Find Genealogy Records in San Juan County

San Juan County sits in the northwestern corner of Washington State, made up entirely of islands in Puget Sound. Because of its island geography, the county's genealogy records reflect a tight-knit community of early settlers, maritime workers, Coast Salish families, and homesteaders who arrived after the county was formed in 1873. Birth, death, and marriage records are held at the Washington State Archives Northwest Regional Branch in Bellingham, and a strong portion of them are freely searchable through the Washington State Digital Archives. This guide explains what records exist, where they are, and how to access them.

San Juan County Vital Records and Archives

San Juan County was created on October 31, 1873, from Whatcom County and was named for the San Juan Islands. The county seat is Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. The county auditor has birth records from 1892 to 1907, death records from 1890 to 1907, and marriage records from 1878. The county clerk holds divorce, probate, and court records. These records are maintained by the Washington State Archives Northwest Regional Branch in Bellingham.

The Northwest Regional Branch serves San Juan County and five other counties: Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, Island, and Jefferson. You can reach the branch at (360) 650-3125 or email nwbrancharchives@sos.wa.gov. The branch is located at 808 25th Street in Bellingham and is open for in-person research Wednesdays through Fridays by appointment only. Researchers can access uncataloged case files, probate records, and district court records for San Juan County at this location.

For current vital records, the San Juan County Auditor is at 55 Second St N in Friday Harbor. The auditor's office issues marriage licenses and holds recent recorded land documents. For post-1907 births and deaths, contact the Washington State Department of Health.

San Juan County Records Online

The Washington State Digital Archives holds several key San Juan County genealogy collections. These are free to search and most include scanned images of the original documents. The records were filmed and indexed by Northwest Regional Branch staff and volunteers.

The San Juan County Auditor Birth Registers, 1891-1907 contain 409 records. The collection includes a small number of births from 1878, 1881, 1886, and 1890, predating the formal 1891 start of county auditor registration. For the best results, search by parents' names. The mother's last name in these records is her maiden name. The records were filmed by the Northwest Regional Branch and indexed by Holly King of East Sound and Eileen Dodge of Olympia.

Lead-in: The San Juan County birth registers at the Digital Archives are a key source for tracing early island families going back to the territorial period.

The 409 records in this collection cover births filed with the county auditor from 1891 through 1907, with a few earlier entries from the 1870s and 1880s.

The San Juan County Auditor Marriage Records, 1864-1939 contain 1,853 records. The collection includes an index of marriage certificates from 1874 to 1914 and an index with images of marriage returns from 1923 to 1939. The records were filmed and indexed by Northwest Regional Branch staff. The search interface uses groom/person A and bride/person B fields with a year range filter and Soundex option. For marriages before December 6, 2012, the terms "Groom" and "Bride" are used; after that date, "Person A" and "Person B" apply.

Death records from 1891 to 1907 are also part of the Digital Archives holdings for San Juan County. These records cover deaths filed with the county auditor during the pre-state registration period, including deaths on San Juan, Orcas, Lopez, and Shaw Islands.

Lead-in: The San Juan County marriage records database spans from the 1860s through 1939 and covers marriages across all the San Juan Islands.

Marriage records in this collection were filmed and indexed by Northwest Regional Branch staff and include returns from the county auditor going back to early territorial marriages.

San Juan County Historical Research

The San Juan Historical Society operates the San Juan Historical Museum at 405 Price Street in Friday Harbor. The museum's collections include photographs, documents, and artifacts related to the history of San Juan, Orcas, Lopez, and Shaw Islands. The society preserves records of Coast Salish heritage, the Pig War era of the 1850s and 1860s, and early island settlement. Researchers can access the society's archives by appointment. Phone: 360-378-3949. The museum's address is 323 and 405 Price Street, Friday Harbor, WA 98250.

The FamilySearch wiki for San Juan County lists research facilities on each island. The Orcas Island Library, San Juan Island Library, and Lopez Island Library all hold local history materials. FamilySearch Centers in Bellingham, Oak Harbor, and San Juan also offer free access to Ancestry and other subscription genealogy databases. If you are on San Juan Island and need a place to research, the Friday Harbor library is a good starting point.

Note: The San Juan Historical Society lists the San Juan Historical Museum as the primary historical archive for the county and accepts research inquiries by appointment or correspondence.

Probate and Court Records

The San Juan County Clerk holds divorce, probate, and court records for the county. These are valuable for genealogy research because probate files name heirs and document family relationships in detail. The Northwest Regional Branch in Bellingham holds many of the older case files, particularly those before the mid-twentieth century.

Because San Juan County is small and the population has always been limited, court and probate records here often cover the same family names across multiple generations. If you find an ancestor in one record type, you may find them or their children in probate files, land records, or naturalization filings from the same period.

The county auditor also holds land records going back to the county's founding in 1873. Land records can confirm when an ancestor settled on a specific island and how property passed between family members. The Northwest Regional Branch holds the historical land indexes and can assist with research in those collections.

Communities in San Juan County

San Juan County consists of islands with no cities meeting the population threshold for individual city pages. Friday Harbor on San Juan Island is the county seat and main community. Orcas Island, Lopez Island, and Shaw Island are the other principal islands in the county.

Nearby Counties

These counties are geographically closest to San Juan County. Ancestors who lived near the ferry routes or the mainland often have records in both San Juan County and its neighbors.