Clallam County, Washington Genealogy

United States

Washington

Clallam County

Guide to Clallam County Washington ancestry, family history, and genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records, since 1854, when the county was formed.

Cape Olympic National Park, Hon Rain Forest, Calallam County, Washington

County QuickStart: Census Birth Marriage Divorce Death Cemeteries

Washington Online Genealogy Records

Clallam County, Washington
Map
Location in the state of Washington
Location of Washington in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	April 26, 1854
County Seat	Port Angeles
Courthouse
Address	Clallam County Courthouse 223 E 4th Street, PO Box 863 Port Angeles, WA 98362-3025 Phone: 360-417-2508 Clallam County Website

County Overview

Description

The County was named for a Klallam word for "the strong people". The County is located in the northwest area of the state.

Parent County(s)

Clallam County, Washington Genealogy was created 26 April 1854 from Jefferson County

Boundary Changes

29 January 1868, Quillehute County was created, but it reverted back to Clallam and Jefferson counties in 1870. Records created in both counties.

• Historical County Boundaries from Newberry Library

For animated maps illustrating Washington County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Washington County Boundary Maps" (1843-1915) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Neighboring Counties

Clallam County, Washington Genealogy is surrounded by: Jefferson County Seat: Port Angeles . For Courthouse, see Archives, libraries, etc.

Courthouse

Clallam County Courthouse
223 E 4th Street PO Box 863
Port Angeles, WA 98362-3025
Phone: 360.417.2508

County Auditor has marriage and land records.
County Clerk has probate records.

See also Archives, libraries, etc. in Clallam County, Washington Genealogy.

Dates of Major County Records

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1895	1878	1891	1889	1859	1888	1850
Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1907. General compliance by 1917.

Record Loss

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

Topics for Clallam County, Washington Genealogy

The topics or headings on this page describe records that are used for genealogy and family history. They include links to web sites with indexes, images, or information about the county.

Bible Records

TatooshLighthouse, Clallam County. Washington

Biography

Biographical information is often found in state and local histories or genealogies. See also Washington Biography.

Business and Commerce

• Professional License Records at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Cemeteries

Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Tombstone Transcriptions in Print	List of Cemeteries in the county
FindAGrave	Family History Library	FindAGrave
Tombstone Project	WorldCat	Interment.net
Billion Graves (name)	Washington Periodicals	WA State Digital Archives
WAGenWeb Archives		Linkpendium
Billion Graves		Genealogy Trails
WAGenWeb
See Washington Cemeteries for more information.

• Cemetery deeds, 1904-1930

Part of: Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)

• • See what genealogical information may be in these records.

Census

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
[[United States Census 1860 |1860 ]]	149	—
[[United States Census 1870 |1870 ]]	408	173.8%
[[United States Census 1880 |1880 ]]	638	56.4%
[[United States Census 1890 |1890 ]]	2,771	334.3%
[[United States Census 1900 |1900 ]]	5,603	102.2%
[[United States Census 1910 |1910 ]]	6,755	20.6%
[[United States Census 1920 |1920 ]]	11,368	68.3%
[[United States Census 1930 |1930 ]]	20,449	79.9%
[[United States Census 1940 |1940 ]]	21,848	6.8%
[[United States Census 1950 |1950 ]]	26,396	20.8%
[[United States Census 1960 |1960 ]]	30,022	13.7%
[[United States Census 1970 |1970 ]]	34,770	15.8%
[[United States Census 1980 |1980 ]]	51,648	48.5%
[[United States Census 1990 |1990 ]]	56,464	9.3%
[[United States Census 2000 |2000 ]]	64,525	14.3%
[[United States Census 2010 |2010 ]]	71,404	10.7%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

• Census indexes at Washington State Digital Archives: (Free)
  • Federal: 1910
  • Territorial: 1857 • 1870 • 1871 • 1883 • 1885 • 1887 • 1889
  • These were indexed by local societies and individuals.

Church Records

The information church records provide depends upon the church practices and the record keepers. Records may include names, ages, and dates of events such as baptism, marriage, or burial. See Washington Church Records.

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Court Records

Your ancestors may be found in court records as defendants, plaintiffs, witnesses, or jurors. Court records can clarify family relationships, places of residence, occupations, and family history. See Washington Court Records for courts used through the years.

For specialized court records, see Divorce · Guardianship · Land · Naturalization · Probate

• Clallam Frontier Justice Part of "Frontier Justice": Guide to the Court Records of Washington Territory, 1853-1888 at Washington State Digital Archives. (Free Index, no images)
  • The court procedures of Frontier Justice touch nearly all pioneers of the Washington Territory. The index has many abstracts that provide names and what is happening in disputes, settlements in civil and criminal cases as well as probate, equity and admiralty cases

Ethnic, Political or Religious Groups

American Indians

• 1911 - 1919 - Washington, Applications for Enrollment and Adoption of Washington Indians, 1911-1919 at FamilySearch — images

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.

Genealogy

A FamilySearch Community Tree is available for this place.

