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Oregon Genealogy

Oregon Genealogy Facts

Spanish and English sailors are believed to have sighted the Oregon coast in the 1500s and 1600s. Capt. James Cook, seeking the Northwest Passage, charted some of the coastline in 1778. In 1792, Capt. Robert Gray, in the Columbia, discovered the river named after his ship and claimed the area for the U.S. In 1805 the Lewis and Clark expedition explored the area. John Jacob Astor’s fur depot, Astoria, was founded in 1811. Disputes for control of Oregon between American settlers and the Hudson Bay Company were finally resolved in the 1846 Oregon Treaty, in which Great Britain gave up claims to the region.

  • Oregon was organized as territory on Aug. 14, 1848
  • Oregon entered the union as the 33rd state on Febuary 14, 1859 .
  • Oregon has 36 Counties
  • Oregon’s capital is Salem and the official state website is www.oregon.gov/.
  • Oregon is bordered by California (south), Idaho (east), Nevada (southeast), Washington (north).
  • Oregon has a land area of 98,386 square miles making it the 9th largest state.
  • Oregon’s 2010 population was 3,831,074 .
  • Oregon  largest cities (2010) are Portland, 583,776; Eugene, 156,185; Salem (Capital) 154,637; Gresham, 105,594; Hillsboro, 91,611; Beaverton, 89,803; Bend, 76,639; Medford, 74,907; Springfield, 59,403; Corvallis, 54,462.
  • Oregon’s name may have come from the French word Ouragan (which means Hurricane) and was a former name of the Columbia River .
  • Oregon’s nickname is ” Beaver State “
  • Oregon State Motto is ” She Flies With Her Own Wings” and “The Union” .

Oregon County Genealogy

A major resource for identifying records and where they are deposited and used in developing the following county chart is the Oregon State Archives’ online “Oregon Historical County Records Guide”. It provides a map, history and guide to the status of each county’s records. Consider it one of the first resources for seeking county records.

Select a County Below

Baker, Benton, Clackamas, Columbia, Coos, Crook, Clatsop, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Malheur, Marion, Morrow, Multnomah, Polk, Sherman, Tillamook, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, Wheeler, Washington, Yamhill

Oregon has counties that no longer exist. They were established by the state, provincial, or territorial government. Most of these counties were created and disbanded in the 19th century; county boundaries have changed little since 1900 in the vast majority of states. These counties need to be looked at when doing genealogy research. Pay close attention where the courthouse records went to if the county was abolished or combined with another county.

  • Umpqua County, Oregon – created 1851, gradually reduced in size until 1862, when what remained was incorporated into Douglas County

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Oregon Genealogy Links

See Oregon County Genealogy for County Links. These genealogy links fall into 3 categories: Commercial Sites, Personal Sites or Organization Sites. Some are have free access some require a payment. This is just a list that has been collected or submitted. I do not endorse or promote one genealogy site above another. Feel free to submit your own favorite genealogy or family history related sites.

Oregon State History

Oregon, constituent state of the United States of America. Oregon is bounded to the north by Washington state, from which it receives the waters of the Columbia River; to the east by Idaho, more than half the border with which is formed by the winding Snake River and Hells Canyon; to the south by Nevada and California, with which Oregon shares its mountain and desert systems; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean, which produces the moderate climate of Oregon’s western lands. The capital is Salem, in the northwestern part of the state.

Admitted to the union as the 33rd state on Feb. 14, 1859, Oregon comprises an area of startling physical diversity, from the moist rain forests, mountains, and fertile valleys of its western third to the naturally arid and climatically harsh eastern deserts. Mountains, plateaus, plains, and valleys of different geologic ages and materials are arrayed in countless combinations, including such natural wonders as the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon Caves National Monument, Crater Lake National Park, the majestic snow-covered peaks of the Cascade Range, and the central Oregon “moon country” (lava fields that served as a training site for astronauts in the U.S. space program in the 1960s). The name Oregon is thought to be Native American in origin.

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