Golden Valley County, Montana Genealogy

United States

Montana

Golden Valley County

Guide to Golden Valley County, Montana ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Montana Online Genealogy Record

County Facts County seat: Ryegate Organized: October 4, 1920 Parent County(s): Musselshell and Sweet Grass Neighboring Counties Fergus  • Musselshell  • Stillwater  • Sweet Grass  • Wheatland  • Yellowstone See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

Golden Valley County is located in the south central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Golden Valley County Courthouse
PO Box 10
Ryegate, MT 59074-0010
Phone: 406.568.2231
Golden Valley County Website

County Clerk Recorder has birth, marriage, death, divorce, land, probate, military, court and naturalization records from 1920

Golden Valley County, Montana Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1920	1920	1920	1920	1920	1920	1860
*State birth and death records began in 1907. Compliance for recording births was 1922 and 1915 for deaths.

Record Loss

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

Boundary Changes

Parent County: Golden Valley County was created 4 October 1920 from Musselshell and Sweet Grass County seat: Ryegate Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Montana - shows boundary changes for Montana Counties Montana Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

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:

Towns
Lavina	Ryegate

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Golden Valley County, Montana online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com MTGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Billion Graves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves FamilySearch Places
See Montana Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1930	2,126	—
1940	1,607	−24.4%
1950	1,337	−16.8%
1960	1,203	−10.0%
1970	931	−22.6%
1980	1,026	10.2%
1990	912	−11.1%
2000	1,042	14.3%
2010	884	−15.2%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Before Montana was a state in 1889, the western portion of Montana was included in the 1860 Washington Territory and the eastern was in the unorganized parts of 1860 Nebraska Territory. The 1870 and 1880 Federal Censuses included Montana Territory. No state censuses have been taken. See links listed below.

Territory and State Censuses

• 1860 - United States Census, 1860 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; Montana was included in the 1860 Washington and Nebraska Territory Censuses
• 1870 - United States Census, 1870 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; Montana Territory Census
• 1880 - United States Census, 1880 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; Montana Territory Census

Federal Census Records

Federal Censuses were taken for the state of Montana starting in 1890, although no records survived. The 1900 Census is the next Federal Census available. For links to Federal Census indexes, see Montana Census.

Church Records

Church records vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Montana denominations, view the Montana Church Records wiki page.

Online Church Records
Lutheran Church

• 1875-1940 - U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940 at Ancestry — ($); Index and images; Dates vary for each county
  

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Montana Land and Property for additional information about early Montana land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse, where records are currently housed.

Online Land Records

• 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
  
• 1863 - 1908 - U.S. Homestead Records 1863-1908 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Golden Valley County, Montana Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Montana Local Histories.

• Dawn in Golden Valley : A County in Montana. c1982. Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah. At various libraries(WorldCat).

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
• Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Montana - shows boundary changes for Montana Counties
• Historical Maps and Atlases of Montana - maps and atlases of Montana

Military Records

Online Collections

These collections are unique to Montana. You will find nationwide databases for military records on U.S. Military Online Genealogy Records and Montana Military Records.
Civil War

• 1890 United States Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890 at FamilySearch.— index
• 1890 - 1918 Montana Military Enlistments at Montana Memory Project

World War I

• 1904 - 1918 - Montana, Military Records, 1904-1918 at FamilySearch — index
• 1917 - 1918 U.S. WW I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — Index and images
• Soldiers of the Great War from the State of Montana at USGenWeb.
• Military Enlistments Montana World War I at Montana Memory Project

World War II

• WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualties for Montana - Index only
  

For further information see Montana Military Records.

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Records

• 1791-1992 - U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 at Ancestry — ($), index only
  
• 1868-1999 - Montana Naturalization Records, 1868-1999 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1870-1999 - Montana, Federal Naturalization Records, 1870-1999 at Ancestry — ($), index only
  

Newspapers

For more information, see Montana Newspapers.

Montana Newspapers Online

• GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Montana newspapers
• Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Montana newspapers
• Chronicling America - contains images of some Montana newspapers; searching tips
• Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites

Montana Newspaper Catalogs

• 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

Obituaries

• Obituary Daily Times - large obituary index from newspapers across the United States.

See also United States Obituaries for more about finding United States obituaries.

Probate Records

In most counties in Montana, probate records have been kept by the county judge. They include wills, inventories, claim registers, inheritance records, probate packets, and dockets. The records are available at the county courthouse.

The FamilySearch Catalog lists films of probate records. To find the records for this county, use the Place Search for Montana, Golden Valley - Probate records.

Online Probate Records

• 1831 – 1952 Montana Wills and Probate Records 1831-1952 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Tax Records

Montana tax records complement land records and can be used to supplement the years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years in the records.

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. A copy or an extract of most birth and death original records can be purchased from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. For information about marriages, divorces, and requirements for obtaining any vital records, see the CDC Where to Write website.

Birth

• 1840 - 2004 Montana, County Births and Deaths, 1840 - 2004 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1840 - 2004 Montana, County Births and Deaths, 1840 - 2004 at Ancestry ($) — index

Marriage

• 1800 - 1994 - Montana, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1865 - 1950 Montana, County Marriages, 1865 - 1950 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1865 - 1950 Montana, County Marriages, 1865 - 1950 at Ancestry ($) — index
• 1889 - 1947 Montana Marriages, 1889 - 1947 at FamilySearch — index
• 1889 - 1947 Montana Select Marriages 1889 - 1947 at Ancestry ($) — index
• Western States Marriage Index - Index, incomplete, list of counties included

Death

• 1840 - 2004 Montana, County Births and Deaths, 1840 - 2004 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1840 - 2004 Montana, County Births and Deaths, 1840 - 2004 at Ancestry ($) — index
• 1860 - 2007 Montana Death Index, 1860-2007 at FamilySearch — index
• 1868 - 2011 Montana, Death Index, 1868 - 2011 at Ancestry ($) — index
• pre 1954 - 2002 Montana State Death Registry Index Pre 1954 & 1954 - 2002 at Montana State Genealogical Society — index
• 1954 - 2011 Montana Death Records at findmypast ($) — index

Research Facilities

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

Websites

• Kindred Trails Golden Valley County, Montana
• Genealogy Inc Golden Valley County, Montana
• Golden Valley County History
• USGenWeb Golden Valley County, Montana project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
• FamilySearch Catalog - 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