Oregon

This index includes entries (615,592 in October 2014) compiled by examining actual records held by the Oregon State Archives. The spelling of surnames and other information reflects the original records.

These record descriptions and listings are based on useful topics for researchers. Most of the records are available at the Oregon State Archives. ​​Some are indexed online. The guides also give suggestions for records held by other repositories such as the National Archives and Bureau of Land Management.

Here you may browse State Agency Records Guides including Department of Corrections (1854-1983), Oregon Department of the Military (1847-1986), Depart​ment of State Lands (1859-1989), and many more.

Vital Records - Maintained by the Center for Disease Control

The Oregon Historical Society serves as the state’s collective memory, gathering and preserving a vast collection of artifacts, photographs, films, manuscripts, books, and oral histories.

The Oregon Historical Society's Research Library maintains more than 32,000 books, 25,000 maps, 12,000 linear feet of manuscripts, 3,000 serials titles, 5,000 vertical files, 16,000 reels of newspaper microfilm, 8.5 million feet of film and videotape, 10,000 oral history tapes, and more than 2.5 million photographs.

Biographical files and oral history recordings at the Harney County Library

Digital Archives include copies of their local Myrtle Point Herald and others dating back to 1870

Genealogical Society of Washington County Oregon (Indexes)

The Oregon Historical Society’s Research Library has a wide array of biographical and genealogical resources

Public Libraries - Directory by state and city

State Libraries - Maintained by publiclibraries.com

Online collection of yearbooks from 1913-2016. Roseburg is a city in Douglas County, Oregon.

Lots of indexes by the Rogue Valley Genealogical Society

A local history collection that honors the people who lived in Sherman County, kept the records, and preserved their stories. It’s truly the work of many, and will appeal to history enthusiasts and genealogists.

Index entries cover some 17,000 obituaries, mainly of Clackamas County residents and former residents from over 100 years of Canby, Oregon, newspapers.

Record collections, history, and genealogy resources at Ancestry.com

Oregon FamilySearch Historical Record Collections

GenForum - Message boards for surnames, locales, etc.

U.S. GenWeb - Links for all states and counties within the United States

Cyndi’s List - Over 331,000 Genealogical links

A preliminary guide for those persons conducting research on Coos County and south coast history and genealogy.

This guide includes maps, county and office histories, scenic images, and a comprehensive descriptive inventory of selected records for each of Oregon's 36 counties. The inventory listings describe records available to researchers at the State Archives, county offices, local museums, and other repositories.

Death Indexes- Deaths, obits, probate files, and burials

Soldiers’ Memorial, Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery

Pick a cemetery and search the database

Directory of funeral homes in Multnomah County, Oregon

Search 14 pioneer cemeteries

Funeral Home and Cemetery Directory - The site contains a list of licensed funeral homes and cemeteries in the state of Oregon. The list is word searchable. The facility descriptions often contain earlier names as well as those they have purchased or consolidated with. The GFO has copies of the 2016 and 2017 directories.

National Cemeteries in Oregon

Oregon State Hospital, 1914 - 1970s

Pick a cemetery and search the database

Oregon Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1836-1922 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.

A library card is needed to access these collections. The Historic Oregonian (1861-1987), The Oregonian (1987-present), and The Oregon Journal (1902-1982)

Oregon Digital Newspaper Project

Historic Oregon Newspapers - scanned by the University of Oregon

Oregon Newspaper Index - by the University of Oregon. 977,000+ entries from the Portland Oregonian (1852-1987), the Oregon Daily Emerald (1900-1979), and The Register Guard (1963-2004)

Oregon Counties and Links by Name

Geology and Earth Science News and Information for Oregon

Collection of historical Oregon maps

Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection

Newberry Atlas of Counties

The Rebel flag flew in Oregon — Offbeat Oregon History

The Grand Army of the Republic assembles for its 52nd encampment

Korea National Archives

An exhibit and learning resource exploring the experiences of Oregonians in World War I as seen through the records of the State Council of Defense for Oregon

The Official Records of the Oregon Volunteers in the Spanish War and Philippine Insurrection

A list of Spanish American War Veterans buried in Oregon

Vietnam National Archives

WWI draft registration records of Oregon

Oregon Death Roll, WWI, Army

From the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, as of December 27, 1921

American Battle Monuments Commission — WWI : an index to the 226 WWI soldiers from Oregon in the ABMC database. Cemetery links go directly to the page for the soldier and give much more information.

Nobuo Fujita dropped two incendiary bombs to start a forest fire outside Brookings

The Applegate Trail was blazed by Lindsay and Jesse Applegate in 1846

The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center offers living history demonstrations, interpretive programs, exhibits, multi-media presentations, special events, and more than four miles of interpretive trails

Oregon Trail Timelines

At the End of the Trail — Clackamas County, home to Oregon City, the first capital of Oregon Territory. As the site of some of the earliest settlements in Oregon, Clackamas is a fascinating area for historians and genealogists.

On the Oregon Trail by Myra Vanderpool Gormley from Genealogy Magazine

Oregon - The Black Laws of Oregon, 1844-1857

Oregon - A Brief History of the Chinese in Oregon, 1850-1950

Oregon - Japanese Americans in the Columbia River Basin

A good resource for Jewish and/or East European ancestors

Oregon - Lang Syne Society

African Americans found in the pages of Oregon's history

Check links for History, Families, People, Stories, and more

The biography of Theodore Augustus Penland, the last surviving member of the G.A.R. in Oregon (findagrave.com)

Oregon’s last Civil War veteran, James W. Smith (Offbeat Oregon History)

Heroes and rascals, shipwrecks and lost gold - Finn J.D. John

A place called Oregon — History and Genealogy

Oregon - The Legal Genealogist - The Aging of Oregon

Oregon - The Legal Genealogist - Of crime and punishment in Oregon Territory

Oregon - The Legal Genealogist - History of the Oregon Constitution

Taking the Census in the Applegate Valley of Oregon by William Dollarhide