Lane County, Oregon Genealogy
Guide to Lane County, Oregon ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Lane County, Oregon | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Oregon, United States Genealogy | |
 Location of Oregon in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded: | January 11, 1851 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Eugene |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Lane County Courthouse |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 Lane County, Oregon Record Dates
- 3 County Courthouse
- 4 Lane County Information
- 5 Historical Facts
- 6 Resources
- 6.1 Biography
- 6.2 Cemeteries
- 6.3 Church
- 6.4 Court Records
- 6.5 Directories
- 6.6 Emigration and Immigration
- 6.7 Funeral Homes
- 6.8 Gazetteers
- 6.9 Genealogy
- 6.10 History
- 6.11 Land and Property
- 6.12 Maps
- 6.13 Military
- 6.14 Naturalization and Citizenship
- 6.15 Newspapers
- 6.16 Probate Records
- 6.17 Repositories
- 6.18 Rivers and Waterways
- 6.19 Societies
- 6.20 Taxation
- 6.21 Vital Records
- 7 Libraries
- 8 Websites
- 9 Lane County Oregon Genealogy References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for Joseph Lane, Oregon's first territorial governor. The County is located in the west central area of the state. [1]
Lane County, Oregon Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1882 | 1855 | 1882 | 1852 | 1855 | 1852 | 1845 |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
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Lane County Courthouse
125 East 8th
Eugene, Or 97630
Phone: 541-682-4234
Deeds and Records Archives has marriage, land,
military and naturalization records from 1855.
Court Archives has probate and divorce records.
Clerk Circuit Court has court records. [3]
County Records Inventory listing the records held at the Lane County Court House as of July/August 2012.
Lane County Court is structured differently. Check the County Records Inventory link for addresses for location of records (left column).
Lane County Courthouse for additional information about some addresses and records.
Lane County Information[edit | edit source]
Lane County's civil records start the following years:
| Birth | Marriage | Death | Census | Land | Probate |
| 1882-1928 | 1852 | 1882-1928 | 1854 | 1854 | 1852 |
Historical Facts[edit | edit source]
Named for Joseph Lane, the first governor of Oregon Territory.
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
28 January 1851: Lane county was created from Linn (Non-County Area 3) and Umpqua (Non-County Area 4) Counties. [4] (Source: Newberry Library)
11 January 1854: Part was taken to form Wasco
07 January 1852: Lost small area to creation of Douglas. (Ore. Terr. Laws 1851, 3rd reg. sess., p. 18)
22 December 1853: Gained from Umpqua (extinct); gained from Non-County Area 4; exchanged with Douglas. (Ore. Terr. Special Laws, 1853, 5th reg. sess., p. 13)
19 November 1885: Gained from Douglas. (Ore. Laws 1885, gen., 13th sp. sess., p. 3)
16 February 1887: Gained from Linn. (Ore. Laws 1887, gen., 14th reg. sess., p. 126)
19 Feb 1903: Gained from Douglas. (Ore. Laws 1903, 22nd reg. sess., pp. 115-116)
29 January 1907: Exchanged with Linn. (Ore. Laws 1907, gen., 24th reg. sess., ch. 3/pp. 12-14)
19 February 1907: Gained from Linn. (Ore. Laws 1907, gen., 24th reg. sess., ch. 63/pp. 114-115)
12 February 1915: Gained from Linn and exchanged with Douglas. Area annexed from Linn was approximately 120 acres along the Willamette River near the present town of Lancaster [too small to map]. (Ore. Laws 1915, gen., 28th reg. sess., ch. 65/pp. 74-77)
15 February 1923: Lost to Benton and Lincoln. (Ore. Laws 1923, gen., 32nd reg. sess., ch. 92/pp. 129-131)
3 March 1927: Boundary with Lincoln redefined to correct minor errors in 15 February 1923 description [no change]. (Ore. Laws 1927, gen., 34th reg. sess., ch. 278/pp. 350-351)
6 March 1931: Gained small area from Lincoln when boundary was redefined to correct an error in the previous description. (Ore. Laws 1931, gen., 36th reg. sess., ch. 288/p. 514)
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.
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
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
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
The following are locations in the county:[5]
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator
| Cities | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
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| Ghost towns | ||
Defunct Post Offices[edit | edit source]
- Ada: Post Office established 1892. Named for Miss Ada Wilkes, a daughter of an old-time resident. She was subsequently Mrs. Ada Cleveland. FamilySearch Catalog
- Alma: Alma is in the southwest part of Lane County on the Siuslaw River. Post Office was established in 1888, with A. P. Condray as first postmaster. Named for Alma Johnson, daughter of Arthur and Alice Johnson, early settlers in the community.
