Arizona Genealogy

Arizona Genealogy Facts

Marcos de Niza, a Spanish Franciscan friar, was the first European to explore Arizona. He entered the area in 1539 in search of the mythical Seven Cities of Gold. Although he was followed a year later by another gold seeker, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, most of the early settlement was for missionary purposes. In 1775 the Spanish established Fort Tucson. In 1848, after the Mexican War, most of the Arizona Territory became part of the U.S., and the southern portion of the territory was added by the Gadsden Purchase in 1853.

  • Arizona was organized as a Confederate Territory that existed officially from 1861 to 1863
  • Arizona was organized as a U.S. Territory on February 24, 1863
  • Arizona entered the union as a state on February 14, 1912 as the 48th state.
  • Arizona has 15 Counties. Four original counties were created in September 1864: Yavapai being the first of the four, followed by Mohave, Yuma, and Pima.
  • Arizona’s capital and largest city is Phoenix.
  • Arizona is bordered by California (east), Colorado (northeast corner), Nevada (northwest), New Mexico (east), Utah (north) and Mexico (south).
  • Arizona has a land area of 114,006 square miles making it the 6th largest state.
  • Arizona’s 2010 population was 9,687,653.
  • Arizona  largest cities are Phoenix, 1,445,632; Tucson, 520,116; Mesa, 439,041; Chandler, 236,123; Glendale, 226,721; Scottsdale, 217,385; Gilbert, 208,453; Tempe, 161,719; Peoria, 154,065; Yuma, 90,041.
  • Arizona is named for the Aztec Indian word “arizuma,” that means “silver-bearing,” or from the Tohono O’odham Indian word “Aleh-zone” which means “small spring,” or the Pima Indian word “Ali shonak” which also means “small spring.”.
  • Arizona State Nickname is ” Grand Canyon State “.
  • Arizona State Motto is “Ditat Deus,” God Enriches .

Arizona County Genealogy

In some cases, cities other than the current county seat served as county seats, although the cities have no record collections. Historically they should be considered for migration reasons. Dates given for land, probate, and court holdings are those reported by the counties themselves. Occasionally there may be earlier records mixed in with with later ones. Earlier dates for some of these materials are catalogued by the Arizona State Archives. The county recorder’s office at the county seat’s address should be contacted for land records. Marriages, divorces, probate, and court records are at the county superior court clerk’s office.

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COUNTY PAGES UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Arizona contains some counties that no longer exist because they were discontinued, renamed or merged with another county. These are important for Arizona genealogy research purposes. Those Arizona counties are:

  • Pah-Ute County – is a former county in the northwest corner of Arizona Territory, created from the division of the existing Mohave County on December 22, 1865. Much of Pah-Ute County was in the small triangular section of what is now the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The county seat was the town of Callville, which is now occupied by a part of Lake Mead. Pah-Ute was the historical spelling of the Indian tribe that is today referred to as the Paiute. A short time later, on May 5, 1866, all of Pah-Ute County west of the Colorado River and west of 114 degrees latitude became part of the new state of Nevada, over the protest of the territory of Arizona. The remaining portion of Pah-Ute County in Arizona was so underpopulated that no viable county government could be formed, and on February 18, 1871, the remainder of Pah-Ute County was absorbed back into Mohave County. Most of modern Clark County, Nevada, was once Pah-Ute County, Arizona, including Nevada’s largest and most famous city, Las Vegas. To this day, some textbooks still refer to the Pah-Ute as Arizona’s “Lost County”.

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Arizona Genealogy Links

See Arizona County Genealogy for County Links. These genealogy links fall into 3 categories: Commercial Sites, Personal Sites or Organization Sites. Some are have free access some require a payment. This is just a list that has been collected or submitted. I do not endorse or promote one genealogy site above another. Feel free to submit your own favorite genealogy or family history related sites.

Arizona State History

 

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