Arizona, United States Genealogy

''This article is about the southwestern U.S. state. For other uses, see Arizona (disambiguation).''

United States Arizona

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The Grand Canyon State


Historians disagree about the meaning and derivation of the place name Arizona. What is now southern Arizona and northern México was known by the Spanish as the Pimería Alta, or Upper Pima Country after the natives of the area whom the Spanish called Pima. Within this area was a place that the Spanish called Arisona, Arissona or Arizona.

Historian James H. McClintock in Arizona, Prehistoric, Aboriginal, Pioneer, Modern: The Nation’s Youngest Commonwealth within a Land of Ancient Culture (Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1916) and in other works noted that the name was probably derived from a native place name that sounded like Aleh-zon or Ali-Shonak which meant small spring or place of the small spring. The Dictionary: Tohono O'odham/Pima to English, English to Tohono O'odham/Pima indicates that Al Shon, translated as Place of Little Spring, is the place name Arizona. However, the current State Historian, Marshall Trimble, agrees with Donald T. Garate, Chief of Interpretation/Historian at Tumacácori National Historical Park, who studied the early documents referencing the place name Arizona while researching Juan Bautista de Anza: Basque Explorer in the New World, 1693-1740 (Reno: University of Nevada Press, 2003) that Arizona is a Basque word meaning The Good Oak Tree. Garate argues that early missionaries to the area did not note Arizona as a native settlement. The ranchería Arizona was established between 1734 and 1736 by Bernardo de Urrea, of Basque heritage born in Mexico. It is south of the international border in Sonora, México about forty miles southwest of Tumacácori. The ranchería Arizona quickly became a place of note when silver (Planchas de Plata) was discovered nearby. In "Arizona (Never Arizonac)," Garate records a 1737 report by Captain Juan Bautista de Anza (father of the Anza trail explorer), that a slab of silver weighing more that 2,500 pounds had been discovered "between the Guevavi Mission and the ranchería called Arizona (entre la Miss.n de Guebabi, y la ranchería del Arissona)." Garate also notes that the place name Arizona can be found in Central and South America where the Spanish, including the Basque, settled and where Tohono O'odham/Pima names are unlikely to be found.

Bibliography:


 * Barnes, Will C. Arizona Place Names. Tucson, Arizona: The University of Arizona Press, 1988, pp. 26-27
 * Dean, Saxton, et al. Dictionary: Tohono O'odham/Pima to English, English to Tohono O'odham/Pima. Tucson, Arizona: The University of Arizona Press, 1983, p. 138
 * Garate, Donald T. "Arizona (Never Arizonac).
 * Granger, Byrd Howell. Arizona’s Names: X Marks the Place. Tucson, Arizona: Falconer Pub. Co., 1983, pp. 30-31.
 * Thompson, Clay. "A Sorry State of Affairs When Views Change." The Aizona Republic, February 25, 2007, p. B10.

Featured Content
Official Guide of the Arizona Office of Tourism


 * Join the Facebook or Skype Genealogy Research Community!
 * Find which county a town is in, what town a cemetery is in, even where a postoffice or building is by using the United States Geographical Survey's Geographical Names Information System.
 * David Rumsey Map Collection is a large online collection of rare, old, antique historical atlases, globes, maps, charts plus other cartographic treasures.
 * The Arizona GenWeb Project has a wealth of information and is a part of the larger USGenWeb Project. The USGenWeb Project provides internet information on every county in every state in the United States.
 * Arizona Gravestones Photo Project
 * Arizona Blacksheep Ancestors indexes of many sources to find your infamous Arizona ancestors.
 * Arizona Birth &amp; Death Certificates Now Available to the Public. Arizona state library, archives and public records. The certificate images provided are limited to Arizona: BIRTHS that occurred at least 75 years ago DEATHS that occurred at least 50 years ago

Did You Know?

 * American Indians. There are 21 reservations in the state. In addition to the Navajo—the largest tribe—important groups are the Mohave, Apache, Hopi, Paiute, Tohono O'odham, Ak-Chin, Yuma, Yavapai, Hualapai, and Havasupai. For more information see Indians of Arizona. Histories of Arizona Indians are listed in the Family History Library Catalog under ARIZONA - MINORITIES, as well as under ARIZONA - NATIVE RACES. Other records of American Indians are listed in the Subject Search of the Family History Library Catalog under the names of the tribes.
 * Prison Records. Arizona Department of Corrections has a searchable online database of 100 years of Inmate Admissions (1872 - 1972).
 * Gretna Greens. When an eloping Arizona couple's marriage is not in their home county, search for it in alternate places like Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada, or Yuma, Yuma, Arizona.

Counties
Extinct or Renamed Counties:  Bernalillo· Castle Dome· Doña Ana· Ewell· Mesilla· Pah-Ute· Rio Arriba· Rio Virgin· Santa Ana· Socorro· Taos· Valencia

Arizona County Creation Dates and Parent Counties showing dates they were created or renamed and counties created from older counties. Details will assist you in determining which county would have the records you are seeking. Arizona currently has 15 counties.

Societies
See Arizona Genealogical Societies for a listing of the currently active societies in Arizona.

Research Tools

 * Robinson, William Henry. The Story of Arizona. Phoenix, Ariz: Berryhill Co, 1919. AccessGenealogy.com scan of the entire book.
 * McClintock, James H., Mormon Settlement in Arizona, A Record of Peaceful Conquest of the Desert, Phoenix, Ariz: Printing and binding by the Manufacturing Stationers, 1921.The entire book on Project Gutenburg.
 * BYU Research Outline for Arizona
 * US Gen Web Clickable Map of Arizona Counties  --  Clicking on a county takes you to the County US Gen Web Site
 * George S. Tanner. Mormon Settlements in Arizona. J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, 1970. The Mormon Settlements in Arizona Collection (1857-1986) is a collection of primary sources relating to the Mormon colonization efforts along the Little Colorado River and the surrounding area. The major part of the collection consists of materials collected by George S. Tanner. Included are photocopied or transcribed diaries, histories, correspondence, financial records, biographies and autobiographies, and clippings from and about the Arizona settlements.


 * Collection Inventory

Wiki articles describing these collections are at: 


 * Arizona Births and Christening (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Arizona Deaths (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Arizona Deaths and Burials (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Arizona Mariages, (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Arizona Service Records of Confederate Soldiers of the Civil War (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Things You Can Do
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