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
Arizona was part of New Spain until 1821, and then part of Mexico until 1846. Some records of early Arizona settlers may have been sent to an archives in Seville, Spain, or to archives in Mexico City.

Moreover, Arizona was part of the United States' New Mexico Territory from 1846 to 1863. In 1852 New Mexico Territory set up counties that stretched east and west including all the land that became part of Arizona. Present-day Yuma County, Arizona was once part of Socorro and Doña Ana counties in New Mexico. When Arizona was created in 1863, these former counties were dissolved within Arizona's borders and eventually new counties were formed.

If an ancestor lived in what is now Yuma County, Arizona between 1852 and 1863, first check for records in Yuma County. However, there is also a small chance that a few papers were recorded in a parent county's courthouse in Arizona (if any), or in the corresponding parent county in New Mexico.

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)