Olympia and Thurston County, WA History
Genealogical Records
in the Washington State Archives
Submitted by Roger Easton: WaResearcher@hotmail.com || Roger's Homepage
State-wide documents held by the State Archives of interest to genealogists are outlined below.
Should you wish to have any of these searched, or more information about any of them,
contact Roger Easton: WaResearcher@hotmail.com
Washington State Archives, SW Regional Branch
1129 Washington Street SE
Olympia, WA 98504-0238
(360) 753-1801 or (360) 586-1492
Territorial Census Rolls, 1857-1892. Arranged by county, Handwritten, not indexed. 35 mm microfilm. Shows names of all family members, age, place of birth, occupation, and marital status.
Birth and Death Registers, 1891-1907. Arranged by county, not indexed, incomplete. 16 & 35 mm microfilm.
Death Indexes, 1907-1997. Statewide, arranged by the Soundex System. Shows name, date of death, age, place of death. 16 mm microfilm (1907-1979) and microfiche (1968-1997). For death certificates, contact Roger Easton.
Birth Indexes, 1907-1920. Statewide, arranged by the Soundex System. Shows names of father, mother, and child, date of birth, place of birth. 35 mm microfilm. For birth certificates, contact Roger Easton.
Marriage Index, 1968-1997. Statewide, arranged by the Soundex System. Indexed by the names of the bride and groom. Shows names of bride and groom, date of marriage, and place of marriage. For marriage certificates, contact Roger Easton.
Divorce Index, 1968-1997. Statewide, arranged by the Soundex System. Indexed by the names of husband and wife. Shows names of husband and wife, date of divorce and place of divorce. Microfiche. For marriage certificates, contact Roger Easton.
Indian War Muster Rolls, 1855-1856. A record of all those who volunteered to fight in the Indian War. Shows Company, Rank, Name, Age, Equipment Provided, Military Record, and Disposition (killed, wounded, deserted, mustered-out). Arranged by Company, Indexed by surname. 35 mm microfilm.
Frontier Justice - Washington Territorial District Court Records, 1854-1889. All court cases which took place in Washington Territory, 1854-1889. Includes the full case file, an abstract of each case, and an index by the names of all principals in the case. 16mm microfilm.
Prison, Pardon and Clemency Records, 1884-1965. Prison admission records, card files, case files, and an index by the names of all principals in the case. 16mm microfilm.
World War I and World War II Bonus Application Index. Index cards for all Washington State Veterans of WWI and WWII, who applied for the Bonus. Arranged by surname.
Professional Licensing Records. Records of licenses issued to Physicians (1881-1921), Dentists (1888-1923), Barbers (1901-1920), Optometrists (1909-1920), Drugless Healers (1919-1925), Veterinarians (1907-1920), Chiropodists (1917-1920), Embalmers (1893-1935), Osteopaths (1919-1920), Registered Nurses (1909-1917).
Daughters of the (Washington) Pioneers, Obituary Scrapbooks. Newspaper clippings of the obituaries of Washington Pioneers, arranged chronologically. Indexed by name of deceased.
Pioneer Certificate Application Files. Compiled by the Washington State Genealogical Society. Application files by people claiming ancestry to a Washington pioneer, arriving in Washington prior to 1889. The files include copies of vital records documents and other materials documenting ancestry and lineage. Indexed and cross indexed to include the names of applicants and ancestors. Roger Easton has copies of the actual hand-written applications, done around 1918. Often these are in the hand of the actual pioneer, giving accounts of the crossing, and details. Also, often giving all the family members, ages, places of birth, etc.
Updated October 5, 2001