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Oklahoma Public Records
| How
To Search Public and Vital Records -
Vital records are records of life events important enough that
some level of government acquires, organizes, and preserves
them. While the term "vital records" is often applied
to a wide variety of life events... Read
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Oklahoma Vital Records
Statewide recording of births and deaths for Oklahoma began in October
1908, although compliance was incomplete for as long as two decades.
Registration was mandated in 1917, but it was another decade before
90-percent compliance was attained. Although county clerks record
births and deaths and provide information on request, certificates
are available only from the state Vital Records Section.
For birth and death records from October 1908, write:
Oklahoma Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, 1000 Northeast
10th Street, Room 117, P.O. Box 53551, Oklahoma City, OK 73152-3551
For marriage records from earliest to present, write
to the clerk of the county in question.
Oklahoma Land Records
Oklahoma is a federal-land state. Lands were generally acquired
through federal government programs, the Indian Nations, or from
other individuals. Land records for the nations were filed under
their respective Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) agency. After some
areas were opened for non-native settlement, the common holdings
of the tribes were divided into individual allotments to tribal
members, with the federal government remaining guardian over allotments.
No centralized repository exists for the land allotments given the
natives, but original allotments for all but the Five Civilized
Tribes are on microfilm at the Indian Archives at the Oklahoma Historical
Society. Outright payments made for land in the Cherokee Outlet
are included in this microfilm. Land allotments given to Native
Americans between 1889êÒ freed more land for non-natives.
The Oklahoma Historical Society holds land descriptions and plat
maps for some allotments; originals are at the BIA in Muskogee,
Oklahoma, or the National Archives in Fort Worth, Texas.
Land-entry case files for government purchases are available through
the National Archives in Washington, D.C.. The tract books and plat
maps are also accessible through either the BLM in Santa Fe, New
Mexico, or through the National Archives. The Oklahoma Historical
Society has seventy-two volumes of Oklahoma Federal Tract Books
on microfilm. A surname index has been compiled for each reel, and
a statewide index is currently being developed. Records from Oklahoma's
several local land offices (open from 1889êç) are housed
at the Division of Archives and Records, Oklahoma Department of
Libraries. Since statehood in 1907, the respective clerk of the
court or registrar maintains land and property transactions between
individuals. For further information, consult Sidney Thiel, comp.,
The Oklahoma Land Rush. (Washington, D.C.: Historical Records Commission,
n.d.); and E. Wade Hone, Land and Property Research in the United
States (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1997).
Oklahoma Court Records
Court records include probate records, guardianship, naturalization,
and a wide variety of other sources. All contain information about
individuals within the area. It should be remembered that there
are different levels of jurisdiction for courts in the United States,
all of which should be considered for research under various circumstances.
Court of Common Pleas, Orphan's Court, Probate Court, District Court,
Superior Court, Supreme Court, and other titles are among those
encountered. To study more about court records in general, see "Research
in Court Records," by Arlene H. Eakle, in Loretto Dennis Szucs
and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, eds., The Source: A Guidebook to
American Genealogy, rev. ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1997).
Oklahoma Military Records
Military records are available for Oklahoma prior to statehood.
Bounty-land and military service records are located either at the
National Archives or the Southwest Region branch in Fort Worth.
See also Odie B. Faulk, Kenny A. Franks, and Paul F. Lambert, eds.,
Early Military Forts and Posts in Oklahoma (Oklahoma City: Oklahoma
Historical Society, 1978). Some Civil War applications for pensions
and pension records are extant at the Oklahoma Department of Libraries,
State Archives Division. Included are records for Confederate veterans
(and their widows) who served elsewhere but were residents of Oklahoma
when allocated pensions. These are filed numerically and indexed
separately. See Oklahoma Board of Pension Commissioners, Confederate
Pension Applications for Soldiers and Sailors (Oklahoma City: Archives
and Records Division, Oklahoma Department of Libraries, n.d.). Index
to Applications for Pensions from the State of Oklahoma Submitted
by Confederate Soldiers, Sailors and their Widows (Oklahoma City:
Oklahoma Genealogical Society, 1969), Special Publication No. 2,
gives veteran's name, application number, and number of the reel
for locating the pension file on microfilm. Native American military
units were part of Texas organizations, and are filed with those
units, not as separate units for Indian Territory. Some Confederate
service records may be filed with the State Adjutant General's Office
or the Oklahoma Historical Society, Archives and Manuscripts Division.
See also Grant Foreman, History of the Service and List of Individuals
of the Five Civilized Tribes in the Confederate Army, 2 vols. (Oklahoma
City: Oklahoma Historical Society, 1948).
The Oklahoma Historical Society maintains a card file of veterans
buried in Oklahoma. These data cards may include full name, birth
date, death date, burial place, and military service unit data.
The Oklahoma Historical Society has the records, although incomplete,
of the Confederate Home located in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Other records
at the historical society include those for Native Americans that
are contained in the Indian Archives section. Muster rolls of the
Indian Home Guard are also available on microfilm. For further reference,
consult James C. Neagles's U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal
and State Sources. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1994).
Additional Sources
Gibson, Arrell Morgan. Oklahoma: A History of Five Centuries. 2nd
ed. Norman: Harlow Publishing, 1981.
Gittinger, Roy. The Formation of the State of Oklahoma, 1803–1906.
1917. Reprint. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1939.
Smith, Jane, and Robert Kvasnicka, eds. "Major Indian Record
Collections in Oklahoma." In Indian-White Relations: A Persistent
Paradox. Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1976.
Oklahoma Vital Records:
Event: Birth
Cost of copy: $5.00
Address:
Vital Records Section
State Department of Health
1000 Northeast 10th Street
P.O. Box 53551
Oklahoma City, OK 73152
Remarks: State office has had records since October
1908.
Check or money order should be made payable to Oklahoma
State Department of Health. Personal checks are accepted. To verify
current fees, the telephone number is (405) 271-4040.
Search All Oklahoma Records
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Event: Death
Cost of copy: $10.00
Address:
Vital Records Section
State Department of Health
1000 Northeast 10th Street
P.O. Box 53551
Oklahoma City, OK 73152
Remarks: State office has had records since October
1908.
Check or money order should be made payable to Oklahoma
State Department of Health. Personal checks are accepted. To verify
current fees, the telephone number is (405) 271-4040.
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Event: Marriage
Cost of copy: Varies
Address: See remarks
Remarks: Clerk of Court in county where license was
issued.
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Event: Divorce
Cost of copy: Varies
Address: See remarks
Remarks: Clerk of Court in county where divorce was
granted.
Search All Oklahoma Records
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