The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is December 2024)
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Do you research school records? I’m not talking about yearbooks. Those can be found on the Yearbooks Page. I’m talking about actual school records, such as enrollment, attendance, and grade reports for example. These are interesting source documents because they might record the student’s age, birth date and location, and possibly their parents’ names. All great ways to find this information if you haven’t found them in other documents about your target ancestor. Besides, finding out your grandmother’s grades would be interesting!
The record collection links, listed below, feature school records from the state, and list collections of records that are available for free online.
If you wish to get educated with some basic information regarding what is available and how to navigate your research for school records, you can read these summaries:
- 5 Quick Tips to Get the Most Out of Education Records
- Top 10 Strategies for Finding School Records for Genealogy
- Getting Started With School Records for Genealogy Research
So, what types of records related to schools are maintained and often available?
- School Census
- School Catalogs
- Teacher’s Registers
- Attendance Records
- Report Cards
- Class Logs
- Teacher Rosters
- School Board Meetings/Reports
- Academic Team and Class Photos
- Local Newspaper Articles:
- Graduation Lists
- School Activities
- School Sports
- Student Newspapers
- Alumni Directories and Publications
- Yearbooks
- Yearbook Indexes
And, what types of information can you derive from these school records?
- Name (often includes a middle name which is useful).
- Age
- Physical Characteristics – color/race, disability.
- Birth Date
- Current Residence Address
- Name of Father
- Name of Mother
- Occupations of parents
- Grades
- Classes Taken
- Activities (from Photos)
- Date left school (can help with family residence relocation)
Below is a list of links to free online school record collections for the state;
Note: Some of the links go to sites with not much information and some go to sites with an extensive set of records.
Note: Some links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.
Montana School Records
- 1897 – 1899 Helena School District #1 Census
- 1897 – 1899 School Districts #2 – #37 Census
- 1910 Helena School District #1 Census
- 1910 School Districts #2 – #42 Census
- Big Horn County, School Census Report, School District No. 2, 1950
- Big Sandy Centennial Homecoming, 1985
- Big Sandy High School Homecoming, 1917-1970
- Billings Area Office, School Records, 1950-1952
- Billings Senior High School Class, The 45th Reunion of the Class of 1932
- Blackfeet Agency, Agency Records, 1876-1952
- Bozeman Senior High School Reunion Book, Class of 1958
- Bozeman, Gallatin County High School Class of 1959 Tenth Reunion
- Bozeman, Gallatin County High School, Class of 1939, Then & Now 1939-1959
- Bozeman, Montana State University, History
- Cascade County Records, 1880-2009
- Cascade County, School Census Records, 1896-1955
- Chouteau County Records, 1876-2011
- Chouteau County, School Census Records, 1881-1940
- Chouteau County, School Records
- Fallon County, School Census
- Fergus County, Miscellaneous School Lists
- Flathead Agency, Agency Records, 1899-1952
- Flathead County Records, 1871-2007
- Flathead County, School Census Reports, 1903-1969
- Fort Belknap Agency, Census Records, 1888-1944
- Fort Belknap Agency, Miscellaneous Records, 1883-1926
- Fort Belknap Agency, School Records, 1879-1951
- Garfield County, 25 Years of Garfield County High School, 1914 thru 1939
- Glacier County, Miscellaneous School Photos
- Great Falls, Montana Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing Alumni 1905-1937
- Helena Schools Enrollment Cards
- History of the Augusta High School, 1921-1971
- Indian Census Rolls, Fort Shaw School, 1910
- Lake County Records, 1857-2010
- Lake County, School Census Records, 1910-1980
- Lewis and Clark County, Helena, School Enrollment Cards, 1883-1934
- Lewis and Clark County, School Census
- Lewis and Clark County, School Census, 1882-1924
- Lincoln County, Eureka High School Yearbook Student Lists 1947=1957, 1961
- Madison County, Adobetown, Virginia City, School Census Records, 1874-1904
- Madison County, School Teachers Directories, 1897-1930
- Northern Cheyenne Agency; Tongue River Agency, School Records, 1891-1945
- Petroleum County, Winnett High School Graduates 1919-1989
- Ravalli County, Miscellaneous School Records
- Ravalli County, School Census Records, 1900-1940
- Ravalli County, School Records, 1909-1913
- Sheridan County, School Census, 1922-1915
- Silver Bow County, School Censuses and Indexes 1901-1926
- Stillwater County, Miscellaneous School Records
- Sweet Grass County High School Graduates, 1951-1959
- United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!