Wagoner County, Oklahoma
History, Records, Facts and Genealogy

Court Records | Vital Records | CENSUS Records | TAX Records | Military Records | Church & Cemetery |
Maps & Atlases | Genealogy Addresses | Genealogy Related Sites |

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Wagoner County was created on 1908 from Creek lands. The County was named for its county seat, which in turn is said to have been named for Bailey P. Waggoner, attorney of the Missouri Pacific Railway Company at the time of building one of its lines led to the founding of the town. The County Seat is Wagoner. See also County History for more historical details.

Counties adjacent to Wagoner County are Rogers County (northwest), Mayes County (northeast), Cherokee County (east), Muskogee County (south), Tulsa County (west)

Wagoner County Cities & Towns Include Coweta, New Tulsa, Okay, Porter, Redbird, Tullahassee, Wagoner

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Records at the Wagoner County Courthouse

See Also Oklahoma Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

PLEASE READ FIRST!!!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

All Departments below can be contacted at the Wagoner County Courthouse at 307 E Cherokee, Wagoner, OK 74467; Phone: (918)485-2141. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.

Wagoner County Clerk's Office has Birth Records from 1908, Death Records from 1908 and , Land Records from 1906.

The County Clerk's office is responsible for preserving all the legal instruments filed by private citizens and public officials with the County Clerk's office. The office maintains files of all real estate records, plats, judgments, liens, patents, military discharges, school records, county personnel, insurance and retirement records for employees, meeting notices, commissioners' proceedings and other documents. Although county clerks record births and deaths and provide information on request, certificates are available only from the Vital Records Section, State Department of Health

Wagoner County Court Clerk's Office has Probate Records from 1907, Marriage Records from 1908, and Court Records from 1907.

The Court Clerk has the primary responsibility to record, file, and maintain permanent records of the proceedings of the District Court. We collect fines, fees, and forfeitures, and distribute the collected monies as provided by law to the appropriate agencies. There are numerous types of cases filed with the Court Clerk's Office some of which include: Civil, Small Claims, Probate, Guardianship, Adoption, Felony, Misdemeanor, Search Warrants, Licenses and more...

Below is a list of online resources for Wagoner County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Wagoner County Court Records by clicking the link below:

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Wagoner County Vital Records

See Also Vital Records in Oklahoma

Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information.

Vital Records Service, Oklahoma State Department of Health, 1000 Northeast 10th, Oklahoma City, OK 73117;(405) 271-4040, They have the following records:

  • Birth & Death Certificates: Oklahoma began filing birth and death records in October of 1908. It was not mandatory, however, that these records be filed until 1917. Because birth and death records were not required in years past as they are today for identification or settlement of claims in matters of death, the filing process in many years prior to 1940 are sketchy. It is the responsibility of the hospital, attendant at birth or the funeral director in each matter of birth or death to properly obtain the information needed and file the certificate in a timely manner.
    • Cost: $10.00 per birth certificate & $10.00 per death certificate.
    • Processing Time: 12-14 weeks when ordered by mail (Application for Birth or Death Certificate) or 2-5 Days when you order online
  • Marriage and Divorce Certificates: Marriage and Divorce Records are maintained and issued in the County Courthouse of issuance. These records are available from the Clerk of Court in the county where the event occurred. Fees vary.
  • Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically Online to obtain a certified copy of a birth, marriage, death or divorce record with a credit or debit card and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering from VitalChek Express Certificate Service.
  • Walk-In Service: Coming to the Vital Records Service, Room 117, Oklahoma State Department Of Health, 1000 Northeast 10th, Oklahoma City, OK, Monday - Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., or the Tulsa Health Department, Central Regional Health Center, 315 S. Utica, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104-2203, 918-594-4840

Below is a list of online resources for Wagoner County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Wagoner County Vital Records by clicking the link below:

  • VitalChek Express Certificate Service - Some documents are just too important to wait six weeks for. With VitalChek Express Certificate Service you won’t have to. VitalChek is the fast and convenient way to order certified government-issued vital records online. They make it easy for you to purchase the documents to which you are legally entitled. Beware of other online services that do not have relationships directly with the agencies that store your vital records. VitalChek's order process usually takes less than 10 minutes --And you can select express courier service for even faster delivery when time is running out.
  • Click Here to Search the Social Security Death Index for FREEicon - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
  • Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Oklahoma newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
  • Wagoner County, Oklahoma Birth, Marriage & Death Books at Amazon.com
  • Birth, Marriage & Death - Vital records (births, deaths, marriages, and divorces) mark the milestones of our lives and are the foundation of family history research. Vital records, usually kept by a civic authority, can give you a more complete picture of your ancestor, help you distinguish between two people with the same name, and help you find links to a new generation.
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Wagoner County Census Records

See Also Research In Census Records & Statewide Records that exist for Oklahoma

Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable

Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Wagoner County, Oklahoma are 1910, 1920 and 1930. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms.