- Alpha: The post office at Alpha was established in 1890, and was named for Alpha Lundy, the daughter of the first postmaster, Mrs. Flora B. Lundy. Alpha is the first letter of the greek alphabet.
- Alvadore: Alvadore was named for Alvadore Welch of Portland, who built the Portland, Eugene and Eastern Railway through the community. The railway was later acquired by the Southern Pacific Railroad, but in 1936 the track was torn up. Alvadore post office was established in 1914.
Resources[edit | edit source]
Biography[edit | edit source]
Trivia Tidbits: Little biographic bits associated with the names of non-population localities.
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 | ||
| ORInterment | ||
| ORGravestones | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See Oregon Cemeteries for more information. | ||
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1860 | 4,780 | — |
| 1870 | 6,426 | 34.4% |
| 1880 | 9,411 | 46.5% |
| 1890 | 15,198 | 61.5% |
| 1900 | 19,604 | 29.0% |
| 1910 | 33,783 | 72.3% |
| 1920 | 36,166 | 7.1% |
| 1930 | 54,493 | 50.7% |
| 1940 | 69,096 | 26.8% |
| 1950 | 125,776 | 82.0% |
| 1960 | 162,890 | 29.5% |
| 1970 | 213,358 | 31.0% |
| 1980 | 275,226 | 29.0% |
| 1990 | 282,912 | 2.8% |
| 2000 | 322,959 | 14.2% |
| 2010 | 351,715 | 8.9% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
Church[edit | edit source]
Lutheran[edit | edit source]
- Records of Bethesda Evangelical Lutheran Church, Eugene, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).[6]
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court Records[edit | edit source]
Directories[edit | edit source]
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]
Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
Genealogy[edit | edit source]
Mailing Lists[edit | edit source]
Message Boards[edit | edit source]
History[edit | edit source]
Land and Property[edit | edit source]
Maps[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
for more resources
Military[edit | edit source]
Civil War[edit | edit source]
- 1861-1865 - Oregon, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
World War I[edit | edit source]
- 1919-1920 - Oregon, World War I, County Military Service Records, 1919-1920 at FamilySearch — index
- 1921-1938 - Oregon, World War I, Veteran State Aid Applications, 1921-1938 at FamilySearch — index and images
Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Oregon Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
Online Records
- 1833 – 1963 Oregon Wills and Probate Records 1833-1963 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
Repositories[edit | edit source]
- Lane County Archive and Records Center
- Lane County Historical Museum
- Lane County Public Service Building
- Oregon State Archives
- Oregon Historical Society
- University of Oregon, Knight Library
- Lane Education Service District
Rivers and Waterways[edit | edit source]
Details about the rivers and waterways where farms and settlements are often found along them. Rivers and Waterways
Societies[edit | edit source]
Lane County Historical Society
740 W 13th Ave
Eugene 97402-4010
Telephone: 541-682-4242
Website
Cottage Grove Genealogical Society
PO Box 388
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Telephone: 541-942-9570
Website
Taxation[edit | edit source]
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
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]
- 1860 - 1952 - Oregon Births, 1860-1952 at FamilySearch — index
Delayed Birth Certificates
Birth Registers
Marriage Records[edit | edit source]
- 1826-1975 - Oregon, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
- 1849-1884; 1991-2006 - Oregon Marriage Index, 1849-1884; 1991-2006 at FamilySearch — index and images; collection is incomplete.
- 1852-1921 - Oregon, Lane County, Marriage Records, 1852-1921 at FamilySearch — index and images
- Extractions of early marriages are listed on the Western States Marriage Index
- Marriage Index 1885-1896 Actually is a book of affiants reporting the marriages. Historical Records Collection
Death Records[edit | edit source]
Libraries[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
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 Libraries
- Cottage Grove Oregon Family History Center
- Eugene Oregon Family History Center
- Florence Oregon Family History Center
- Oakridge Oregon Family History Center
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Lane County, OR History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Oregon Genealogy Network Community on Google+
- Oregon Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
- The Lane County GenWeb Project part of The ORGenWeb Project
- Linkpendium
- USGenWeb Archives
- USGenWeb Archives (backup site)
Lane County Oregon Genealogy References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Lane, Oregon" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_County,_Oregon accessed 28 Nov 2018
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Lane 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.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Klamath County, Oregon page 573, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed.; Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002 WorldCat 50140092, FHL Book 973 D27e 2002
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Lane County, Oregon," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_County,_Oregon, accessed 1 November 2018.
- ↑ "Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: An Inventory of Selected Congregational Records of the American Lutheran Church in Minnesota at the Minnesota Historical Society," Collection Finding Aids, Minnesota Historical Society, http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/01009.xml, accessed 10 June 2013.
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