatchee Area Cemetery Records (Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS))

Census Records

 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives: (Free); and Ancestry ($)
 * *Federal 1910
 * Washington online census links to FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Heritage Quest and others. Includes Federal Censuses, 1860–1940; 1890 Veterans Schedule; '''Territorial and State Censuses, 1847–1898
 * Statewide printed indexes of federal censuses
 * See Washington Census Years for online availability of Federal, Territorial, and State-funded censuses.
 * Censuses at Washington Digital Archives - Searchable

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records
 * Inventory of the county archives of Washington, no. 4. Chelan County (Wenatchee) (If the link does not work, log in to Ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
American Indian The Colville Indian Reservation is located in southern Ferry and southern Okanogan Counties, including a small portion of Chelan County.
 * 1911-1919 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

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.

Funeral Homes

 * Funeral Home Records (Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society, (WAGS)). From Jones & Jones Funeral Home, when it merged with Betts Funeral Home of Wenatchee. 27,000 records between the years 1906-2001 for Jones & Jones of Wenatchee, Kuelbs or Braun of Cashmere, Waterville of Waterville and a few from Wards of Leavenworth have been archived and indexed. Records may include only the funeral card with/without parents, etc. Other records may include death certificates, obituaries, gift lists, military records, etc.  See WAGS database to search for information on your family members, and options for ordering that information.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * County Recorder's Office: check deeds, file mining claims, get assistance in finding ownership of a particular property, and obtain copies of county plat maps. This office has county plat records dating back to 1878, prior records having been destroyed in a fire.
 * Land 1888 - 2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Plats and Surveys Records at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Recorded Agreements and Contracts 1974 - 2008, 1900 - 2008 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Local Histories

 * A history of central Washington : including the famous Wenatchee, Entiat, Chelan and the Columbia Valleys, with an index and ei
 * Illustrated History of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan Counties, State of Washington by Richard F. Steele [(Spokane, Wash.): Western Historical Pub. Co., 1904] Commonly known by title History of North Washington. Online at Washington Secretary of State site (Free).
 * This book has numerous errors and its facts should viewed with circumspection.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places


 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * 1921-1925 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * World War II enlistments of Chelan County, Washington residents. This is a partial list. The NARA website cautions: "This series does not contain records of all World War II Army enlistees."

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * Naturalization Records, 1900-1973 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * Includes Facts for declarations of intention1900-1945; Naturalization certificate stubs 1921-1926; correspondence files 1907-1915; depositions 1904-1945; petitions vol 10 1900-1948; proceedings 1907-1915; records 1900-1906; Oath of allegiance applications 1940-1945; Preliminary declarations of intention 1926-1927; Preliminary petitions for citizenship 1924-1926; Index to naturalization 1925-1928.

Newspapers

 * Chelan County, Washington Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)
 * 1855-2009 Washington Newspapers, 1855-2009 at MyHeritage — index & images, ($)
 * Washington Digital Newspaper at Washington State Library

Obituaries
The Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS) has an Obituary database that contains an index of over 110,000 obituaries from the Wenatchee Area from 1895 to 2014. These obituaries may be ordered thru WAGS. See https://wags-web.org/cpage.php?pt=246.
 * Web: Wenatchee, Washington, Obituary Index, 1884-2009

Other Records
Topics for Chelan County Footnotes %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Public Records

 * Prior to 1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * Includes Cashmere Municipal Government Special Election Poll Book and Tally Sheet 1 1923 and Mothers' pensions 1913-1937.
 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only

School Records
Online School Indexes and Records


 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * Includes School Census Records 1914-1925.

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Birth

 * Birth Returns, 1900-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * 1873-1965 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * Includes Birth and death returns, 1899-1905; Birth certificate applications and orders (delayed) 1888-1926

Marriage

 * 1801-1962 Washington, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1855-2008 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1900-1920 Washington State Digital Archives has a database for Marriage Records.This database is an index to marriage records filed with the Auditor in Chelan County, from 1900 to 1920. The records contained within this index include Marriage Returns (1900-1910) and Marriage Certificates (1911-1920).
 * 1900-2008 Marriage Records, 1900-2008 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1969-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * Includes Index to affidavits 1999; Index to certificates 1900-1983; Index to licenses direct and reverse 1900-1983; Index to licenses 1900-1907 and 1974-1983; Affidavits 1900-2001; Application returns 1939-1945; Certificates 1900-1970; Returns 1900-1939.

Death

 * 1907-1960 Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960 at MyHeritage — index, ($)
 * 1881-1979 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1907-1960 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
 * Death Returns 1895 - 1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * 1803-2010 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images only
 * Includes Birth and death returns vol 1 1899-1905; Coroner's record 1905-1930

Divorce

 * 1969-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Family History Centers

 * Brewster Washington Family History Center
 * Chelan Washington Family History Center
 * Coulee Dam Washington Family History Center
 * Issaquah Washington Family History Center
 * North Bend Washington Family History Center
 * Omak Washington Family History Center
 * Wenatchee Washington Family History Center
 * Northwest African American Museum - an affiliate library
 * The Seattle Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Snohomish Washington Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society - an affiliate library

Libraries
Resources for Chelan County are available in libraries, archives, and other repositories at all levels: the town, the county, the state (including universities), and the nation. Inventory of the county archives of Washington, no. 4. Chelan County (Wenatchee) (If the link does not work, log in to Ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)Website

Libraries North Central Regional Library System  Branch: Chelan Public LibraryWebsite Online Resources: History and GenealogyWebsite

Museums

Societies


 * Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society 127 S Mission Wenatchee, WA (509) 888-6246 Website
 * Has a genealogical library located in the Annex adjacent to the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. The WAGS library is rich with resources that share the data and history of families of the region.

Websites

 * Chelan County WAGenWeb Project
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project
 * Washington State Digital Archives
 * Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society
 * Small Fee
 * Master Index includes Cemetery, Funeral Home, Obituaries, Family Books and Manuscripts and more.
 * Websites at RootsWeb - Chelan WA
 * Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society
 * Small Fee for copies
 * Database with index of Records from Cemetery, Obituaries, Funeral Homes, Manuscripts and Family Books
 * Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society Library
 * The library contains books, microfilm, manuscripts, maps, etc to aid your genealogical research.
 * – 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.