Many local libraries and societies have collections of family genealogies. County histories or biographies often include brief genealogies of the featured persons. 

Guardianship

Guardianship of orphans or adults unable to manage their own affairs were handled by the probate and the District courts. See Washington Court Records.

History

Local histories for Clallam County, Washington Genealogy may include biographies, history of churches, schools, local government with names of officials, military information, and more. See Washington Local Histories.

• "Clallam County -- Thumbnail History" essay on historylink.org

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 Kit Oldham. Clallam County -- Thumbnail History, HistoryLink.org, Essay 7576.

• 1803 - Before this time, the county was composed of the traditional lands of the Klallam (for whom it is named), Makah, and Quileute people.
• 1700s - It was one of the first parts of Washington contacted by European explorers.
• 1850 - The first permanent settlers came to the county.
• 1850s - The explorers brought European diseases that devastated Klallam, Makah, and Quileute populations, as they did all Northwest peoples.
• 1851 - The first settlers in the future Clallam County staked claims at New Dungeness.
• 1853 - March 2, U.S. President Millard Fillmore establishes Washington Territory.
• 1854 - April 26, Washington Territorial Legislature creates Clallam County.
• 1857 - Henry R. Webster and others succeeded in establishing a trading post at Neah Bay.
• 1878, Luther and Esther Ford and their children settled 15 miles inland from La Push on the fertile open ground known as Indian Prairie.
• 1889 - November 11, President Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) created the Quiluete Reservation at La Push by executive order.

Land and Property

• County Recorder's Office: check deeds, file mining claims, get assistance in finding ownership of a particular property, and obtain copies of county plat maps. This office has county plat records dating back to 1878, prior records having been destroyed in a fire.
• Land Records 1987 - 2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
• Plats and Surveys 1987 - 2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)
• Recorded Agreements and Contracts 1987-present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Cape Flattery, the northwest-most point in continental US, Clallam CO. WA

Migration

Most residents came to Washington from other states or crossed the border from Canada. (See Seattle Passenger Lists for those who came from other countries.) Although few other migration records exist, try:
• Censuses: (use birthdates and places of children as clues)
• Land Records: (1st deed may reveal previous residence)
• Death-related records of children may give town or county of birth
• Records of relatives and neighbors

Military

• Washington, World War I Veteran's Compensation Fund Application Records, 1921-1925 at FamilySearch — index
• World War II enlistments at the National Archives. Select search parameters for state and county. These lists are partial. The NARA website cautions: "This series does not contain records of all World War II Army enlistees."

Naturalization and Citizenship

Declarations of Intent before 1906 often include the nation of origin, foreign and "Americanized" names, residence, and date of arrival. See Washington Naturalization and Citizenship for more information. Note: Until 1922 in the United States, women's citizenship was based on that of their husbands.

Newspapers

Small town newspapers provide historical content and contain obituaries, birth or death notices, legal notices, and community news, such as visits to or from out-of-town relatives. See Washington Newspapers for tips, resources, and details.

• Clallam County, Washington Genealogy Newspapers (Sortable by towns, years, and titles)

Finding More Washington Newspapers

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Clallam County, Washington Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• Do a search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog. To select a county in Washington, add a comma, slide way down to the county list, then click Search. (Almost every state seems to have a Washington County)

Obituaries

Obituaries may mention birth, marriage, spouse, parents, living family members, education, occupation, and more. See Washington Obituaries for state level collections and United States Obituaries for tips and insights.

• North Olympic Library System online Newspaper Index

Probate Records

Probate records identify heirs of the decedents, give the (approximate) death dates, and provide specifics about property holdings. The records were kept by the county judge.

These include wills, inheritance records, dockets, and other documents regarding property and estates of individuals who have died. See also Court Records for civil actions involving estates. Also see Washington Probate Records.

• Probate Records, 1853-1929 Part of Washington County Probate Records, 1853-1929 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
  • See what genealogical information may be in these records.

Public Records

Public records are documents created by civil authorities that either don't fit comfortably in another topic, or that could fit in several topics.

• Clallam Postmaster Index. Part of Washington, Postmaster Indexes, Prior to 1965, FamilySearch Historical Collections for Washington. (Free, browse images)

• Power of Attorney Records 1987 - present at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

Taxation

Washington tax records complement land records and can supplement the years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. For more information, see the wiki page Washington Taxation.

Vital Records

The county auditors in Washington kept records of birth, marriage, and death. The county clerk has the divorce records - the earliest dates to the present.

Visit the Washington State Department of Health website to order a Washington Birth, Death, Marriage or Divorce Certificate. See Washington Vital Records for details and history of the records. .

Birth

The names were taken from the Clallam County Register of Births.

• Birth Returns, 1890-1907 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

• Birth registers, 1891-1906 Part of: Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)

• Washington, County Birth Registers, 1873-1965 — index and images

• • See what genealogical information may be in these records.

• Vital Records (Birth and Death, 1891-1907 Part of: Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
  • See what genealogical information may be in these records.

