Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Gilliam County's records, with where each is kept now (the State Archives, a county office, or a local museum or library) and the earliest and latest years. A span can include gaps. The county's inventory was taken in June 2015.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Delayed Birth Records · State Archives1884–1941
- Marriage Records · local offices1885–1960
- Birth Records · State Archives1903–1933
- Death Records · State Archives1912–1933
Deeds and land
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · Oregon Historical Society, local offices and online1850–1907
- Federal Land Grant Records · local offices and online1864–1957
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices1866–2009
- Water Rights Records · local offices1869–1990
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1871–2000
- Deeds and Indexes · local offices1874–2009
- Land Title Registers · Gilliam County Depot Museum Complex and local offices1882–1949
- Mortgage Records · local offices1882–2009
- Land Subdivision Records · local offices1885–2008
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1885–1966
- Foreclosure Records · local offices1886–1927
- Corner Survey Records · local offices2005
Wills and estates
- Probate Registers · local offices1885–1998
- Probate Case Files · local offices1902–1973
- Probate Estate Records · local offices1903–1926
Naturalization
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives1885–1928
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives1885–1960
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives1885–1960
Military and pensions
- Military Records · local offices1886–1954
- Pension and Relief Records · local offices1932–1935
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · local offices1884–1989
Elections and voters
- Election Poll Books · local offices1900–1914
- Election Voting Abstracts · local offices1908–1960
Court records
- Justice Court Dockets · Oregon Historical Society and local offices1859–1944
- Attachment Records · local offices1885–1963
- Circuit Court Case Files · State Archives and local offices1885–1989
- Circuit Court Dockets · State Archives and local offices1885–1986
- Circuit Court Journals · local offices1885–1983
- County Court Judicial Journals · local offices1885–1928
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives and local offices1885–1989
- Judgment and Execution Records · local offices1885–1921
- Justice Court Case Files · local offices1885–1909
- County Court Case Files · local offices1898–1927
- Coroner and Inquest Records · local offices1904–1957
- Prisoner Registers · local offices1925–1976
Schools
- School District Records · Gilliam County Depot Museum Building, Gilliam County Depot Museum Complex and local offices1888–1970
- Superintendent of Schools Records · local offices1888–1960
Other records
- Marks and Brands Records · local offices1860–1915
- Road and Bridge Records · local offices1866–2014
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · local offices1871–1965
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · local offices and online1885–2013
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · Gilliam County Depot Museum Complex, local offices and online1885–2012
- Medical Profession Registration Records · local offices1887–1965
- County Officials Reports · local offices1891–1970
- Animal Bounty Records · local offices1899–1923
- County Fair Records · local offices1908–2014
- Farm Name Registration Records · local offices1911–1916
- County Budgets · local offices1914–1983
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · local offices and online1947–2013
- Zoning Records · local offices and online1947–2013
- Aerial Photographs · Gilliam County Depot Museum Complex, local offices and online1957–1972
- and 3 more series in the full listing
See the full inventory at the Oregon State Archives
Source: Oregon State Archives, Oregon Historical County Records Guide. Records can move after an inventory is taken, so ask before you visit. Oregon began statewide registration of births and deaths in 1903.
Where to find the records
- Gilliam County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the county clerk and the circuit court, and any online record search the county offers.
- The county clerk
Deeds and other land records, and marriage licenses and records.
- The circuit court
Civil and criminal cases, divorces, adoptions and, in most counties, wills and estates. In a few counties the county court still handles probate, and elsewhere older probate records may carry the county court's name.
- The Oregon State Archives
In Salem: older county records moved from the courthouses (many probate, court and naturalization files), the Oregon Historical Records Index, and the records of the provisional and territorial governments.
- Oregon State Archives: Gilliam County records inventoryfree
Every record series the archives inventoried for this county, with each volume's years and where it's kept.
- Oregon Historical Records Indexfree
Search by name for probate, divorce, naturalization and other county records the State Archives has indexed.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Oregon, Gilliam" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Umatilla County, Wasco County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Umatilla County, Wasco County
Later formed partly from Gilliam County: Wheeler County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1885, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Settlers who reached Oregon by December 1, 1855 could claim land under the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 and its amendments; the earliest arrivals could claim the most. The claim files, at the National Archives, often give a settler's birth date and birthplace and the date and place of a marriage, because a married couple could claim twice as much land. Earlier provisional government land claims (1845–1849) are at the Oregon State Archives.