Yuma County, Arizona Genealogy

United States Arizona  Yuma County

County Courthouse
Yuma County Court House 168 S 2nd Ave Yuma, Az 85364 Phone:520-329-2170

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

History
Yuma County, Arizona is in the far southwest corner of the state. Principal communities include Yuma and Somerton. It extended to Parker in the north until the 1970s when the northern half of the county split off to form La Paz County.

For some County maintained records in the area now in La Paz County, many of the records will be found in Yuma, that city being the county seat.

Parent County

 * Up until 1821 - New Spain controlled land that later would become Arizona. Some records of early settlers may have been sent to an archives in Seville, Spain, or to archives in Mexico City.
 * From 1821 until 1846 - Mexico had jurisdiction over the land that later would become Arizona. Residents living on land south of the Gila River were part of Mexico until 1854. Some records of this period may have been sent to archives in Mexico City.
 * From 1846 to 1863 - New Mexico Territory included land that later would become Arizona.
 * In 1852 - New Mexico Territory set up counties that stretched east and west from the Texas border to the California border, including land that became Arizona. Present-day Yuma County, Arizona was once part of Socorro and Doña Ana counties of New Mexico. Some records during this period may have been sent to courthouses in their respective New Mexico counties.
 * In 1854 - the  added former Mexican land, including part of what became Yuma County, to the already existing Doña Ana County, of New Mexico. Some records from 1854 to 1863 may have been sent to the Doña Ana County, New Mexico courthouse.
 * In 1863 - Arizona Territory was created from the western half of New Mexico territory. All previous counties were dissolved, and eventually four new counties were created in the new Arizona Territory.

1864--Yuma County was created 21 December 1864 as an original county. County seat: Yuma

Record Loss
Some environmental damage has occurred to many of the historical registers. Meldew and mold have taken its toll on the readability of some of the books and case file contents.

Neighboring Counties

 * Imperial County, California
 * La Paz
 * Maricopa
 * Pima

Cemeteries
Arizona Cemetery Transcription and Photo Project

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Yuma

Court
Yuma County (Arizona). County Recorder, (Main Author), Powers of attorney (Yuma County, Arizona), Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 2002.

Vital Records
695 marriages from 2 Apr 1864 to 17 Mar 1902 are listed on the Western States Marriage Index. Some of the early marriage volumes are difficult to read and the writing is hard to decipher due to environmental damage.

Societies and Libraries
Genealogical Society of Yuma Arizona P.O. Box 2905 Yuma, AZ 85366-2905

Arizona Historical Society Rio Colorado Division 240 Madison Avenue Yuma, Arizona 85364 520-782-1841

Family History Centers
Introduction to Family History Centers

Yuma Arizona 4300 W 16th St Yuma, Yuma, Arizona, United States Telephone: 928-782-6364

This is not a mailing address. Due to limited staff, Family History Centers are unable to respond to mail inquiries.

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Yuma County, Arizona Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Yuma County, Arizona Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)