Juneau Borough, Alaska Genealogy

United States

Alaska

Juneau Borough

Guide to Juneau Borough, Alaska ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Alaska Online Genealogy Records

Juneau Borough, Alaska
Map
Location in the state of Alaska, United States Genealogy
Location of Alaska in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	July 1, 1970
County Seat	Juneau
Courthouse
Address	Juneau, City and Borough Manager's Office 155 South Seward Street Juneau, Alaska, 99801 Phone: 907-586-5240 http://www.juneau.org/

Description

The Borough was named for Joe Juneau. The Borough seat is Juneau and it was created on July 1, 1970. The Borough is located in the southeastern part of the state.

Historical Facts

Boundary Changes

1970: The City of Juneau and City of Douglas were unified into the City and Borough of Juneau.

Record Loss

Juneau, AK Courthouse and Jail Fire, Jan 1898

Jail Delivery At Juneau.

Tacoma, Washington, Feb. 5.-Fire destroyed the Court House and jail at Juneau Sunday night. All records were lost. No one was injured. Fourteen prisoners had to be released and made their escape. Some were recaptured.

The New York Times, New York, NY 6 Feb 1898

Fire At Juneau.

The Government Building and Records are Destroyed.

Victoria, B.C., February 5.-A special from Juneau, Alaska, says: The most severe conflagration that ever occurred in Alaska, next to the burning of Baranoff Castle, the old Russia Capitol building at Sitka March 17, 1894, visited Juneau, January 31.

The Government building and court house, occupying the most conspicuous elevation in the city, was burned to the ground. Nearly all the Government records were lost. A heavy gale was blowing and no fire department on earth, leaving out of consideration the two-hose carts that Juneau has, could have extinguished the castle of roaring fire.

The illumination was seen for forty miles up Lynn Canal, and it lighted up beautifully the surrounding mountains of snow.

The Evening News, San Jose, CA 5 Feb 1898

No Records Destroyed.

Seattle, Feb. 5.-Advices received here to-day from Juneau, Alaska, on the steamer City of Seattle, state that there were no records destroyed by the burning of the court house. The safe containing them was saved. The fire originated in the marshal’s office and was caused by the explosion of a lamp.

Butte Weekly Miner, Butte, ID 10 Feb 1898
(source:GenDisasters)

Places/Localities

Neighboring Boroughs and Census Areas

• Haines

Populated Places

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 borough:

Cities
Juneau
Unincorporated communities
Auke Bay
Ghost towns
New Boston

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Juneau, Alaska online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com AKGenWeb AKGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Interment.net Billion Graves
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the Borough	Findagrave.com Billion Graves AK Archives Alaska Cemetery Records FamilySearch Places
See Alaska Cemeteries for more information

Census

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1890	1,253	—
1900	1,864	48.8%
1910	1,644	−11.8%
1920	3,058	86.0%
1930	4,043	32.2%
1940	5,729	41.7%
1950	5,956	4.0%
1960	6,797	14.1%
1970	6,050	−11.0%
1980	19,528	222.8%
1990	26,751	37.0%
2000	30,711	14.8%
2010	31,275	1.8%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

Church records vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden name; and death date.

For general information about Alaska denominations, see the Alaska Church Records wiki page.

The Family History Library also has copies of many Alaskan church records. To find a list in the FamilySearch Catalog, do a Place Search for Alaska, the borough, or the town.

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Gazetteers

• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

History

Local History

Local histories are available for Juneau Borough, Alaska Genealogy. Borough histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Alaska Local Histories.

Land and Property

The first general land office was established at Sitka, Alaska in 1885. Records of subsequent transactions, including deeds and mortgages, are filed at the office of the district recorder in each judicial district. The Family History Library has not acquired copies of Alaskan land records.

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military

• 1898-1934 - Alaska, State Archives (Juneau), Military Service Discharge Records, 1898-1934 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
• 1940-1945 - Alaska, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

• 1884-1991 - Alaska Naturalization Records, 1884-1991 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
• 1900-1972 - Alaska, State Archives (Juneau), Naturalization Records, 1900-1972 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

Juneau Borough, Alaska Genealogy newspapers may contain genealogical value including obituaries, births, marriages, deaths, anniversaries, family gatherings, family travel, achievements, business notices, engagement information, and probate court proceedings.

To access newspapers, contact public libraries, college or university libraries, or the Library of Congress.

For more Alaska newspaper information, see the Newspaper Guides on the wiki page Alaska Newspapers.

Probate

Probate records of Alaska were kept by the district courts prior to statehood. The superior court now has jurisdiction over probate matters. They are available at the archives and offices mentioned in Alaska Court Records. The Family History Library does not have copies of probate records from Alaska.

An index with about 17,000 probate cases from the district court system from 1884 to 1960 is available online. It is arranged alphabetically. See Alaska Probate Records Index.

Repositories

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.

• Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Juneau Alaska Family History Center

Taxation

Alaska tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses or to supplement the years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years in the tax records. The Family History Library has not filmed Alaska tax records.

Real and personal property tax records are kept at the borough's Assessors office.

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Department of Health and Social Services, Bureau of Vital Statistics. This office has birth, death and marriage records since 1890's, though, many before 1930 were not registered with the Bureau. It also has divorce records since 1950. For more information, including how to find earlier records, check Alaska Vital Records.

• 1816-1959 Alaska, Vital Records, 1816-1959 at FamilySearch — index and images — How to Use this Collection

Websites

• Juneau Borough Trails to the Past
• Linkpendium
• USGenWeb Archives,
• Juneau GenWeb Project, Alaska's Capital City.
• FamilySearch FamilySearch Catalog