Baker County, Oregon Genealogy

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This article is about a northeast Oregon county. For other uses, see Baker.

Guide to Baker County, Oregon ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.


Baker County, Oregon
Map
Map of Oregon highlighting Baker County
Location in the state of Oregon, United States Genealogy
Map of the U.S. highlighting Oregon
Location of Oregon in the U.S.
Facts
Founded September 22, 1862
County Seat Baker City
Courthouse
Or-baker-ch.jpg
Address Baker County Courthouse
1995 Third
Baker City, OR 97814
Website: www.bakercounty.org
Named for: Edward Dickinson Baker
Baker-edwarddickinson.jpg





County Information[edit | edit source]


Description[edit | edit source]

The County was named for Edward Dickinson Baker, a senator from Oregon who was killed at Ball's Bluff, a battle of the Civil War in Virginia in 1861. The County is located in the northeast area of the state. [1]

Baker County, Oregon Record Dates[edit | edit source]

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records[2]
Marriage Court Land Probate Census
1871 1862 1905 1862 1862 1862 1845
*Statewide registration for births and deaths in 1903. General compliance year unknown.

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Baker County Government

County Records Inventory listing the records held at the Baker County Court House as of June/July 2010.

Baker County Court is structured differently. Check the County Records Inventory link for addresses for location of records (left column).

This courthouse has the reputation of being the cleanest county record depository in the state of Oregon.

  • Record Loss: Some will books were lost in a county clerk's office fire in 1890s. One early marriage register is missing (covering 1862-1877) (as of 15 August 2012).

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at

Oregon, Baker County Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Historical Facts[edit | edit source]

Named for U.S. Senator Edward Dickinson Baker of Oregon, who was killed at the United States Civil War, 1861-1865 in the Civil War.

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

  • 1890s Some will books were lost in a county clerk’s office fire in the 1890s.
  • One early marriage register missing (as of 2005).

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

22 September 1862: Baker county was created from Wasco County. [3]

14 October 1864: Union County set off.

17 February 1887: Malheur County set off.

1 February 1901: The Panhandle area between the Powder River and the Wallowa Mountains was returned from Union County, forming the northeast corner of Baker County.

For animated maps illustrating Oregon County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Oregon County Boundary Maps" (1843-1975) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

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:[4]

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated Communities

Ghost Towns

Defunct Post Offices[edit | edit source]

Trivia Tidbits[edit | edit source]

Information about localities, too small or too brief to describe in separate pages. Exception to this are Post Offices. > Trivia Tidbits

Resources[edit | edit source]

Biography[edit | edit source]

An Illustrated history of Baker, Grant, Malheur and Harney counties WorldCat 5436806; FHL
([Spokane, Washington]: Western Historical Publishing Company, 1902).
Heavy on history (prehistoric to time of publication), heavy on biographies of prominent men, but little of genealogies.
Also available in other forms:

  1. Baker County Biographies USGenWeb Archives Project
  2. WorldCat 24186308
  3. eBook - HeritageQuestonline.com (LAR)

Thirty-one years in Baker County: a history of the county from 1861 to 1893; Isaac Hiatt WorldCat 841884; FHL
(Baker, Oregon: Baker County Historical Society and the Powder River Sportsmen's Club, 1970).

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Tombstone Transcriptions Online Tombstone Transcriptions in Print List of Cemeteries in the county
Findagrave.com Family History Library Findagrave.com
ORGenWeb WorldCat Billion Graves
ORGenWeb Archives FamilySearch Places
Tombstone Project
ORGravestones
Billion Graves
See Oregon Cemeteries for more information.

Census[edit | edit source]

Federal[edit | edit source]

Note: 1870, 1880, 1890 and 1900 censuses, the Panhandle of Baker County enumerations can be found in Union County when it was part of Union County.

