Genealogical Research in Oregon

It is thought that Sir Francis Drake was the first European to see Oregon during a raid on the Spanish in 1578. For the following two centuries the only European contact was occasional sightings of the coast by mariners who considered the area to dangerous for landings. In 1778 Captain James Cook, visited the Northwest and gave names to several Oregon capes. American ships soon frequented the area carrying merchants seeking sea otter and other firs. One of them, an American merchant captain, Robert Gray, discovered the Columbia River in 1792, eventually leading to the US claim to the Northwest.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived in the area, spending the winter there from 1805–06, while the first traders established an outpost at the mouth of the Columbia River in 1811. The unsuccessful venture was sold to the British in three years later, and the next twenty years British agents of the North West Company in conjunction with some of the original American traders explored the area, mapping trails and establishing more trading posts.

Although the Americans and British had agreed to joint occupation of the region, the Hudson Bay Company, which had merged with the North West Company, exerted the most influence in the area. Protestant missionaries were also a major influence in the area, establishing missions which eventually served as bases for white settlement. The first wagon trains of any consequence arrived via the Oregon Trail in the early 1840,s, eventually establishing a provisional government in 1843.

The provisional government ruled until 1849 when Oregon became a territory. The original Oregon Territory included parts of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, and all of present day Washington State. A constitution was approved in November 1857, and after a delay caused by North-South rivalries, Congress voted to make Oregon, the 33rd state on 14 February 1859.

Famous Battles Fought in Oregon

There were no Civil War or any other major war battles fought in Oregon. There were however several minor Indian Wars.

These battle accounts that exist can be very effective in uncovering the military records of your ancestor. They can tell you what regiments fought in which battles, and often include the names and ranks of many officers and enlisted men.

Boundary Changes: Boundary changes are a common obstacle when researching Oregon ancestors. You could be searching for an ancestor’s record in one county when in fact it is stored in a different one due to historical county boundary changes. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries can help you to overcome that problem. It provides a chronological listing of every boundary change that has occurred in the history of Oregon.

Name Changes: Surname changes, variations, and misspellings can complicate genealogical research. It is important to check all spelling variations. Soundex, a program that indexes names by sound, is a useful first step, but you can't rely on it completely as some name variations result in different Soundex codes. The surnames could be different, but the first name may be different too. You can also find records filed under initials, middle names, and nicknames as well, so you will need to get creative with surname variations and spellings in order to cover all the possibilities. For help with surname variations read our instructional article on How to Use Soundex.

Genealogical resources include not only records, but the organizations that house them, or can direct you to them. These institutions include: Archives, Libraries, Genealogical Societies, Family History Centers, Universities, Churches, and Museums.

Oregon Archives

Oregon Mailing Lists

Mailing lists are internet based facilities that use email to distribute a single message to all who subscribe to it. When information on a particular surname, new records, or any other important genealogy information related to the mailing list topic becomes available, the subscribers are alerted to it. Joining a mailing list is an excellent way to stay up to date on Oregon genealogy research topics. Rootsweb have an extensive listing of Oregon Mailing Lists on a variety of topics.

Oregon Message Boards

A message board is another internet based facility where people can post questions about a specific genealogy topic and have it answered by other genealogists. If you have questions about a surname, record type, or research topic, you can post your question and other researchers and genealogists will help you with the answer. Be sure to check back regularly, as the answers are not emailed to you. The message boards at the Oregon Genealogy Forum are completely free to use.

Oregon Newspapers and Periodicals

Many genealogy periodicals and historical newspapers contain reprinted copies of family genealogies, transcripts of family Bible records, information about local records and archives, census indexes, church records, queries, land records, obituaries, court records, cemetery records, and wills.

Historical Oregon Maps and Gazetteers

Maps are an integral part of genealogical research. They help us to locate landmarks, towns, cities, parishes, states, provinces, waterways and roads and streets. They also help us to determine when and where boundary changes might have taken place, and give us a visualization of the area we’re researching in.

For locating place names, a gazetteer is the best possible resource for any genealogist. Gazetteers are also sometimes called “place name dictionaries”, and can help you to locate the area in which you need to conduct research.

Oregon City Directories

City directories are similar to telephone directories in that they list the residents of a particular area. The difference though is what is important to genealogists, and that is they pre-date telephone directories. You can find an ancestor’s information such as their street address, place of employment, occupation, or the name of their spouse. A one-stop-shop for finding city directories in Oregon is the Oregon Online Historical Directories which contains a listing of every available historical directory related to Oregon.

Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Records – Also known as vital records, birth, death, and marriage certificates are the most basic, yet most important records attached to your ancestor. The reason for their importance is that they not only place your ancestor in a specific place at a definite time, but potentially connect the individual to other relatives. Below is a list of repositories and websites where you can find Oregon vital records

Oregon began recording official records of births and deaths in 1911. Marriage licenses were required starting in 1867, but not filed at state level until 1913.

Marriage and Divorce Records

Marriages prior to May 1913 were recorded in the district county courts where the marriage took place. Oregon marriage licenses did not include the names of the parents unless the bride or groom was underage. Records can be found at:

Divorce records from 1861 until July 1951 were recorded in the Oregon District Courts.

