Kitsap County, Washington Genealogy

United States Washington  Kitsap County   Guide to  genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1861, when the county was formed.

Parent County(s)
Kitsap County, Washington was created 16 January 1847.

County Seat: Port Orchard. For Courthouse, see Archives, libraries, etc.

Parent Counties: created 16 Jan 1847 as Slaughter County from Jefferson and King Counties. Renamed 13 July 1857 from Slaughter County.

Neighboring Counties
is surrounded by: Island | Jefferson | King | Mason | Pierce | Snohomish

Boundary Changes

 * Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

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

 * K P Cemetery, Port Orchard BillionGraves
 * Poulsbo Cemetery, Poulsbo BillionGraves


 * Alpha list of cemeteries in the county with links to online transcripts.

Census

 * See Washington Census for online indexes and images of US federal censuses. of: 1856, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940.
 * See statewide printed indexes, including 1856.
 * Check county indexes when online indexes fail. Created by people who knew the families of the area, they are often more accurate and they may have added insights. See periodicals and local libraries or other record holders.


 * 1890 Veterans
 * 1900
 * 1910
 * 1920
 * 1930
 * 1940

Church Records

 * Church records (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) for are listed in the . (Press space bar to select town.)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Bremerton
 * Port Orchard

Lutheran

 * Records of Port Madison Lutheran Church, Winslow, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

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 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. Kitsap County -- Thumbnail History, History Link.org Essay 7864.


 * The first residents of the land and islands between Puget Sound and Hood Canal were called Suquamish.
 * 1792 May - British Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver mapped Puget Sound.
 * 1850 - The big trigger to white settlement on the Kitsap Peninsula came with the California Gold Rush.
 * 1855 - Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens persuaded the tribes to sign the Point No Point and Point Elliott treaties, in which they ceded their lands to the United States.
 * 1857 July 13 - Slaughter County was officially formed and Port Madison became the county seat. Voters changed the name to Kitsap County.
 * 1880s - The United States government chose Port Orchard as the site of a repair facility to help support naval operations in the Pacific Ocean.

Land and Property

 * 1852-1924 Part of:"County Land Records, 1850-1954" FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)


 * Land Records 1986 to 2006 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Land Records 1984 and 2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
 * Recorded Agreements and Contracts 1987-2006 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1910-1936 Part of:"County Naturalization Records, 1850-1982" FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

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 (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)


 * Port Orchard Independent


 * The Kitsap Sun


 * The Bainbridge Review

Obituaries
Also check:


 * Newspapers of
 * Local Funeral Homes, Libraries, or family records.
 * Obituaries of neighboring counties

Postmaster Indexes

 * Prior to 1965 Part of: County Records, Prior to 1965 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)  A-C


 * Prior to 1965 Part of: County Records, Prior to 1965 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)  C-Z

Marriage

 * Web: Kitsap County, Washington, Marriage Index, 1986-2010 (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

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
Sites with online indexes or images of records:


 * WAGenWeb
 * USGenWeb
 * Current Collections at Washington State Digital Archives (Free) Type county name, click Search, then select a collection. Collections were posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page in November, 2013.
 * Historical Collections at FamilySearch.org. (Free) Click "Last Updated." Collections through October 2013 have been posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page.

Sites that search the Internet for records online:


 * Web Sites at RootsWeb - Kitsap WA (Free)
 * Linkpendium (free)
 * CyndisList (free)

Major catalogs to offline genealogical records: Catalogs refer to books, microfilm, manuscripts, and/or Internet images and indexes for various topics.


 * for (Select topics. Add comma to select towns.)
 * WorldCat To find libraries near you that have items of interest, see WorldCat Online Catalog.
 * Allen County Public Library (Indiana)
 * See also local libraries and Washington Archives and Libraries

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
Kitsap County Courthouse 614 Division Street Port Orchard, WA 98366 Phone 360.337.7164 County Auditor has birth records 1891-1907, death record 1892-1907 and marriage records from 1892. County Clerk has divorce and court records from 1888, probate and adoption records from 1861 and land records from 1857.

Family History Centers

 * Bremerton Washington Family History Center
 * Poulsbo Washington Family History Center

Libraries

 * Bainbridge Island Library, 1270 Madison N., Bainbridge Island 98110  Phone: (206) 842-4162


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Kitsap Regional Library, 1301 Sylvan Way, Bremerton 98310  Phone: (360) 405-9158


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Bremerton Library, 612 5th St., Bremerton 98337  Phone: (360) 377-3955


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Kingston Library, 11212 Ne State Hwy 104, Kingston 98346  Phone: (360) 297-3330


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Little Boston Library, 31980 Little Boston Rd. Ne, Kingston 98346  Phone: (360) 297-2670


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Manchester Library, 8067 E. Main St., Manchester 98353  Phone: (360) 871-3921


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Port Orchard Library, 87 Sidney St., Port Orchard 98366  Phone: (360) 876-2224


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Poulsbo Library, 700 Ne Lincoln St., Poulsbo 98370  Phone: (360) 779-2915


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:


 * Silverdale Library, 3450 Nw Carlton St., Silverdale 98383  Phone: (360) 692-2997


 * Online Resources:


 * Unique Collections:

Societies
Puget Sound Genealogical Society P.O. Box 1931 Port Orchard, WA 98366-0805 (360)874-8813 www.pusogensoc.org

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