Clark County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington Clark County

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


 * Quick start:
 * Census
 * Birth
 * Marriage
 * Death

County Overview

 * County Seat: Vancouver
 * Parent County: Original county, formerly Vancouver County

County Formation

 * Clark County, Washington was created 27 June 1844.

Boundary Changes

 * Formed 27 June 1844 as an original county in the Oregon Territory and named Vancouver County.
 * Renamed Clark County 3 September 1849

Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

Neighboring Counties

 * Neighboring Counties: Cowlitz | Skamania | Oregon counties: Columbia | Multnomah

Dates of Major County Records
Note: The dates you see below have not yet been adapted to.

Record Loss
1890--Clark County Courthouse and Jail destroyed by fire on February 25, 1890. Many county records were destroyed, including probate records, Superior and District court records, and records of the Sheriff, Superintendent of Schools and Surveyor's office. The County Auditor's records were safe from fire.

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.

Cemeteries
City of Camas Cemetery: Began in 1883: Courtesy of the City of Camas

Evergreen Memorial Gardens Cemetery and Funeral Chapel www.evergreenmemorialgardens.com - (360) 892-6060 City of Vancouver: Park Hill Cemetery (360) 696-8156

The Old City Cemetery - the Old City Cemetery located at the corner of Grand Blvd. and Mill Plain Blvd in Vancouver. The Old City Cemetery is a repository of unique genealogical, historical, religious, cultural and societal information. Many of Clark County’s first pioneers and leaders are buried in this cemetery. The Old City Cemetery use began in 1867. Some of the initial interments were graves that were moved from the Old Post Cemetery on the property of the Vancouver Barracks. CCGS envisions this grant request as the first phase of a longer term effort to restore and rehabilitate the Old City Cemetery. The Historical Promotions grant will provide resources for repair and restoration of stones and markers that have been damaged due to vandalism or through the effects of weather or age. The Old City Cemetery is owned, managed and maintained by the City of Vancouver.

Fishers Cemetery - 1st Cemetery in Vancouver, WA

Listing of those buried there has been done by the USGS - click here

Images of Fishers and the beach along the Columbia River at this historic spot.

Vancouver Funeral Chapel www.vancouverfuneralhome.com - (360) 693-3633

Genealogy Archives - Vancouver Cemeteries

Clark County Cemeteries listed in ROOTSWEB

Vancouver Barracks Cemetery

Clark Co Cemetery Records Online - Intermet.net


 * County Farm Cemetery (Marble Mount Cemetery)
 * La Center Cemetery (Mount Zion Cemetery)
 * Old City Cemetery
 * Park Hill Cemetery, Vancouver BillionGraves
 * Sacred Heart Cemetery (Dublin Cemetery)

Cemeteries and Memorial Sites of Politicians in Clark County

Death Certificates of Finns in Clark County, Washington, 1908-1947

Richard Engstrom Clark County Genealogical Society 717 Grand Blvd, Vancouver Phone: 360-750-5668 Email: gensoc@ccgs-wa.org

Census

 * 1849 Territorial Transcription and Index (part of Oregon Census), under the name "Vancouver County"
 * 1850
 * 1860
 * 1870
 * 1880
 * 1890 Veterans
 * 1900
 * 1910
 * 1920
 * 1930
 * 1940

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

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
For a good look at the pioneers of Clark County, A book "Clark County Pioneers--A Centennial Salute" is a good place to start. The book contains information on the pioneers of Clark County and their families with many photos of those pioneers. The book has 675 pages plus an index. It has a copyright date of 1989.

Two other books in that same series, "Clark County Washington Territory" and "Clark County Pioneers--Through the turn of the Century" both contain valuable information. These books are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. All Clark County books have a catalogue number of 979.786.

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. Clark County -- Thumbnail History, History Link.org Essay 5644.


 * For hundreds of years before Western explorers intruded on their shores, the Chinook Indians had lived along the banks of the Columbia River.
 * The Chinook's first contact with non-Indian people may have been in 1792, when the Columbia Rediviva, an American ship captained by Robert Gray (1755-1806), made its way up the river.
 * Lewis and Clark passed through what is now Clark County in November 1805.The British-owned Hudson's Bay Company opened Fort Vancouver on the future site of the City of Vancouver in March 1825.
 * The first American of note in the Fort Vancouver area was Henry Williamson, who laid out his land claim west of the fort in 1844.
 * Clark County was the first county of Washington. It was created by the provisional government of Oregon Territory on August 20, 1845, and at that time covered the entire present-day state of Washington.
 * In 1846, Amos Short measured his land claim from a "witness tree" (a tree used by surveyors to establish a corner of a section of land) by carving his initials in a cottonwood that stood near the bank of the Columbia River.
 * Congress approved the formation of Washington Territory in 1853, and in 1855 the Territorial Legislature formally changed the town's name from Columbia City to Vancouver.

Migration
Early migration routes to and from for European and African American settlers included:


 * Columbia River
 * York Factory Express 1824 from Fort Vancouver to York Factory, Manitoba, Canada
 * Oregon Trail 1830s to 1890s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon
 * Applegate Trail 1846 from Winnemucca, Nevada to Oregon City, Oregon
 * Barlow Road 1846 from The Dalles to Oregon City

Naturalization and Citizenship
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.)

Washington State Digital Archives has digitized various types of naturalization-related records, including declarations of intentions, delayed birth files, naturalization affidavits, notifications of application for admission to US citizenship, orders fixing naturalization terms, petitions and records, petitions, receipts for certificates of citizenship, record of final decrees of citizenship and record of petitions dockets. Depending on the county, records range from 1854-1988.

Newspapers
Newspapers for Vancouver, Washington can be seen at the e-mail address for "The Columbian", [mailto:columbian@newsbank.com columbian@newsbank.com] for the years after 1994. For years prior to 1994, go to the Ft. Vancouver Library.

Marriage

 * Marriages from 11 Jun 1840-1 Aug 1903 are available at the Western States Marriage Index website.

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.

Death

 * 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

 * Clark County, Washington Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Clark County, Washington--USGenWeb Project
 * Clark County, Washington--USGenWeb Project

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
Clark County Courthouse 1200 Franklin Street Vancouver, WA 98660 Phone: 360.397.2292 County Auditor has birth and death records 1890-1906, marriage records from 1890 and land records from 1850. County Clerk has divorce, probate and court records from 1890.

FamilySearch Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Clark County Genealogical Society
 * Vancouver Washington West Family History Center
 * Vancouver Washington North Family History Center
 * Vancouver Washington Family History Center

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