Copies of official divorce records after July 1951 can be ordered from the Oregon Office of Vital Statistics.

Census Reports

Census records are among the most important genealogical documents for placing your ancestor in a particular place at a specific time. Like BDM records, they can also lead you to other ancestors, particularly those who were living under the authority of the head of household.

Oregon Church Records

Church and synagogue records are a valuable resource, especially for baptisms, marriages, and burials that took place before 1900. You will need to at least have an idea of your ancestor’s religious denomination, and in most cases you will have to visit a brick and mortar establishment to view them.

Most church records are kept by the individual church, although in some denominations, records are placed in a regional archive or maintained at the diocesan level. Local Historical Societies are sometimes the repository for the state’s older church records.

Central Repositories for Denominational Records

Most of the records of individual denominations are kept in central repositories.

Oregon Military Records

More than 40 million Americans have participated in some time of war service since America was colonized. The chance of finding your ancestor amongst those records is exceptionally high. Military records can even reveal individuals who never actually served, such as those who registered for the two World Wars but were never called to duty.

Oregon Cemetery Records

As convenient as it is to search cemetery records online, keep in mind that there are a few disadvantages over visiting a cemetery in person. They are:

• Tombstone information is not always accurately transcribed
• The arrangement of the graves in a cemetery can be crucial as family members are often buried next to each other or in the same grave. This arrangement is not always preserved in the alphabetical indexes that are found online.

Oregon Obituaries

Obituaries can reveal a wealth about our ancestor and other relatives. You can search our Oregon Newspaper Obituaries Listings from hundreds of Oregon newspapers online for free.

Oregon Wills and Probate Records

The documents found in a probate packet may include a complete inventory of a person’s estate, newspaper entries, witness testimony, a copy of a will, list of debtors and creditors, names of executors or trustees, names of heirs. They can not only tell you about the ancestor you’re currently researching, but lead to other ancestors.

Most of these records must be accessed at a county court or clerk’s office, but some can be found online as well. You can obtain copies of the original probate records by writing to the county clerk.

Oregon probate records have been recorded by the probate division clerks of the Oregon District Courts and include dockets, wills, oaths, inventories, letters, bonds, appraisements, accounts, court orders, claims, and final settlements.

Oregon Immigration and Naturalization Records

The naturalization process generated many types of records, including petitions, declarations of intention, and oaths of allegiance. These records can provide family historians with information such as a person's birth date and place of birth, immigration year, marital status, spouse information, occupation, witnesses' names and addresses, and more.

Most overseas immigrants came to Oregon through east coast ports such as New, and then traveled by railway to Oregon. Earlier immigrants landed at New Orleans and then traveled by steamboats upriver to Oregon. The U.S. National Archives has passenger lists or indexes of American ports for 1820 to 1940, as well as immigration and naturalization records for the entire United States. These records can also be accessed at the National Archives Regional Branch in Oregon City

Oregon Native American Records

Bibliographies

• Northwest Women: An Annotated Bibliography of Sources on the History of Oregon and Washington Women, 1787-1970, Karen J. Blair (Washington State University Press, 1976)
• Women’s Voices From the Oregon Trail: The Times that Tried Women’s Souls and a Guide to Women’s History Along the Oregon Trail, Patricia Brandt and Kathleen Petersen (Tamarack Books, 1994)
• Treasures in the Trunk: Quilts of the Oregon Trail, Mary Bywater Cross (Rutledge Hill Press, 1993)
• Select Bibliography of Women’s Studies: Holdings of the Women’s Center Library at Oregon State University, Judith A. Glenn (Oregon State University Press, 1988)
• Covered Wagon Women: Diaries and Letters From the Western Trails, 1852: The Oregon Trail, Kenneth L. Holmes (University of Nebraska Press, 1997)

Selected Resources for Oregon Women’s History

Center Oregon Community College Library
NW College Way
Bend, OR 97701

Coordinating Committee for Women Historians
Western Oregon State University
Montmouth, OR 97361

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR 97205

Women’s Center Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97333

Common Oregon Surnames

The following surnames are among the most common in Oregon and are also being currently researched by other genealogists. If you find your surname here, there is a chance that some research has already been performed on your ancestor.

Alexander, Alfart, Andrey, Anna, Ball, Barnes, Brock, Broer, Broers, Bryant, Buessenschuett, Carson, Cole, Copenhaver, Cox, Cranmer, Descloux, Dinwiddie, Downs, Elizabeth, Eoff, Euchler, Fannin, Findley, Frances, Gray, Gsuiter, Hainey, Hamilton, Hannah, Hansen, Harris, Hitchman, Hohimer, Holland, Hope, Jones, Jr., Julia, Kleemeyer, Klemeyer, Koehler, Koster, Mains, Margaret, Mary, McGray, McKinzie, Means, Meier, Moore, Morton, Nation, Nussbaum, Ogle, Pack, Paine, Parsons, Potter, Robbins, Robertson, Robins, Robinson, Sally, Schierloh, Schmeckpeper, Sebade, Seebade, Shirtz, Spanheimer, Stagler, Stephenson, Suiter, Susan, Thomas, Vickery, Wade, Warneke, Weissenfluh, Wells, Wilson, Wollaston, Yeureth