Morrow County, Oregon Genealogy
Guide to Morrow County, Oregon ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
Morrow County, Oregon | |
Map | |
![]() Location in the state of Oregon, United States Genealogy | |
![]() Location of Oregon in the U.S. | |
Facts | |
Founded | February 16, 1885 |
---|---|
County Seat | Heppner |
Courthouse | |
Address | Morrow County Courthouse 100 North Court Street Heppner, Or 97836 Phone: 541-676-5603 Morrow County Website |
Contents
- 1 County Information
- 2 Morrow County, Oregon Record Dates
- 3 County Courthouse
- 4 Historical Facts
- 5 Places / Localities
- 6 Neighboring Counties
- 7 Resources
- 8 Societies, Libraries and Museums
- 9 Websites
- 10 Morrow County Oregon Genealogy References
County Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for Jackson L. Morrow, who was a member of the state legislature. The County is located in the north central area of the state. [1]
Morrow County, Oregon Record Dates[edit | edit source]
Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
1905 | 1885 | 1905 | 1885 | 1861 | 1885 | 1845 |
County Courthouse
[edit | edit source]
County Clerk has divorce, court and land records from 1885. [3]
County Records Inventory listing the records held at the Morrow County Court House as of August 2008.
Morrow County Court is structured differently. Check the County Records Inventory link for addresses for location of records (left column).
Historical Facts[edit | edit source]
Parent Counties[edit | edit source]
16 February 1885: Morrow county was created from the western portion of Umatilla and the small eastern portion of Wasco Counties. [4]
Named for Jackson L. Morrow, one of the first settlers of Morrow County, who was a member of the state legislature when the county was created.
The county seat is Heppner.
- County Records Inventory listing the records held at the Morrow County Court House as of September/October 2003.
- Record Loss:
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
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.
Places / Localities[edit | edit source]
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
Cities[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:[5]
Cities | ||
Unincorporated communities | ||
Ghost towns | ||
Discontinued Post Offices
- Acton: Acton was a post office on Butter Creek in the east part of the county about 16 miles north-northeast of Heppner. Established 11 July 1879, with John Barker first postmaster. It remained in service until 19 June 1888. It may have been transferred to Pine City. It may have been named for a family by name of Acton. Identity is unknown. FamilySearch Catalog
- Adamsville: Adamsville post office was established Apr. 15, 1884, with Silas W. Miles first postmaster. It was discontinued June 30, 1885. Old maps show the place in the vicinity of the present site of Hardman. FamilySearch Catalog
- Alpine: Just what there was to suggest the name Alpine for a post office in eastern Morrow County about 20 miles north of Heppner, can not be imagined, but that is the record. This office was established October 3, 1884 with G. H. Parsell first postmaster. It continued in service until July 27, 1894, when it was closed out to Galloway, a nearby office. A directory for 1886 says Alpine was a special supply post office, but there is no explanation of the term. The locality is not alpin ein character. As of 1940 a diagram of Morrow County showed a precinct called Alpine in the Northeast part of the county.
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Gilliam | Grant | Umatilla | Wheeler | Benton, Washington | Klickitat, Washington
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]
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 | ||
Billion Graves | ||
See Oregon Cemeteries for more information. |
Census[edit | edit source]
Historical populations | ||
---|---|---|
Census | Pop. | %± |
1890 | 4,205 | — |
1900 | 4,151 | −1.3% |
1910 | 4,357 | 5.0% |
1920 | 5,617 | 28.9% |
1930 | 4,941 | −12.0% |
1940 | 4,337 | −12.2% |
1950 | 4,783 | 10.3% |
1960 | 4,871 | 1.8% |
1970 | 4,465 | −8.3% |
1980 | 7,519 | 68.4% |
1990 | 7,625 | 1.4% |
2000 | 10,995 | 44.2% |
2010 | 11,173 | 1.6% |
Source: "Wikipedia.org". |
Church History and Records[edit | edit source]
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court Records[edit | edit source]
Land and Property[edit | edit source]
History[edit | edit source]
Maps[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
for more resources
Migration[edit | edit source]
Early migration routes to and from Morrow County, Oregon Genealogy for European and African American settlers included:
- Columbia River
- Oregon Trail 1830s to 1890s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon[6]
Military History and Records[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
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 $
- 1886 - 1941 - Morrow County Oregon list of will book testators SAMPUBCO - Browsable index of testators of wills - free
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]
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.
- 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]
Societies, Libraries and Museums[edit | edit source]
Morrow County Museum
444 N Main St
Heppner, OR 97836
Telephone: 541-676-5524
Website
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
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Morrow County, OR History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Oregon Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
- The Morrow County GenWeb Project, part of The ORGenWeb Project
- Linkpendium
- USGenWeb Archives
- USGenWeb Archives (backup site)
- FamilySearch FamilySearch Catalog
Morrow County Oregon Genealogy References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Morrow, Oregon" in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrow_County,_Oregon accessed 28 Nov 2018
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Morrow 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), Morrow County, Oregon page 573, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ WorldCat 50140092 ▲ FHL Collection Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed.] (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002)
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Morrow County, Oregon," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrow_County,_Oregon, accessed 12/10/2018.
- ↑ Jim Tompkins, "The Oregon Trail 1841-1848 Map VI" in Oregon Trail Landmarks at
(accessed 18 July 2011).