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Tips for researching in Stevens County
Each county seems to have its oddities. The following are hints to help you
avoid those traps that might give you trouble (courtesy of Shirley Dodson,
Researcher for NeWGS):
 | Here's something that our researchers just discovered! If you are
looking for court records such as probate records in Stevens County, ask the
clerk to check the "Fee Book." Here you will find the case #
and a list of each item in the file. It is like an inventory of what's
in the file. They will make a copy of this list for free, then you can
select which items you may want to have copied for a fee.
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| Did you know that there were two Fort Colvilles? The first was a fur
trading post belonging to Hudson’s Bay Co. and it was located on the
Columbia River near the present towns of Kettle Falls and Marcus. It was
established in l825 and was abandoned in l870. We had very few settlers
before that time except for a few trappers. The second Fort Colville was
near the present town of Colville and was in operation from l859 through
l885. It was a military fort. You are liable to find conflicting stories
that will be confusing if you are not aware of this.
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| This county is long and narrow, bisected by the Huckleberry Mountains
running north and south through the middle. Travel was difficult and there
were almost no roads. During the winter it was impossible to go very far, so
people often did their "marrying" and "burying" in Lincoln
County if they lived along the River at the south end of the county.
They also went to Spokane
County for supplies or to get married. If they lived in the north end of
the county, they caught the ore train going to the smelter in Trail, British
Columbia, got off at Rossland, had time to get married and catch the train
on it’s return trip into the states. All this could be done in time to get
home for evening chores. The railroad was completed in l892-3. The Lincoln
County seat is located in Davenport, WA 99l22. The address for the proper
office in Rossland is Vital Records, Court Registry, Box 639, Rossland, B.C.
VOG 1YO. Phone 604-362-7368.
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| Washington became a state in l889, but Stevens became a county in l863.
The county extended through the panhandle of Idaho and included a good deal
of Montana. To the west, it went almost to the Cascades. The records were
sent to those counties and states as they formed, so don't expect to find
them in Stevens County. Births and deaths were sent directly to the state
offices in Olympia after l907. We can only furnish you with a VERY limited
number of names for those early years.
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| Applications for homestead papers are often overlooked as a great source
of genealogical information. When we do a search on your names, this is one
of the records that we include. Some of the other sources that we use are
off-year census lists of l87l, 1878, 1885, 1887 and 1892, as well as the
federal censuses; extractions from newspapers from l908; cemetery lists; same
name research; directories; maps; area books; extensive military files;
people files; church and school files; personal property tax from l888 to
l936; territorial court records; both Fort Colville files; telephone
contacts; and many miscellaneous items such as cattle brands, poor farm
records, and lists of pioneers. |
Contact research@newgs.org for help
with your Stevens County research problem.
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