Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Josephine 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 2018.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Records · local offices1857–1971
- Delayed Birth Records · State Archives1876–1955
- Birth Records · local offices1906–1925
- Death Records · local offices1906–1925
Deeds and land
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · local offices and online1843–2013
- Federal Land Grant Records · local offices and online1850–1998
- Land Subdivision Records · Josephine County Historical Society Library, local offices and online1854–2015
- Corner Survey Records · Josephine County Historical Society Barn and local offices1855–2014
- Deeds and Indexes · Josephine County Historical Society Library, Josephine County Historical Society Barn and local offices1855–1991
- Mortgage Records · Josephine County Historical Society Library and local offices1855–1981
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices1856–1997
- Land Title Registers · Josephine County Historical Society Library and local offices1857–1968
- Mining Claim Records · State Archives, Josephine County Historical Society Library, Josephine County Historical Society Barn, local offices and online1857–1996
- Foreclosure Records · Josephine County Historical Society Off-Site Storage and local offices1859–1926
- Water Rights Records · local offices1872–1980
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1964
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · State Archives and local offices1848–2012
- Probate Registers · State Archives and local offices1856–1988
- Probate Estate Records · State Archives1863–1912
Naturalization
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives1846–1966
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives and local offices1859–1970
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives1907–1936
Military and pensions
- Military Records · local offices1863–1981
- Pension and Relief Records · Josephine County Historical Society Barn and local offices1913–1941
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · Josephine County Historical Society Library, Josephine County Historical Society Off-Site Storage, local offices and online1859–2013
Census
- Census Records · Josephine County Historical Society Library and online1850–1900
Elections and voters
- Election Voting Abstracts · Josephine County Historical Society Library and local offices1866–1960
- Election Poll Books · Josephine County Historical Society Library and local offices1900–1950
Court records
- Circuit Court Journals · State Archives and local offices1856–1983
- Coroner and Inquest Records · Josephine County Historical Society Library and local offices1857–1966
- Judgment and Execution Records · Josephine County Historical Society Library and local offices1857–1922
- Attachment Records · State Archives and local offices1858–1983
- Circuit Court Case Files · State Archives, Josephine County Historical Society Library, Josephine County Historical Society Barn, Oregon Historical Society and local offices1858–1983
- Circuit Court Dockets · State Archives and local offices1858–1983
- County Court Case Files · State Archives and local offices1858–1932
- Justice Court Dockets · Josephine County Historical Society Library, Josephine County Historical Society Barn, Josephine County Historical Society Off-Site Storage and local offices1858–1946
- County Court Judicial Journals · local offices1859–1947
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives and local offices1859–1980
- Adoption Records · local offices1871–2010
- Justice Court Case Files · Josephine County Historical Society Library and local offices1877–1935
- Prisoner Registers · Josephine County Historical Society Off-Site Storage1892–1966
Schools
- School District Records · Josephine County Historical Society Library and local offices1859–1940
- Superintendent of Schools Records · Josephine County Historical Society Library1867–1920
Other records
- Road and Bridge Records · Josephine County Historical Society Library, Josephine County Historical Society Library Building, local offices and online1848–2016
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · Josephine County Historical Society Library and local offices1856–1981
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · Oregon Historical Society, local offices and online1856–2016
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · local offices and online1856–2012
- Married Women's Property Registers · local offices1859–1895
- County Officials Reports · Josephine County Historical Society Library, Josephine County Historical Society Barn and local offices1861–2000
- Marks and Brands Records · local offices1886–1949
- Medical Profession Registration Records · local offices1889–1979
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · Josephine County Historical Society Library Building, local offices and online1900–2011
- Animal Bounty Records · Josephine County Historical Society Library, Josephine County Historical Society Barn and local offices1909–1979
- Farm Name Registration Records · Josephine County Historical Society Barn and local offices1911–1964
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1913–1964
- County Budgets · local offices and online1913–2018
- Aerial Photographs · local offices1939–2002
- and 5 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
- Josephine 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: Josephine 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. Indexed for Josephine County: naturalizations, 1854–1970; naturalizations, 1854–1970; probate case files, 1848–1944.
- Provisional and Territorial Records Guide: Josephine Countyfree
The county's early history and the records of its first years, before statehood in 1859, that survive at the State Archives.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Oregon, Josephine" 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: Curry County, Jackson County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Curry County, Jackson County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1856, 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.