Records
Birth and Death Certificates
Official birth and death certificates are located at the Oklahoma State Vital Records Division.
Some Oklahoma birth and death information is available online through Ok2Explore, a free searchable index from the Oklahoma State Vital Records Division. The index includes births that occurred more than twenty years ago and deaths that occurred more than five years ago. Visit Ok2Explore now.
Census, Directories, and Registers
1890 Oklahoma Territorial Census
The index for this census includes more than more than 50,000 individuals living in Oklahoma Territory in 1890.
American Indian Census on Microfilm
Find out about American Indian census records available on microfilm in the Research Center.
Smith's First Directory of Oklahoma Territory For the Year Commencing August 1, 1890 provides information about the population of Oklahoma Territory. The index includes over 17,000 names.
1933 Unemployed Relief Census
This index lists more than 100,000 Oklahomans; twenty-seven counties are included.
Websites Available in the Research Center
Visit the Research Center to access thousands of census records for free with Ancestry Library Edition® and HeritageQuest™
Incorporation Records
Territorial Incorporation Records
Search and view incorporation records for Oklahoma and Indian Territories. These records date from 1890 to 1907.
American Indian Records
Dawes Rolls, Five Tribes
The Dawes Rolls list individuals who enrolled and were approved for membership in the Five Tribes: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Mucogee (Creek), and Seminole tribes. Enrollment for the Dawes Rolls began in 1898 and ended in 1906.
Removal of Restriction, Five Tribes
These records include applications and orders for the removal of restriction on allotted lands. Petitions to use land for townsite purposes are also included.
This enrollment was created prior to the Dawes Final Roll as an early attempt to determine citizenship within the Five Tribes. For various reasons these records were disregarded. The Dawes Final Rolls became the final resource for determining eligibility for citizenship.
Marriage and Divorce Records
Marriage Certificates and Divorce Records
To locate official marriage certificates, contact the court clerk for the county in which the marriage took place. Divorce records are held by the court clerk for the county in which the divorce was filed.
Select Marriage Records
This database includes more than 250,000 entries gathered from multiple sources. Included is information pertaining to marriages in Indian Territory, Oklahoma Territory, and the state of Oklahoma.
Select Divorce Records
This index includes more than 40,000 names found in Oklahoma County divorce records. The records date from 1923 to 1944.
Land Records
Land Records
Official land records are held by the county clerk's office.
Land Resources
To learn more about land ownership and records in Oklahoma, visit the land records page.
Military Records
Military Resources
The Research Center offers multiple sources for military records, including free access to Fold3 online. Find out more.
Prison Records
Prison Records
This database includes information from Oklahoma State Penitentiary prisoner photo cards and fingerprint cards.
Cemetery and Funeral Records
Funeral Records and Programs
This database contains an index to records from the Wilson Funeral Home and the Mills Funeral Home in Grant County; funeral programs found in the OHS Manuscript Archives; and an Oklahoma County funeral ledger.
Cemetery Resources in the Research Center
Information regarding cemeteries can be found in the OHS collection. These materials include not only Oklahoma cemeteries, but other states as well. Search the Online Catalog to find out what resources are available.
Locating Cemeteries
Oklahoma Home and Community Education, Inc., published Oklahoma Cemetery Index, which includes a volume for each of Oklahoma's seventy-seven counties. Volumes include information such as cemetery listings, maps, general description, and photographs. Look for these books in the reference section at the Research Center.
