Maricopa County, Arizona Genealogy
Guide to Maricopa County, Arizona ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.
| Maricopa County, Arizona | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Arizona, United States Genealogy | |
 Location of Arizona in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | February 14, 1871 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Phoenix |
| Courthouse | |
 | |
| Address | 201 W. Jefferson Phoenix, AZ. 85003-2243 |
County Information[edit | edit source]
Maricopa County, Arizona Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1881 | 1877 | 1881 | 1871 | 1871 | 1871 | 1830 |
County Courthouse [edit | edit source]
Maricopa County Courthouse
301 W Jefferson
Phoenix, Az 85033-2225
Phone: 602-506-3572
Clerk Superior Court
- marriage records from 1877,
- divorce records from 1930
- probate and court records from 1871
County Recorder has land records [2]
Description[edit | edit source]
Maricopa County was created on 14 February 1871 with Phoenix as its county seat. The County is located in the south central area of the state.[3]
History[edit | edit source]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
- Until 1821 - Spain controlled the land, called New Spain, that later would become Arizona. Records may have been sent to the archives in Seville, Spain or to archives in Mexico City.
- In 1821 - Mexico obtained jurisdiction over the land that later would become Arizona. Records may have been sent to archives in Mexico City.
- 18 Aug 1846 - During the war with Mexico, the US took control of Santa Fe and proclaimed sovereignty over the land that later became the New Mexico Territory.[4] Look for records in the National Archives and Records Administration, the Mexico Archives and the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives.
- 4 July 1848 - In the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Mexico ceded part of present day Arizona.[5] The land south of the Gila River in Arizona was not ceded, it remained in control of Mexico. The land in present day Maricopa County was split between the US and Mexico. Look for records in the National Archives and Records Administration, the Mexico Archives and the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives.
- 9 Jan 1852 - New Mexico redefined the boundaries of previous counties and created new ones to cover all the land within its territory. The north part of the land in present day Maricopa County was then in Socorro County.[6] [7] [8] Look for records in Socorro County.
- 30 Dec 1853 - The United States Genealogy bought the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico. It contained land south of the Gila River in present day Arizona, including the south part of present day Maricopa County.[9] Look for records in the National Archives and Records Administration, the Mexico Archives, and the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives.
- 4 Aug 1854 - The land acquired in the Gadsden Purchase was officially added to New Mexico Territory.[10] Look for records in the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives.
- 3 Feb 1855 - Dona Ana County gained all the land acquired in the Gadsden Purchase.[11] This included the south part of present day Maricopa County. Look for records in Dona Ana County.
- 24 Feb 1863 - The US created the Arizona Territory from the western half of New Mexico Territory.[12] All previous counties were discontinued for this new territory. Look for records in the Arizona State Library and New Mexico State Records Center and Archives
- 10 Nov 1864 - Arizona created two counties: Pima and Yavapai counties.[13] These counties named for Indian tribes. Look for records in Pima andYavapai counties.
14 Feb 1871 - Arizona created Maricopa County from land in Yavapai County.[14] County seat: Phoenix [15] This county named for the Maricopa Indians. Look for records in Maricopa and Yavapai counties.
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
- 14 Feb 1873 - Arizona expanded Maricopa County by adding land from Pima County.[16] Look for records in Maricopa and Pima, counties.
- 1 Feb 1875 - Arizona created Pinal County from lands in Maricopa and Pima counties.[17] This county named for the Pinal mountains. Look for records in Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal counties.
- 31 Jan 1877 - Maricopa county gained land from Yavapai county, and lost a small area along the Gila River to Pima.[18] Look for records in Maricopa, Pima, and Yavapai counties.
- 8 February 1881 - Gila County was created from lands in Maricopa and Pinal Counties.[19] [20] This county named for the Gila River. Look for records in the Gila, Maricopa, and Pima counties.
See also Previous Jurisdictions to Land in Arizona showing dates the jurisdictions were created and maps. This will help in determining what jurisdiction your ancestor lived in and where the records are now located.
For animated maps illustrating Arizona county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Arizona County Boundary Maps" (1852-1993) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places/Localities[edit | edit source]
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[21]
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1880 | 5,689 | — |
| 1890 | 10,986 | 93.1% |
| 1900 | 20,457 | 86.2% |
| 1910 | 34,488 | 68.6% |
| 1920 | 89,576 | 159.7% |
| 1930 | 150,970 | 68.5% |
| 1940 | 186,193 | 23.3% |
| 1950 | 331,770 | 78.2% |
| 1960 | 663,510 | 100.0% |
| 1970 | 971,228 | 46.4% |
| 1980 | 1,509,175 | 55.4% |
| 1990 | 2,122,101 | 40.6% |
| 2000 | 3,072,149 | 44.8% |
| 2010 | 3,817,117 | 24.2% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
For tips on accessing Maricopa County, Arizona Genealogy census records online, see: Arizona Census.