Below is a list of online resources for Wagoner County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Wagoner County Census Records by clicking the link below:

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Wagoner County Maps & Atlases

See Also Research In State Map Collections

Genealogy Atlases has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for other states.

You can view rotating animated maps for Oklahoma showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps

You can view rotating animated maps for Oklahoma showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps.

Below is a list of online resources for Wagoner County Maps. Email us with websites containing Wagoner County Maps by clicking the link below:

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Wagoner County Military Records

See Also Military Records in Oklahoma

Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.

The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.

Below is a list of online resources for Wagoner County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Wagoner County Military Records by clicking the link below:

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Wagoner County Tax Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

Heavy spring rains with severe flooding in 1902 awakened Oklahoma's citizens to the need for better roads. Territorial laws placed responsibility with townships, and a road overseer was to be elected for each district. General property tax and some funds from liquor licenses collected by counties and townships were used to finance the building of public roads along section lines. A road tax was required, along with the requirement that all males between the ages of twenty-one and forty-five donate four eight-hour days a year to work on highways. Those who did not work or provide a substitute were fined $5 for each absence.

The county treasurer or assessor may have tax or assessment records. Some tax records are stored in museums, historical, and/or genealogical societies' repositories. Published tax records for Oklahoma are almost nonexistent. Some duplicated copies of county tax records are stored in the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, State Archives Division for security purposes, but are not available for research. Koplowitz, Guide to the Historical Records of Oklahoma, indicates location of county records, including those of tax and assessments.

Below is a list of online resources for Wagoner County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Wagoner County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

  • Wagoner County Tax Assesors Office, 307 E Cherokee, Wagoner, OK 74467; Phone: (918)485-2141
    The county assessor has the responsibility to appraise and assess the real and personal property within the county for the purpose of ad-valorem taxation. Also, the county assessor is required to compute the ad-valorem taxes due on all the taxable property. By law, the county assessor appraises all the taxable real property according to its fair cash value for which the property is actually being used.
  • Wagoner County, Oklahoma Tax Books at Amazon.com
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Wagoner County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Oklahoma Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Wagoner County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Wagoner County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

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  • The Federation of Oklahoma Genealogical Societies, P.O. Box 2531, Ponca City, Oklahoma 74602
  • Oklahoma Historical Society, 2100 North Lincoln Boulevard, Oklahoma City, OK 73105
  • Oklahoma Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 12986, Oklahoma City 73157-2986
  • Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Division of State Archives and Records, 200 N.E. 18th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 75105
  • National Archives; Southwest Region, 501 West Felix Street, Building 1, Fort Worth, Texas 76115-3405; E-mail: ftworth.archives@nara.gov. Mailing Address: P.O. 6216, Fort Worth, Texas 76115-0216
  • Newspapers & Periodicals - The Newspapers & Periodicals Collection lets you discover a wealth of information about your ancestors from many historical newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals. These types of sources can often supplement public records and provide information that is not recorded anywhere else. Here, you can learn more about your ancestor's possible daily activities by placing them in the context of their time.
  • Directories & Member Lists - Directories and member lists are typically compilations of information about people who belonged to various associations and groups or lived within city boundaries. They can be thought of as the predecessors to the modern-day phone book and usually list names, addresses, and sometimes the occupations of your ancestors.
  • Oklahoma Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com
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Wagoner County Church & Cemeteries

See Also Church & Cemetery Records in Oklahoma

Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Wagoner County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Wagoner County Tombstone Transcription Project.

There are no centralized repositories dealing with church records in Oklahoma. Scattered records can be found in genealogical publications, the DAR compilations, and on microfilm. The Spanish missions have played a central role in Oklahoma's religious history.

Printed secondary sources of transcribed cemeteries exist for most Oklahoma counties. The Oklahoma State Society of the DAR has collected hundreds of such records. Transcripts are housed both at the national DAR and with some local chapters and libraries.

