Comanche County, Oklahoma Genealogy

United States Oklahoma  Comanche County Comanche County, Oklahoma genealogy and family history research page. Guide to genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

County Courthouse
Comanche County Courthouse 305 SW 5th Street Lawton, OK 73501; Phone: 580.355-5214 Clerk Court has marriage, divorce, probate, court and land records from 1901

Parent County
1901--Comanche County was created in 1901 from Kiowa-Comanche-Apache and Wichita-Caddo lands. County seat: Lawton

Description
Named for the Comanche tribe, Comanche County lies within the Wichita Mountains region and the Red Bed Plains. The county is drained by the West Cache, Cache, and Beaver creeks. Originally part of the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation, the area was opened to non-Indian settlement by lottery on August 6, 1901. The county and the county seat of Lawton were created on that day. In December 1906 the south-central part of Comanche County known as the Big Pasture was opened for settlement by sealed bids.

Comanche County was founded in 1907. The Government Seat of the couny is Lawton. The Largest city is Lawton.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities
==== Populated Places ====


 * Bethel
 * Cache
 * Chattanooga
 * Elgin
 * Faxon
 * Fletcher
 * Geronimo
 * Indiahoma
 * Lawton (county seat)
 * Medicine Park
 * Meers
 * Pumpkin Center
 * Sterling

Neighboring Counties

 * Caddo
 * Cotton
 * Grady
 * Kiowa
 * Stephens
 * Tillman

American Indians
Census
 * 1851 - 1959 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Indian Censuses and Rolls, 1851-1959 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1895 - 1914 U.S., Native American Citizens and Freedmen of Five Civilized Tribes, 1895-1914 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1898 - 1914 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Dawes Census Cards for Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * Dawes Final Rolls - Oklahoma Historical Society

Land and Property
 * 1884 - 1934 Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Land Allotment Jackets for Five Civilized Tribes, 1884-1934 at Ancestry — index and images ($) *1889 Oklahoma County Plats 1889 - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * For more information see Indians of Oklahoma

Cemeteries

 * Alphabetical Inventories of Indian Cemeteries in Comanche County, Oklahoma. By Kenneth and Barbara Goodin, and Polly Lewis Murphy.FHL book 970.1 G619a WorldCat
 * Deyo Mission and Cemetery, Comanche County, Oklahoma. Transcribed by Larry S. Watson, 1976. The Journal of American Indian Family Research, Vol. 7 No. 1 (1986) FHL 970.1 J825j page 1-27

State Census Records

 * 1890 Oklahoma Territorial Census 1890 - Oklahoma Historical Societ
 * 1890 and 1907 Oklahoma Territorial Census, 1890 and 1907 at Ancestry — index and image ($)

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for Oklahoma starting in 1860. For links to Federal census indexes, see Oklahoma Census.

Land
Online Land Records

For more information see Oklahoma Land and Property
 * 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
 * 1889 - Oklahoma County Plats, 1889 - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * 1899 - 1907 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * El Reno Homesteader Filings - Oklahoma Historical Society

Maps

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Oklahoma - shows boundary changes for Oklahoma Counties
 * Maps n More - county and township maps.
 * Oklahoma Civil War Map of Battles

Revolutionary War

 * 1775 - 1783 - at FamilySearch - images only
 * For more nationwide Revolutionary War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Civil War

 * http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9236 Oklahoma, Confederate Pension Index, 1915-1955] at Ancestry — index (free)
 * For more nationwide Civil War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

WWI

 * For more nationwide World War I databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

WWII

 * Oklahoma Military Deaths - Oklahoma Historical Society
 * For more nationwide World War II databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Newspapers
Oklahoma Newspapers Online Oklahoma Newspaper Catalogs
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Oklahoma newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Nebraska newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some Oklahoma newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * Oklahoma State Historical Society - catalog of known Oklahoma newspapers; lists repositories that have the newspapers
 * 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


 * NewspaperArchive.com ($) has historical newspapers online including Lawton newspapers that covered local news on Comanche County residents. This database is free at some libraries.

Probate
Online Records
 * 1801 – 2008 Oklahoma Wills and Probate Records 1801-2008 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1887 – 2008 Oklahoma Probate Records 1887-2008 at FamilySearch — images

School Records

 * 1895 - 1936 at | FamilySearch — index and images

Births
Online Birth Records Indexes and Images
 * Early Oklahoma Birth Records

Marriages
Online Marriage Records Indexes and Images
 * 1841 - 1927 - Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Marriage, Citizenship and Census Records, 1841-1927 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1852 - 1948 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1870 - 1930 - at FamilySearch Index only.
 * 1870 - 1930 - Oklahoma, Select Marriages, 1870-1930 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1870 - 1930 - Oklahoma, Marriages, 1870-1930 at My Heritage index ($)
 * 1889 - 1951 - Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Marriage Index, 1889-1951
 * 1890 - 1995 - at FamilySearch Index and images
 * OKGenWeb Oklahoma Marriages

Deaths
Online Death Records Indexes and Images
 * Obituaries Listed in the Oklahoman - Oklahoma Historical Society — index only
 * 1935 - 2014 - U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1936 - 2007 - U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry, incomplete ($}
 * 1936 - 2007 - U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry, incomplete ($}

Divorces
Online Divorce Records Indexes and Images
 * 1923 - 1942 - Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Divorce Index, 1923-1942

Societies and Libraries
Southwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society PO Box 148 Lawton, OK 73502

Lawton Public Library has an excellent genealogical collection for southwestern Oklahoma.

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Lawton Oklahoma Family History Center
 * 7002 SW Drakestone Blvd, Lawton, OK 73505 Location Map

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.