Anchorage Municipality, Alaska Genealogy

United States

Alaska

Municipality of Anchorage

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

Alaska Online Genealogy Records

Anchorage Borough, Alaska
Map
Location in the state of Alaska, United States Genealogy
Location of Alaska in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	January 1, 1964
County Seat	Anchorage
Courthouse
Address	Muncipality of Anchorage, Alaska 632 West 6th Avenue Anchorage, Alaska 99501 Phone: 907-343-4311 http://www.muni.org/pages/default.aspx

Description

The Anchorage Borough was named for the anchorage at the mouth of Ship Creek. The Anchorage Borough Government Body is Anchorage Assembly and the Anchorage Borough was created January 1, 1964. The Anchorage Borough is located in the southern part of the state.

Historical Facts

The Municipality of Anchorage is a consolidated city-borough with unified home rule. It is the northernmost city in the United States with more than 100,000 residents and the largest community in North America north of the 60th parallel.

Boundary Changes

15 September 1975: Merged with the City of Anchorage along with cities of Girdwood and Glen Alps to form Muncipality of Anchorage as the result of an election.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities

Neighboring Boroughs and Census Areas

• Kenai Peninsula Borough
• Matanuska-Susitna Borough

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 municipality:

Cities
Anchorage
Unincorporated communities
Chugiak
Ghost towns
Kern	Portage

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Anchorage, 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 Parish	Findagrave.com Billion Graves AK Archives Alaska Cemetery Records
See Alaska Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1920	1,856	—
1930	2,277	22.7%
1940	3,495	53.5%
1950	11,254	222.0%
1960	44,397	294.5%
1970	48,081	8.3%
1980	174,431	262.8%
1990	226,338	29.8%
2000	260,283	15.0%
2010	291,826	12.1%
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
  

Directories

Alaska Online Historical Directories - identifies historical city, county, business and other directories available online on both free and pay-to-access websites. Includes Anchorage directories.

History

Local History

Local histories are available for Anchorage Municipality, 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

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

Anchorage Municipality, 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.

• Alaska Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites. Includes Anchorage newspapers.
• Anchorage Dispatch News - full-text issues in Google News Archive; covers 1891-1989

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

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

• Anchorage Alaska Family History Center

Libraries

At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.

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

• Anchorage Borough Trails to the Past
• Linkpendium
• USGenWeb Archives
• Anchorage Borough, Alaska GenWeb Project. 
• FamilySearch FamilySearch Catalog