Beaver County was created in 1890 as an Original County (Initially encompasses entire panhandle from 1890 to 1907 (as Seventh County); current geography since 1907). The County was named for the town which is its county seat and its principal stream, which in turn, was the English translation of the Spanish word "nutria" which was given to this stream because of the numerous beaver dams on the small streams which are tributary to it. The County Seat is Beaver. See also County History for more historical details.
Counties adjacent to Beaver County are Meade County, Kansas (north), Clark County, Kansas (northeast), Harper County (east), Ellis County (southeast), Lipscomb County, Texas (south), Ochiltree County, Texas (southwest), Texas County (west), Seward County, Kansas (northwest)
Beaver County Cities & Towns Include Balko, Beaver, Elmwood, Floris, Forgan, Gate, Knowles, Mocane, Slapout, Turpin
PLEASE READ!! 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 Beaver County Courthouse at Box 338, Beaver, OK 73932-0338; Phone: (580) 625-3151.NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.
Beaver County Clerk's Officehas Birth Records from 1908, Death Records from 1908 and , Land Records from 1890. 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
Beaver County Court Clerk's Office has Probate Records from 1890, Marriage Records from 1890, and Court Records from 1891. 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 Beaver County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Beaver County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Oklahoma Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
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 and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
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 Beaver County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Beaver County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - 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.
Click Here to Search Oklahoma Voter Lists & Census Records! - 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 Beaver County, Oklahoma are 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 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 Beaver County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Beaver County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Oklahoma Territorial Census, 1890 and 1907: This database contains the the 1890 and 1907 Oklahoma Territorial censuses. The 1890 census enumerates the following seven counties: Beaver, Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma, and Payne. The only schedules that remain for the 1907 census are for Seminole County. The following information is available in this database: name, relationship to head of household, race, gender, and age.
U.S. Indian Census Schedules, 1885-1940: This database contains an index to the Indian census rolls from 1885-1940. Information contained in this database includes: name (Indian and/or English), gender, age, birth date, relationship to head of family, marital status, tribe name, agency name, and reservation name.
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 Beaver County Maps. Email us with websites containing Beaver County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Oklahoma Military Records! - 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 Beaver County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Beaver County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Oklahoma (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
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 Beaver County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Beaver County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
Beaver County Tax Assesors Office, Box 338, Beaver, OK 73932-0338; Phone: (580) 625-3151
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.
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 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 Beaver County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Beaver County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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
Oklahoma Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Oklahoma Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. 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 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 Beaver County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Beaver County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Oklahoma obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Oklahoma newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Indiana.
Click Here to Search Oklahoma Family Tree Records! - 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 Beaver County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Beaver County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Oklahoma Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Oklahoma Pioneer Project - The Oklahoma Pioneer List (CPL) is a list of settlers to Oklahoma who migrated to or were born in Oklahoma prior to 1880 (included in the 1880 Oklahoma Census) and obtained from those sent (e-mailed) directly from individuals doing genealogical research.
No-Mans Land of early Oklahoma history became what is now known as the Panhandle and touches Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. Its history begins about 1850 when Texas relinquished claim to that territory in compromising over the slavery question. Little or no settlement had been made there then. The Santa Fe Trail traversed what is now Beaver County in 1822. An 1850 map shows it as merely part of the public lands neighboring on the Cherokee Outlet. It was already a haven for outlaws for Texas had paid little attention to the extreme northern part of her territory.
The type of population in the panhandle are responsible for its high rank in many respects. There are practically no Negroes and very few Indians. Those Indians that are there have settled along the railroads and have come as enterprising individuals rather than tribes or bands which were forced to locate there as is true in the rest of the state. The few negroes who are there were not slaves to be released after the Civil War because it was north of 36 degrees and 30' and the latter fact makes the history of No-Mans Land what it is. The outlaws who drifted into that territory because it was so long unorganized and unprotected drifted out when the opposite condition began to prevail leaving the original settlers who had come, like the type already mentioned more as individuals than as groups, who had gradually filtered in from settlements in surrounding states and territories. Probably because there were no large groups led or driven into this territory statistics show they are more capable of individual self government than other peoples to be found in the state. The population for the whole panhandle rose slowly but steadily until 1900, sank between 1900 and 1910, and has risen very gradually since.
One of the agreements made in 1866 as a result of the Civil War was the right-of-way to railroads across the "Indian Country". One of these, the Santa Fe, followed the old Santa Fe Trail across Beaver County. In 1879 the Jones and Plummer Cattle Trail from Toscasco to Dodge City first crossed Beaver Creek, and at this crossing a fur trader built a sod store. Several years later this place became Beaver City. The name Beaver, first given to the creek, later to all No-Mans Land and finally to the present Beaver County was probably in honor of a chief of the Choctaw Indians. An 1880 map shows this country a 'Public Land" strip surrounded by states and territories.
In 1885 and 86 the general tide of immigration into southwestern Kansas and southeastern Colorado swarmed over into No-Mans Land. By 1887 the population had reached 6000 yet there was no way for the settlers to claim the land upon which they lived, no way to make marriages legal in the territory, no laws to govern tax foreclosures, the organization of corporations, etc. More than that the desperados and horse thieves who had come there because of this condition were not pleasant neighbors for the peaceful settlers who held their land merely by common consent and good faith. The main trouble was that during dry years these settlers often had to leave their holdings for a time in order to subsist and if someone "jumped their claim" while they were gone there was no way of forcing off the intruder.
Under the circumstances there was nothing the people could do but organize their own government. The main hindrance to this was the constant rivalry and meddling of townsites and ambitious politicians. A meeting was held in Beaver City on 26 October 1886 which organized a "Claimants Board" to protect land claims. The inhabitants had only the "squatters rights" Federal law to work from. In November of the same year a meeting was held in the sod schoolhouse in Beaver City for the purpose of manufacturing "quit claim" deeds at which the foundation was built for the organization of a new territory known as the Cimarron Territory.
At the same time a scheme was being worked on by those who wished to delay or prevent the settlement of the "Indian Country" by white people to make No-Mans Land a part of Kansas.
The first election in the new Cimarron Territory was held 22 February 1887. The nine delegates chosen at this convention met in the same sod schoolhouse on March 4 and organized a first legislative body of the Cimarron Territory. This territory was divided into five counties - Benton, Beaver, Palo Duro, Optima, and Sunset. Laws were made governing land, marriages, taxes, foreclosures, etc. What public property there was at the time had been secured by private freewill contributions.
The next three years were marked by the rivalry of political organizations divided over purely local issues. J. E. Dale and Orville G. Chase both reported in Washington, showed credentials, and asked to be recognized as the official delegate to Congress from an Organized Territory. Either would have been seated if it had not been for the opposition of the other. As it was Congress could not decide which to recognize and that more than anything else kept No-Mans Land from eventually becoming a separate State.
In 1890 the Organic Act which organized the Indian Territory made No-Mans Land part of that territory. It also made it all one of seven counties and called it Beaver County. Beaver County then had a population of 64,000. Among other things this county then boasted a newspaper published in Beaver City known as the Beaver Herald. This paper is still being published. The town of Rothwell was then a rival of Beaver City and had caused much of the political dissension. Beaver City succeeded in becoming the county seat.
, indicates location of county records, including those of tax and assessments.