Stevens County Genealogy Records

Stevens County sits in the far northeast corner of Washington State, and its genealogy collections go back to the earliest days of county formation in 1863. Birth, death, marriage, land, and probate records are spread across the county auditor, the county clerk, and the Washington State Archives Eastern Regional Branch in Cheney. The Northeast Washington Genealogical Society has done extensive indexing work on Stevens County records, making many collections easier to search online. This guide covers the key sources you need for Stevens County ancestor research.

Stevens County Vital Records and Archives

Stevens County was named for Isaac Stevens, the first governor of Washington Territory. It was formed on January 29, 1860 from Walla Walla County, with Colville as the county seat. The Stevens County Courthouse is at 215 S. Oak St, Colville, WA 99114, phone 509-684-7527. The county auditor holds birth and death records from 1891 to 1907, marriage records from 1861, and land records from 1883. The county clerk holds probate, divorce, and court records from 1889.

For land records, the Stevens County Auditor's Office is at 215 S Oak St, Room 106, Colville, WA 99114, phone 866-513-2741. Homestead and land records from 1862 to the present are available. Earliest land records were recorded under the Preemption Act of 1841. Land deed records have been digitized but are not available online; the Auditor's office can provide digital images upon request. The Stevens County Historical Society has digital copies of deeds up to 1985.

One important note for Stevens County genealogy research: the auditor also holds deeds and recordings for Stevens County's former "daughter" counties. About 50 years of the history of current neighbor Pend Oreille County are in Stevens County records. Volume D of the deed books is missing; check the grantor or grantee index to get the abbreviated land description and names.

Note: The Eastern Regional Branch is open for in-person research Wednesdays through Fridays by appointment only; hours are 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, closed 12 to 1 PM.

Stevens County Records in the Digital Archives

The Washington State Digital Archives has digitized several Stevens County genealogy collections. Two of the main collections come directly from the county auditor's office. The Stevens County marriage records collection at the Digital Archives was indexed by staff and Eastern Washington University student interns. The marriage record books, registers, and statistic books were indexed by the Northeast Washington Genealogical Society in Colville.

The lead-in to the Stevens County Auditor Marriage Records, 1859-2008 shows these records were transferred from the county auditor's recording department through the Eastern Regional Archives Historic Records Project.

These records cover marriages from 1859 through 2008 and are free to search online with scanned images of the original certificates.

A second Digital Archives collection covers additional Stevens County records. The related Stevens County collection supplements the primary marriage records set. The preferred citation format for these records references the Washington State Archives, Digital Archives, and the date accessed.

Both collections are open for research and searchable at no cost through the Washington State Digital Archives.

Stevens County Government and Local Access

The Stevens County government website provides access to county offices and departments. From this site you can find contact information for the auditor, clerk, and other offices that hold genealogy-relevant records.

The county site is the starting point for requests that need to go directly to county offices, especially for recent records not yet transferred to the state archives.

The Washington State Archives Eastern Regional Branch serves Stevens County researchers. It is located on the campus of Eastern Washington University in Cheney. The branch holds collections spanning the territorial period to the present, including school census records, tax assessment rolls, court dockets and case files, photographs, maps, plats, and engineering drawings. The branch covers Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, and Whitman counties.

Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1907, with general compliance by 1917. Records after June 30, 1907 are held at the state level. The Washington State Department of Health handles post-1907 vital records requests for Stevens County and all other Washington counties.

Northeast Washington Genealogical Society

The Northeast Washington Genealogical Society in Colville has been one of the most active local genealogy groups in the state. They have done years of indexing and scanning work on Stevens County auditor records. Their volunteers tackled the marriage record books and registers, making these collections much easier for researchers to use online.

The society's work turned up some remarkable finds during the indexing process. In a collection of neat little boxes tied with cotton string, researchers found a letter to the Stevens County Commissioners asking them to appropriate funds for a burial plot at Evergreen Cemetery for old veterans, dated April 13, 1899. This kind of discovery shows what detailed local genealogy work can uncover that broad database searches would miss. The society serves as a key resource for anyone tracing family history in Stevens and surrounding northeast Washington counties.

Note: The Northeast Washington Genealogical Society's contact information is available through the Washington State Library's Stevens County research guide at washstatelib.libguides.com.

Stevens County Research Resources

The Washington State Library hosts a research guide for Stevens County genealogy online resources. This guide lists several sources you may not find through a standard online search. Among them is the Crossroads Archive, a collection of images and documents from Stevens County that was started with a grant from the Preserve America Grant Program. The digitization project includes materials from museums and private collections throughout the county.

The guide also lists the Libraries of Stevens County, the Loon Lake Historical Society, the Stevens County Assessor, the Stevens County Auditor, the Stevens County Historical Society, and the Stevens County Superior Court Clerk. Each plays a different role in the genealogy research process. The county assessor's office has property records. The auditor's office records real estate documents, maps, and surveys. Divorce decrees are at the county superior court clerk.

Washington Rural Heritage maintains two relevant collections: the Colville National Forest Heritage Collection and the Stevens County Heritage collection. Both are accessible online and may contain photographs, documents, and historical materials that supplement the standard vital and land record sets. The FamilySearch wiki for Stevens County is another solid starting point, with links to specific record sets and date ranges for this county.

For post-1907 vital records, Washington State now maintains those records centrally. But for the key genealogy window from 1859 through 1907, county-level records and the Digital Archives collections are your primary tools. Stevens County's records survived intact; there is no known history of courthouse disasters here, which means the auditor and clerk collections are relatively complete for the early period.

Nearby Counties

Stevens County borders several other northeastern Washington counties. If your ancestors lived near a county line, records may exist in more than one jurisdiction.