Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Umatilla 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 2017.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Marriage Records · local offices1862–1962
- Delayed Birth Records · local offices1870–1985
- Birth Records · State Archives1890–1926
- Death Records · State Archives1892–1929
Deeds and land
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · local offices and online1850–1987
- Federal Land Grant Records · State Archives, local offices and online1859–1988
- Deeds and Indexes · local offices1861–1989
- Land Subdivision Records · local offices and online1863–2016
- Mining Claim Records · State Archives, local offices and online1863–1976
- Mortgage Records · local offices1863–1989
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · State Archives, local offices and online1866–2011
- Water Rights Records · local offices1866–1983
- Land Title Registers · local offices and online1879–1963
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1879–2000
- Corner Survey Records · local offices and online1880–2006
- Foreclosure Records · local offices1891–1970
Wills and estates
- Probate Case Files · State Archives and local offices1863–2016
- Probate Registers · State Archives and local offices1864–1985
- Probate Estate Records · State Archives1890–1941
Naturalization
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives and local offices1863–1974
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives and local offices1863–1974
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives and local offices1863–1974
Military and pensions
- Pension and Relief Records · State Archives and local offices1878–1947
- Military Records · State Archives and local offices1889–1976
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · State Archives, local offices and online1862–2007
Census
- Census Records · State Archives and local offices1865–1885
Elections and voters
- Election Voting Abstracts · State Archives, Umatilla County Historical Society and local offices1866–1962
- Election Poll Books · State Archives, Umatilla County Historical Society and local offices1900–1922
Court records
- Circuit Court Journals · State Archives, Umatilla County Historical Society and local offices1862–1960
- Justice Court Case Files · State Archives and local offices1862–1940
- Circuit Court Case Files · State Archives and local offices1863–1997
- Coroner and Inquest Records · State Archives and local offices1863–1965
- County Court Case Files · Umatilla County Historical Society and local offices1863–1910
- County Court Judicial Journals · State Archives and local offices1863–1965
- Insane Commitment Records · State Archives, Umatilla County Historical Society and local offices1863–2016
- Circuit Court Dockets · State Archives and local offices1864–1984
- Attachment Records · local offices1866–1956
- Justice Court Dockets · State Archives and local offices1882–1947
- Prisoner Registers · local offices1885–1970
- Judgment and Execution Records · State Archives and local offices1887–1982
- Adoption Records · State Archives and local offices1892–2016
Schools
- School District Records · State Archives, Umatilla County Historical Society, Umatilla County Historical Society (Accession 2003.61) and local offices1872–1963
- Superintendent of Schools Records · Umatilla County Historical Society and local offices1874–1947
Other records
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · local offices1863–1970
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · State Archives, Oregon Historical Society, local offices and online1863–2015
- Road and Bridge Records · State Archives, local offices and online1864–2011
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · local offices and online1866–2016
- County Officials Reports · State Archives and local offices1867–1936
- Marks and Brands Records · State Archives and local offices1867–1949
- Married Women's Property Registers · State Archives1871–1882
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · State Archives, Umatilla County Historical Society, local offices and online1880–2016
- Medical Profession Registration Records · State Archives and local offices1887–1978
- Animal Bounty Records · State Archives and local offices1899–1923
- Farm Name Registration Records · State Archives and local offices1911–1925
- Assumed Business Names Registers · local offices1913–1965
- County Budgets · local offices1923–2016
- Aerial Photographs · local offices and online1939–2003
- 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
- Umatilla 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: Umatilla 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 Umatilla County: (City of Pendleton) births, 1892–1897; state census entries, 1865, 1875, and 1885; divorces, 1863–1942; coroner's reports, 1902–1916; (City of Pendleton) deaths, 1892–1897; insane commitments, 1863–1929; and more.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Oregon, Umatilla" 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: Wasco County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Wasco County
Later formed partly from Umatilla County: Gilliam County, Grant County, Morrow County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1862, 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.