Church[edit | edit source]
Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For more about Arizona denominations, see Arizona Church Records. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Ward and Branch Records: Alma, Avondale, Buckeye, Capitol (Phoenix), Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Lehi, Mesa, Mesa 1st, Mesa 2nd, Mesa 3rd, Mesa 4th, Mesa 5th, Mesa 6th, Mesa 7th, Mesa 8th, Papago, Phoenix, Phoenix 1st, Phoenix 2nd, Phoenix 3rd, Phoenix 4th, Phoenix 5th, Scottsdale, Spanish-American and Tempe .
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court[edit | edit source]
Land[edit | edit source]
Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.
See Arizona Land and Property for additional information about early Arizona land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.
All Land records and other other recorded documents from 1871 to present, are searchable at no cost through the website of the Maricopa County Recorder. The minimum information needed for a search is the name of a person.
Most of the land in Arizona was originally obtained from the US federal government by a patent. These General Land Office Records are searchable online and most have free images of patents to download. The minimum information needed for a search is the state where the land is located and the name of the person receiving the patent. Surveys and Land Status Records can also be searched here.
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Maricopa County, Arizona Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the Wiki page section Arizona Local Histories.
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
1895 Map of Maricopa county Arizona
- FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
Military[edit | edit source]
Civil War[edit | edit source]
- 1861-1865 - Arizona Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
World War II[edit | edit source]
- 1940-1945 - Arizona, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
- 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
- The Arizona Republic
- The Phoenix Gazette
- The East Valley Tribune (previously: The Mesa Tribune) microfilm copies of back issues found at
- Mesa Public Library
64 E First St
Mesa, AZ 85201
480-644-2207
- Maricopa county AZ Newpapers found at the Library of Congress
Finding More Arizona Newspapers[edit source]
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Maricopa County, Arizona Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers at Arizona Memory Project
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Maricopa County, Arizona Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
Online Obituary Records
- 1860-1993 - Arizona obituary card index, 1860-present - Digitization of images from the FamilySearch microfilmed collection; incomplete - more images will be added over time
- 1948-2008 - Arizona Payson Obituaries 1948-2008 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
- 1959-2014 - Arizona, Mesa LDS Family History Center, Obituary Index, 1959-2014 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
- 1993-1994 - Arizona Obituary Index to Arizona Newspapers, 1993-1994 — index - How to Use this Collection
- The Mesa Public Library will do an obituary look up for The Arizona Republic for a fee.
|
Probate[edit | edit source]
From 1850 to 1864, probate records of Arizona were kept by the probate courts of New Mexico. From 1864 to 1912, the records were handled by county probate courts. 1912 to present, records such as wills, claims, administrations, case files, and calendars are kept in the custody of the clerk of the superior court in the county courthouse.
Online Probate Indexes and Records
- 1803 – 1995 Arizona Wills and Probate Records 1803-1995 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
Taxation[edit | edit source]
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Arizona Department of Health Services or the county clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.
- Older Birth and Death certificates found at Arizona Genealogy Birth and Death Certificates.
Birth Records[edit | edit source]
Online Birth Indexes and Records
- 1855-1930 - Arizona, Birth Certificates and Indexes, 1855-1930 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
- 1887-1935 - Arizona Birth Certificates, 1887 - 1935 at MyHeritage - index and images
- 1909-1917 - Arizona Select Births and Christenings 1909-1917 at Ancestry.com — index $
- 1909-1917 - Arizona, Birth Certificates, 1909-1917 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection, index
Marriage Records[edit | edit source]
Online Marriage Indexes and Records
- 2,970 marriages are listed on the Western States Marriage Index.
- 1833-1949 - Arizona, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
- 1864-1982 - Arizona Marriage Collection 1864-1982 at Ancestry.com — index $
- 1871-1964 - Arizona, County Marriages, 1871–1964 at FamilySearch — index and browse images, incomplete - How to Use this Collection
- 1888-1908 - Arizona Select Marriages 1888-1908 at Ancestry.com — index $
Death Records[edit | edit source]
Online Death Indexes and Records
- Maricopa County, Arizona Obituary Collection From GenealogyBuff.com ~ Free for obits and death notices from Various Funeral Homes in the Sun City, East Mesa, Peoria, Chandler, and Surprise areas.