Below is a list of online resources for Wagoner County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Wagoner County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

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Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

 

The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Wagoner County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Wagoner County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Extended History

 

Wagoner County adjoins Muskogee County on the north, the Arkansas River being the boundary line between them. Perhaps no county in the state affords better agricultural advantages than Wagoner. The very fertile valley of the Arkansas River extends across the entire southern portion of the county, the Verdigris River crosses the central portion from the northwest to the southeast and the Grand River flows southward along the east side. The valleys of these rivers afford many acres of exceedingly fertile soil, adapted to almost every kind of crops. The uplands are mostly prairie, containing the rich black prairie soil. This county is near the border line between the north and the south, from the standpoint of crop raising, and the cotton farmer of the south and the grain producer of the north, each finds soil and climate to his liking. The fertile river valleys of the southern portion of the county are admirably adapted to producing cotton, corn and potatoes, while the prairie land produces good crops of corn, wheat and oats. An excellent quality of hay is also grown on the virgin prairie land, the surplus of which finds a ready market in Kansas City and St. Louis.

Wagoner County is also noted for its shallow oil wells, many of which are less than one thousand feet in depth. Reliable geologists report that there are yet probably thirty million barrels of undeveloped oil in the Wagoner-Muskogee field. Wagoner County was formerly a part of the Creek Nation and many prominent Creeks selected their allotments and established good homes here, especially in the western part of the county. Quite a number of Creek Freedmen selected their allotments in the rich Arkansas River Valley but the greater part of this land is now owned by white farmers. During the Civil war of 1861-65, many Indians who had built homes in this fertile valley were compelled to flee from their homes, some going to Kansas and others to Arkansas and Texas, their destination depending upon whether their sympathies were with the North or South. Their Negro slaves were left behind and some of them took possession of their refugee masters' homes, continued the improvements, and afterward, when the slaves were made citizens, they selected these farms which were in their possession, as their allotments.

In 1883 a side track was built on the Katy Railroad about a mile south of the present site of the town and named "Wagoner Switch," in honor of the chief dispatcher of the railroad. The laying of track was continued six miles farther south and Gibson Station was established during the summer of 1871, and until the spring of 1872, during which time the Arkansas River bridge was in process of construction this station was the terminus of the Railroad.

Captain George Shannon, now a resident of Wagoner, conducted the principal store at Gibson Station for forty years following 1880 and is thoroughly familiar with the early settlement and development of that section of the state. He was employed by the railroad as a bridge builder while the track was being laid from Parsons, Kan. to Muskogee, and he enjoys rehearsing the story of the race which the railroads ran in reaching Indian Territory. It appears that the Federal Government had proposed to donate every alternate section of land for ten miles on each side of the track to the first railroad entering Indian Territory, provided that this grant of land should be of no effect unless and until the Indians voluntarily abandoned it. About the time the Katy road arrived at Chetopa, Kan., the Fort Scott & Gulf Road reached Baxter Springs, Mo., both points being with in three or four miles from the Indian Territory line. Upon reaching Chetopa, the men in charge of building the Katy road employed an extra force of men, rushed the work and were the first to reach the Territory line. Quite a large crowd of people gathered to witness the entrance of the first railroad into Indian Territory and it is said that Mr. R. S. Stevens, then general manager of the road drove the last spike in Kansas, and Col. E. C. Boudinot, the noted Cherokee lawyer, drove the first spike in Indian Territory.

Gibson Station

  Upon the arrival of the railroad at Gibson Station the first permanent depot to be established in Oklahoma was built in 1872. Captain George Shannon, standing in front, is one of the first settlers to see this road when put through and Russell McGee, the present agent is in background.

Shannon built a turn table for reversing the engines, and erected a portable depot, which was shipped to Muskogee upon the completion of the Arkansas River bridge. The permanent depot which was shortly afterward erected at Gibson Station was Indian Territory's first railway depot and it is still in use and in good condition. Gibson Station was a much more important point in those pioneer days than at the present time. For many months it was the nearest railroad point to Fort Gibson, twelve miles toward the southeast and a regular stage line for passengers and freight was maintained between the two places. The soldiers stationed at Fort Gibson and their friends came to this station to catch the northbound train or to meet their friends coming from the North.

Many noted persons stopped over night with Captain Shannon at Gibson Station, while en route to the Fort, among whom were James G. Blaine and Colonel Coppenger, his son-in-law, Carl Schurz, secretary of the Interior, General U. S. Grant and General W. T. Sherman. It was not unusual in those days for several hundred Indians and Negroes to assemble at the station daily, to watch for the arrival of the daily train, for a locomotive was a strange and wonderful sight to many of them.

Quite a little war occurred in this vicinity in 1878, between the Cherokees and Creeks, caused by a dispute concerning the ownership of certain cattle, followed by one or two murders. Before much blood was shed, however, William Penn Adair, influential Cherokee, and James Childers, prominent Creek assisted by a few others, succeeded in effecting peace between the two belligerent bands.

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