Pima County, Arizona Genealogy

Guide to Pima County, Arizona ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The County was named after the Pima Native Americans who are indigenous to this area. The County is located in the south central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Pima County Courthouse 110 West Congress Street Tucson, AZ 85701 Phone: 520-724-3200 Pima County Courthouse

Clerk Superior Court has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1863

Boundary Changes

 * Parent County(s): Created as one of four original counties in Arizona Territory, on 10 Nov 1864.
 * County Seat: Tucson
 * Interactive Map of Arizona County Formation History (1790-1897) - animated maps illustrating Arizona county boundary changes
 * Pima County, Arizona Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Populated Places
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:

History Timeline



 * 1 Feb 1875 - Arizona created Pinal County from lands in Maricopa and Pima counties. This county named for the Pinal mountains. Look for records in Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal counties.
 * 1 Feb 1881 - Arizona created Cochise County from the eastern part of Pima County. This county named for Cochise, the great Apache warrior who had died seven years before. Look for records in Cochise and Pima counties.
 * 15 Mar 1899 - Arizona created Santa Cruz County from land in Pima County. This county named for the Santa Cruz River. Look for records in Pima and Santa Cruz counties.
 * Pima County also lost portions of land to Graham, Greenlee, and Maricopa 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.

Census Records

 * Censuses were conducted in 1866, 1867, 1872, 1874, 1876. They include name, residence, whether head of family, number of single persons over 21, number between 10 and 21, number under 10, and remarks.
 * In 1882, the census lists name only.

Church Records
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Ward and Branch Records
 * Ajo
 * Binghampton
 * Tucson

The Catholic Church Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson Archives and Library Msgr. Donald H. Hughes Pastoral Center at St. Ambrose Parish 300 S. Tucson Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85716 Tel: (520) 886-5201 (Call for Appt.) The diocese was first established in 1868. The archive's collection includes sacramental registers from across southwest, Bishop's correspondence, ephemera, art and artifacts.

List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Court Records

 * Arizona Superior Court in Pima County
 * Pima County Consolidated Justice Court
 * Other Courts may be located here: Pima County Court Records Directory


 * Holdings: criminal, civil (incl. traffic), domestic, real property, divorce, probate, guardianship, marriage. Beginning in 2010, all civil cases 50 years old and probate cases 100 years old must be sent to the Arizona State Archives for preservation. However, indexes and microfilm copies of those records are available at the courthouse in Legal Records, Room 241. The microfilm is not for public use due to mishandling and degradation. The court's online Record Search contains an index of cases from approximately 1980 through present day.

Land and Property Records
Pima County Recorder's Office Holdings: deeds, mining records, mortgages.

Local Histories
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records offers an Arizona Biographical Database. The University of Arizona has compiled information about communities, history, and research materials relating to Southern Arizona at Through our Parents' Eyes. For history of western Pima County (Ajo, Why, Lukeville and Tohono O'odham Nation communities) the Ajo Cultural and Historical Inventory Project has identified "where and how to access information on the history and culture of Ajo and western Pima County."

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
Civil War
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

World War II
 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * The Chronicling America project lists 255 newspapers which cover areas of Pima County. Using their system one may narrow a search and use the links to the WorldCat system to locate copies of the papers.
 * Arizona Newspaper Project -- allows users to search for Pima County newspapers
 * Current obituaries for Tucson may be located on the Arizona Daily Star's website.
 * Green Valley News and Sun also carries obituaries.
 * Ajo Copper News Archives list deaths beginning in 1998 and births in 2000.
 * Ajo Cooper News - full-text digital issues in Google News Archive; covers 1975-2009

Obituaries

 * 1959-2014 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Probate Records

 * 1803-1995 Arizona Wills and Probate Records 1803-1995 at Ancestry.com — index and images ($) Original records held by the Clerk of the Superior Court or the Arizona State Archives.

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Vital Records
Pima County Health Department issues certificates for Arizona Births from 1 Jan 1950 and Arizona Deaths from 1 Feb 2008. All other certificates may be ordered from the State Office of Vital Records.

Birth

 * 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 — index ($)
 * 1909-1917 at  FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection, index

Marriage

 * 1864-1943 Western States Marriage Index - 4,742 marriages from 3 Sep 1864 to 20 Sep 1943
 * 1833-1949 Arizona, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1864-1982 Arizona Marriage Collection 1864-1982 at Ancestry — index ($)
 * 1861-1964 at FamilySearch — index and browse images, incomplete - How to Use this Collection
 * 1888-1908 Arizona Select Marriages 1888-1908 at Ancestry — index ($)

Death

 * 1870-1963 Arizona Death Certificates, 1870 - 1963 at MyHeritage ($) - index and images
 * 1910-1911 and 1933-1994 Arizona Select Deaths and Burials 1910-1911 and 1933-1994; at Ancestry — index ($)

Family History Centers

 * Ajo Arizona Family History Center
 * Sahuarita Arizona Family History Center
 * Tucson Arizona Family History Center
 * Tucson Arizona West Family History Center

Libraries
Joel D. Valdez Main Library 101 N. Stone Ave. Tucson, AZ 85701 Pone: 520-594-5500 Holdings include: Cele Peterson Arizona Collection (local history), historical Tucson newspapers, assorted other papers, online resources available to library card holders, interlibrary loan.
 * Pima County Public Libraries

Salzar-Ajo Branch Library 33 Plaza Ajo, AZ 85321 Phone:: 520-387-6075 Holdings: Ajo Cultural and Historical Inventory Project, newspapers, online resources available to library card holders


 * Postal History Foundation - Peggy J. Slusser Memorial Philatelic Library 920 N First Ave Tucson, AZ 85719 Phone: 520-623-6652 www.library.pima.gov/research/collections/phf.php Website


 * University of Arizona Main Library POB 210055 1510 E University Blvd Tucson, AZ 82721-0055 Phone: 520-621-6441 Holdings: Special Collections (manuscripts, photographs, rare books), newspapers, government documents, map collection, ethnic records, directories, Jewish collections Website

Societies

 * Arizona Historical Society 949 E. 2nd St. Tucson, AZ 85719 Phone: 520-628-577 Email: [mailto:ahsadmin@azhs.gov] AHS's Arizona Historical Society Research Library holds unpublished manuscripts, biographical files, books, maps, newspapers, oral histories, photographs, and more. Website


 * Ajo Historical Society 160 S Mission Rd. Ajo, AZ 85321-2601 Phone: 520-387-7105 Website


 * Heritage Center 564 S Stone Ave PO BOX 889 Tucson, AZ 85701 Phone: 520-670-9073 Jewish Website


 * Jewish Historical Society of Southern Arizona, Genealogy Group 4181 E Pontatoc Canyon Dr Tucson, AZ 85718 Phone: 520-299-4486 Facebook


 * Southern Arizona Genealogical Society (aka Green Valley Genealogical Society) PO Box 1009 Green Valley, AZ 85622 Email: [mailto:jfcbcp@gmail.com] Website


 * Pima County Genealogy Society P.O. Box 16421 Tucson, AZ 85732 Website


 * Sun City Vistoso Genealogical Society 1565 E Rancho Vistoso Social Hall/Papago Room Oro Valley, AZ 85737 Phone: 520-825-3711Website

Websites

 * Pima County AZGenWeb, a member of The AZGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb.
 * Pima County, Arizona Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)


 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.