Clark County, WashingtonEdit This Page
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United States
Washington
Clark County
Guide to Clark County Washington genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Clark County, Washington | |
| Map | |
![]() Location in the state of Washington | |
![]() Location of Washington in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | June 27, 1844 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Vancouver |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Clark County Courthouse 1200 Franklin Street Vancouver, WA 98660 Phone: 360.397.2292 Clark County Website |
Historical Facts
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- Parent County: Original county, formerly Vancouver County
- County Seat: Vancouver
- Neighboring Counties: Cowlitz | Skamania | Oregon counties: Columbia | Multnomah
Boundary Changes
- Formed 27 June 1844 as an original county in the Oregon Territory and named Vancouver County.
- Renamed Clark County 3 September 1849[1]
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. [2]
Resources
Bible Records
Biography
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
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
Church Records
Court Records
Directories
Emigration and Immigration
Ethnic, Political or Religious Groups
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
Gazetteers
Genealogy
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.
Land and Property
Maps
Migration
Early migration routes to and from Clark County, Washington 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[3]
- Applegate Trail 1846 from Winnemucca, Nevada to Oregon City, Oregon
- Barlow Road 1846 from The Dalles to Oregon City
Military
Naturalization and Citizenship
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", columbian@newsbank.com for the years after 1994. For years prior to 1994, go to the Ft. Vancouver Library.
Obituaries
Periodicals
Probate
Public Records
Repositories
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. [4]
Family History Centers
Libraries
Museums
Societies
Taxation
Vital Records
Birth
Marriage
- Marriages from 11 Jun 1840-1 Aug 1903 are available at the Western States Marriage Index website.
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
- Family History Library Catalog
- Clark County, Washington Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
- Clark County, Washington--USGenWeb Project
Places
Clark County Washington Genealogy References
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ GenDisasters.com - Vancouver, WA Courthouse Fire, Feb 1890 http://www3.gendisasters.com/washington/7339/vancouver-wa-courthouse-jail-fire-feb-1890
- ↑ Jim Tompkins, "The Oregon Trail 1841-1848 Map VI" in Oregon Trail Landmarks at http://www.oregonpioneers.com/OTMap6.jpg (accessed 18 July 2011).
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Clark County, Washington page 732, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
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- This page was last modified on 18 June 2013, at 03:10.
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