For earlier or unrecorded births, search:

• Washington Delayed Birth Certificates often include statements of witnesses to the birth.
• Death Records often give birth date, place, parents
• Censuses to learn age, family members, location, etc.
• School Censuses in Washington give date of birth and name of parent or guardian
• Cemeteries usually give birth date or age, and sometimes birth place
• Obituaries often include birth info, living and deceased family members, and more

Marriage

• 1801-1962 - Washington, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1855–2008 - Washington, County Marriages, 1855-2008 at FamilySearch — index and images
  

• 1963-2012 - Marriage certificates, 1963-2012 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

• 1969-2014 - Washington Marriage Index, 1969-2014 at FamilySearch — index

• 1855-2008 - County Marriages, 1855-2008 at Washington, County Marriages, 1855-2008 at FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
  • See what genealogical information may be in these records.
  • Includes Applications 1946-2007; Certificates 1907-2007; Certificates and Applications 2007-2008; Certificates and Returns 1891-1955; Licenses 1914-1951; Records 1865-1939; Record Book 1889-1935; Returns 1905-1934; License Records 1887-1894.

Divorce

The county clerk has the divorce records. To order certificates, see Washington State Department of Health. Online Records

• 1969 - 2014 - Washington Divorce Index, 1969-2014 at FamilySearch — index

Death

• Washington, Death Certificates, 1907-1960 at FamilySearch Historical Collections. (Free, browse images)
  • See what genealogical information may be in these records.

• Death Returns, 1891-1906 at Washington State Digital Archives Collection. (Free)

• Death, 1891-1906 Part of: County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (free)

• Vital Records (Birth and Death, 1891-1907 Part of: Washington, County Records, 1856-2009 FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
  • See what genealogical information may be in these records.

• Death Registers, 1891-1906 Part of Washington, County Records, 1856-2009FamilySearch Historical Collections (Free, browse images)
  • See what genealogical information may be in these records.

Websites

Check back often with websites. Local societies and libraries may know of other websites.

Sites with online indexes or images of records
The Clallam County WAGenWeb Project	Free	Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
USGenWeb Archives Project	Free	Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
Washington State Digital Archives	Free	Includes indexes, some linked to images. Type county name, click Search, then select a collection. Collections were posted to the appropriate headings for this Wiki page in December, 2013.
FamilySearch Historical Collections	Free	Search indexes or browse images at FamilySearch.org. Click "Last Updated." Collections through December 2013 have been posted to the appropriate topics for this Wiki page.

Sites that search for links pertaining to Clallam County, Washington Genealogy
Websites at RootsWeb - Clallam WA	Free	Data may be submitted by individuals or complete transcriptions
Linkpendium	Free	Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
CyndisList	Free	Click links. Some sites they link to may have fees ($)
Genealogyinc.com	Free	Clallam County, Washington Facts
Facebook.com	Free	Washington Genealogy Network Group on Facebook

Major catalogs for hard copy collections of Clallam County, Washington Genealogy Books, microfilm, or manuscripts of genealogical records
FamilySearch catalog	Select topics. To select towns, add a comma to the search box.
WorldCat	To find nearby libraries that have specific items, see WorldCat Online Catalog.
Allen County Public Library (Indiana)
See also local libraries and Washington Archives and Libraries

Archives, Libraries, etc.

Listed below are archives in {{{1}}} County. For state-wide facilities, see Washington Archives and Libraries.

Resources for Clallam County, Washington Genealogy 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 FamilySearch Library (Utah) or Allen County Public Library (Indiana) for Clallam County, Washington Genealogy. When you find items you'd like to access, see Get a Copy

Family History Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Forks Washington Family History Center 1390 Calawah Way, Forks, WA 98331 United States Location Map

• Port Angeles Washington Family History Center 591 Monroe Rd,Port Angeles, WA 98362 Location Map

Libraries

Local public libraries—even smaller ones—often have Unique Genealogical Collections that are not online for the area they serve. Many libraries in Washington have an area dedicated to local history and genealogy.

• North Central Regional Library System
  • Branches, Locations and offerings
  • Genealogy and Data Base Tools Heritage Quest -- location at bottom of page
  • Special or Unique Collections: Public Records and Newspaper Obituary Index.

Societies

Listed below are societies in {{{1}}} County. For state-wide genealogical and historical societies, see Washington Societies.

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:

Cities
Forks	Port Angeles (county seat)	Sequim
Unincorporated communities
Agnew Beaver Crane Diamond Point Dungeness Elwha	Fairholm Joyce La Push Maple Grove Ozette Piedmont	Port Williams Pysht Rena Sappho Schoolhouse Point
American Indian Communities
Lower Elwha Klallam	Makah Reservation	Quileute Indian Reservation
Census-designated places
Bell Hill Blyn Carlsborg	Clallam Bay Jamestown Neah Bay	Port Angeles East River Road Sekiu
Ghost towns
Gettysburg	Mora

National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

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