  • 1870 - the area between Baker City, Haines and the Blue Mountains, generally known as Wingville, was overlooked and not enumerated.
  • Eastern Oregon 1870 U.S. Census: Baker County, Grant County, Umatilla County, Union County FHL
  • 1880 - the portion that later became Malheur County (all the places south of the Malheur River including what is now Ontario, Vale, Nyssa, Owyhee, etc.) was not enumerated.
  • 1890
  • 1900
  • 1910
  • 1920
  • 1930

Militia[edit | edit source]

State[edit | edit source]

  • 1905

Church History and Records (rural only)[edit | edit source]


List of Churches and Church Parishes

County Records[edit | edit source]

Court Records[edit | edit source]

  • Widow's pension applications and ledger, Baker County, Oregon, 1913-1936 FHL
    (Baker County Court, State of Oregon, 2001)

Directories[edit | edit source]

  • Eastern Oregon directory, 1899-1900: a complete directory of Umatilla, Union and Baker counties; with the Portland business directory FHL Collection
  • Baker City (Oregon) city directories, 1908-1935 FHL Collection
  • Baker (Baker County, Oregon) city directory: including Baker County residents, rural routes, also a buyers' guide and a complete classified business directory, 1959- FHL Collection

Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]

Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

Genealogy[edit | edit source]

Gotoarrow-kelly.png Biography, History

  • The History of Baker County; Baker County Historical Society, pub. 1986. WorldCat 15218008; FHL Collection
    ([S.l.]: Baker County Historical Society (OR), 1986)
    Little of biography and local history, more of family genealogies.
  • Centennial pioneer families of Baker County, 1976 FHL Collection

History[edit | edit source]

Also see: Biography, Genealogy

Land and Property[edit | edit source]

Maps[edit | edit source]

Union CountyWallowa CountyGrant CountyMalheur CountyWashington CountyAdams CountyOR BAKER.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources


Migration[edit | edit source]

Early migration routes to and from Baker County, Oregon for European and African American settlers included:

Military History and Records[edit | edit source]

Civil War[edit | edit source]

World War I[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

  1. Newspaper clippings USGenWeb Archives Project
  2. Oregon Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

  1. Baker County Obituaries USGenWeb Archives Project

Pensions[edit | edit source]

Gotoarrow-kelly.png Court records for the widows pensions

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

Note: some will books were lost from a small fire in the county clerk's office before 1900.

Online Records

Rivers and Waterways[edit | edit source]

Details about the rivers and waterways where farms and settlements are often found along them. >> Rivers and Waterways

Taxation[edit | edit source]

  • Baker County, [Oregon], assessment tax rolls, 1892-1897 FHL
  • Baker City (Oregon) city directories FHL microfilm 2309792 Item 1
    Tax lists are for Baker, Grant and Union counties 1908-1909, listed as last part of the volume.

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

Record of births and deaths: record of physicians, midwives and undertakers, 1916-1929 #FHL

See also How to order Oregon Vital Records, order electronically online or download an application for Oregon Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Divorce Certificate, Death Certificate Application to mail.

Birth Records[edit | edit source]

Delayed Birth Certificates

Birth Registers

Marriage Records[edit | edit source]

Death Records[edit | edit source]

Societies, Libraries and Museums[edit | edit source]

Baker County Historical Society
Box 83
Baker City, OR 97814
Website
Baker Heritage Museum
2480 Grove St.
Baker City 97814-2719
541-523-9308
Website
E-mail:www.bakerheritagemuseum.com
Baker County Public Library
2400 Resort St
Baker City, OR 97814
541-523-5419
Website


Family History Centers[edit | edit source]

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

  • Family History 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 family history center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Websites[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Baker, Oregon" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_County,_Oregon accessed 27 Nov 2018
  2. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Baker County, Oregon . Page 572-574 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 563-564.
  3. ↑ WorldCat 50140092; FHL CollectionHandybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed.] (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002)
  4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Baker County, Oregon ," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_County,_Oregon, accessed 12 September 2018.
  5. ↑ Jim Tompkins, "The Oregon Trail 1841-1848 Map V" in Oregon Trail Landmarks at OTMap5.jpg (accessed 18 July 2011).

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