For those of you who have ancestors who owned cars in Oregon in the first half of the 20th century, Ancestry.com has a database titled "Oregon, Motor Vehicle Registrations, 1911-1946" that can supply the following information:
Oregon began requiring annual vehicle registration in 1911. This collection is a published list of motor vehicle registrations from 1911 to 1946. Each registration includes:
- license number
- name and address of the vehicle owner (including county in parentheses)
- make of car
- motor number
- model or year of manufacture
- type of body
See the start of the registry for a key to abbreviations.* The details in the automobile description could come in handy when identifying and dating photographs.
Also included is a record of convictions. Ever wondered if Grandpa had a lead foot? You just might find out. The record of convictions lists
- name of the offender
- date
- nature of the offense
- chauffeur or operator's license number
- court
- county
- amount of the fine
And that's how we know what my best friend's Uncle Joe* was driving in 1946. (There's no mention of him the record of convictions.)
[Ancestry.com. Oregon, Motor Vehicle Registrations, 1911-1946 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Oregon Secretary of State. Oregon Motor Vehicle Registrations. Oregon State Library, Salem, Oregon.]
*Joseph Byron Trainer (1912-1994) the son of
Roy O'Connor Trainer and brother of
Janette Trainer. He was a professor at Oregon Health Services University and had a distinguished career as an author, consultant and TV host
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
