Access Custer County Genealogy

Custer County genealogy records are some of the oldest in Oklahoma, with court records going back to 1894 and marriage files starting in 1899. The county was one of the original counties formed in 1892 from Cheyenne-Arapaho lands. It was first called "G County" until it got the Custer name in 1896. The courthouse in Arapaho holds marriage, divorce, probate, land, military, school, and census records that span more than a century. Genealogy Trails and the OKGenWeb project offer free online tools to help you search Custer County family history from anywhere.

Custer County Courthouse Records

The Custer County Courthouse in Arapaho holds a wide range of genealogy records. Marriage records go back to 1899. Divorce records start the same year. Probate files begin in 1899 too. Court records reach back even further to 1894, which is rare in Oklahoma. Land records start in 1899, and military discharge records go from 1892 to the present. The county also has school records from 1913 and census records from that same year. A registry of electors from 1916 is another resource you won't find in many counties.

The courthouse sits at 65 West B Street in Arapaho. The mailing address is P.O. Box 300, Arapaho, OK 73620. Call (580) 323-1221 for the County Clerk. Hours are 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday. No known courthouse fires or disasters have wiped out records here, which means the collection is intact going back to the 1890s.

Cemetery associations in Custer County also keep burial records for each city. These records can help you find where ancestors are buried and sometimes list family connections not found in other sources.

Search Custer County Genealogy Online

The Oklahoma State Courts Network gives you free access to Custer County court records. Select "Custer" from the county dropdown and search by name or case number. OSCN shows docket entries, party names, and filing dates. Probate and divorce cases are the most useful for genealogy work because they name family members and describe relationships between people.

The Custer County OKGenWeb page is a volunteer-run genealogy resource. The site lists birth records from 1908, marriage records from 1895, death records from 1908, land records from 1896, probate records from 1900, and court records from 1896. These dates are slightly different from the County Clerk's own records, which suggests that some files were consolidated from earlier territorial offices.

The Custer County OKGenWeb page has links to genealogy data, record indexes, and historical files for the county.

This page is part of the statewide OKGenWeb project and is kept up by local volunteers.

The Genealogy Trails page for Custer County is another free online resource. It has biographies, birth records, cemetery lists, census indexes, county history, death records, directories, land records, marriages, military records, newspaper articles, obituaries, and school records. That is one of the broadest free collections for any Oklahoma county. You can spend hours going through the data they have posted.

Custer County Genealogy Record Types

Custer County has more record types than most Oklahoma counties. Here is what the courthouse holds:

• Marriage records from 1899 to present
• Divorce and probate records from 1899
• Court records from 1894
• Land records from 1899
• Military discharge records from 1892
• School and census records from 1913

The military discharge records from 1892 are among the oldest in the state. These files list the service member's name, rank, dates of service, and unit. For families with ancestors who served in the military, these records add a layer of detail that vital records alone can not provide. Custer County was a territorial county before statehood, so some records predate the 1907 statehood year by more than a decade.

School records and census files from 1913 list children by name, age, and parents. These are useful when you can't find a family in the regular federal census. The registry of electors from 1916 gives you another snapshot of who lived in Custer County at a specific time. Land records from 1899 trace property ownership and can show family connections through deeds passed between relatives.

Birth and death records for the state start in 1908. You can search the free OK2Explore database for older vital records. The Oklahoma State Department of Health handles certified copies of birth and death certificates. Marriage and divorce records stay with the county under Title 63, Section 1-323 of Oklahoma law.

Custer County Historical Resources

Custer County towns include Arapaho, Butler, Clinton, Custer City, Hammon, Indianapolis, Thomas, and Weatherford. The Oklahoma Historical Society has statewide collections that cover Custer County. Their research center in Oklahoma City has microfilm, newspapers, and manuscripts. The Gateway to Oklahoma History is a free digital newspaper archive where you can search for Custer County names.

The Oklahoma Genealogical Society keeps guides on working with Oklahoma county records. The Dawes Rolls are relevant for Custer County because the area was part of Cheyenne-Arapaho territory. The National Archives at Fort Worth holds federal Indian Territory records, and the Bureau of Land Management has original land patents. Under Oklahoma's Open Records Act, Title 51, Sections 24A.1 through 24A.33, most county records are open to the public.

Note: Custer County had no known courthouse fires, so its record collection is one of the most intact in western Oklahoma.

Cities in Custer County

Custer County communities include Arapaho, Butler, Clinton, Custer City, Hammon, Thomas, and Weatherford. Weatherford is the largest city and home to Southwestern Oklahoma State University. All genealogy records for these places go through the Custer County Courthouse in Arapaho.

Nearby Counties

Families in western Oklahoma often moved between counties. Check these neighbors for more genealogy records.