- Arizona Death Certificates, 1870-1964 — Index and images.
- 1870-1963 - Arizona Death Certificates, 1870 - 1963 at MyHeritage ($) - index and images
- 1910-1911 and 1933-1994 - Arizona Select Deaths and Burials 1910-1911 and 1933-1994;at Ancestry.com — index $
Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Arizona Historical Society, Arizona Heritage Center
1300 N College Ave.
Tempe, AZ 85281
Phone: 480-929-0292
Facebook
Email
Arizona Jewish Historical Society
122 E Culver St
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone: 602-241-7870
Facebook
Email
George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center
415 E Grant St
Phoenix, AZ 85023
Facebook
Email
Gilbert Historical Museum
Facebook
Glendale Arizona Historical Society
Peoria Arizona Historical Society
Phoenix Genealogical Society Facebook
Scottsdale Historical Museum Closed until further notice.
Sun Cities Area Historical Society is dedicated to the preservation for Sun City and the Del Webb Corporation.
West Valley Genealogical Society
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries
- Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
- FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
- Buckeye Arizona Family History Center
- Cave Creek Arizona Family History Center
- Chandler Arizona Alma Family History Center
- Chandler Arizona West Family History Center
- Glendale Arizona Family History Center
- Mesa Arizona Boulder Creek Family History Center
- Mesa Arizona Kimball East Family History Center
- Mesa Arizona Salt River Family History Center
- Paradise Valley Arizona Family History Center
- Sun City Arizona Family History Center
- Phoenix Arizona Deer Valley Family History Center
- Phoenix Arizona Family History Center
- Phoenix Arizona Hispanic Family History Center
- Phoenix Arizona North Family History Center
- Scottsdale Arizona Camelback Family History Center
- Scottsdale Arizona North Family History Center
- Surprise Arizona North Family History Center
- Tempe Arizona Family History Center
- Forest Lakes Community Library - an affiliate library
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Maricopa County, AZ History, Records, Facts and Genealogy (Genealogy Inc)
- USGenWeb for Maricopa County. Maps, name indexes, history and more information for this county.
- FamilySearch Catalog
- Maricopa County, Arizona Genealogy and Family History) at Linkpendium
- Maricopa County Genealogy (Arizona Genealogy)
A wiki article descibing an online article is found at:
Arizona, Maricopa County Probate Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Maricopa County, Arizona. Page 56-57 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 52.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Maricopa County, Arizona p. 56. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Maricopa, Arizona," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maricopa_County,_Arizona 7/10/2017.
- ↑ Williams 108-110
- ↑ U.S. Stat., vol. 9, pp. 922-943; Parry, 102: 29-59; Van Zandt, 11, 28-29; Walker and Bufkin, 19, 20A
- ↑ N.M. Terr. Laws 1851, 1st assy., 1st sess./p. 119; N.M. Terr. Laws 1851, 1st assy., 2d sess. /pp. 266, 292
- ↑ William Thorndale, and William Dollarhide, Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1987), 26. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 X2th.
- ↑ Original Counties of New Mexico Territory (map) at
(accessed 9 August 2011).
- ↑ U.S. Stat., vol. 10, pp. 1031-1037; Van Zandt, 11, 29, 162
- ↑ U.S. Stat., vol. 10, ch. 245[1854]/p. 575; Van Zandt, 162; Walker and Bufkin, 21-22
- ↑ N.M. Terr. Laws 1854, 4th assy. /p. 57
- ↑ U.S. Stat., vol. 12, ch. 56[1863]/pp. 664-665; Ariz. Terr. Laws 1864, 1st assy./ pp. vii-viii; Van Zandt, 162
- ↑ Howell Code, Ariz. Terr. Laws 1864, 1st assy., ch. 2/ pp. 24-25
- ↑ Ariz. Terr. Laws 1871, 6th assy./ pp. 53-54
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Ariz. Terr. Laws 1873, 7th assy./ p. 87
- ↑ Ariz. Terr. Laws 1875, 8th assy./ pp. 19-20
- ↑ Arizona Territorial Laws 1877, 9th assy. pp. 12-13
- ↑ Arizona Territorial Laws 1881, 11th assy. pp. 14-17
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Maricopa County, Arizona," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maricopa_County,_Arizona, accessed 23 February 2019.
