Fremont County, Colorado Genealogy

United StatesColorado Fremont County

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

County Courthouse
County Clerk has marriage and land records; Clerk district Court has divorce, probate and court records

County Seat
Canon City

Parent County
1861--Fremont County was created 1 November 1861 as one of the 17 original counties of the Territory of Colorado. It was created in 1859 from the old Arapahoe County in the territory of Kansas.

Cities and towns in Fremont County
Cities and towns to be found in Fremont County include:


 * Brookside
 * Cañon City
 * Coal Creek
 * Cotopaxi
 * Florence, incorporated in 1887. "The antique capital of Colorado."
 * Lincoln Park
 * Penrose
 * Rockvale

Coal mining history


 * Williamsburg.

Neighboring Counties



 * Chaffee
 * Custer
 * El Paso
 * Park
 * Pueblo
 * Saguache
 * Teller

Gazetteers and Other Print Sources

 * Southern Colorado Historical and Descriptive of Fremont and Custer Counties With Their Principal Towns. Canon City and Other Towns. Fremont County . . . With a Description of the Immense (etc.).Author, Anonymous. This book, published before 1923, is available as a reprint from Amazon.com.

Cemeteries
Sources for information and tombstone photos for Fremont County, Colorado cemeteries:

Colorado GravestonesPhoto Project. Lists some Fremont County cemeteries by name; includes links to the cemetery with names and links to tombstone photos.

Colorado-Cemeteries.com. A site with good general information about cemeteries and tombstones, plus links to a list of Fremont County cemeteries.

The Tombstone Transcription Project. This is so far (updated Jan 2014) the most complete site for Fremont County cemetery information, including photos. Note: Many if not most of the tombstone photos are copyrighted, so they cannot be copied for use without permission at websites like Ancestry.com or find-a-grave.com.

Cemeteries of Canon City, Fremont County, CO
This is not an all-inclusive list. All links in this section, unless otherwise noted,to the USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project, Colorado, Fremont Co.


 * Abbey Cemetery (aka Holy Cross Abbey Cemetery)
 * Garden Park Cemetery
 * Greenwood Pioneer Cemetery Est. c.1870s
 * I.O.O.F. Cemetery Est. c.1870s. Note: Sometimes the Greenwood Cemetery and IOOF Cemetery are linked together because of their close proximity - across the street from one another.
 * Lakeside Cemetery Est. c.1877.

Other Cemeteries of Fremont County
All links to Tombstone Transcription Project unless otherwise noted.


 * Cotopaxi Cemetery, Cotopaxi, Colorado
 * Hillside Cemetery, Hillside, Colorado; aka San Isabel View Cemetery.
 * Howard Cemetery, Howard, Colorado. Est. c.1874. Until 1916, known as Pleasant Valley Cemetery.
 * Lower Beaver Creek Cemetery, Penrose, Colorado. Est. c.1865.
 * Penrose Cemetery, Penrose BillionGraves . Est. 1915; aka Beaver Park Cemetery.
 * Union Highland Cemetery, Florence, Colorado. Est. 1873. Originally named "Highland"; name changed in 1930 when it was turned over to the city of Florence.
 * Upper Beaver Creek Cemetery, Florence, Colorado. Est. 1883.

Census

 * 1885 at FamilySearch.org — index/images

Church Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Canon City

Local History
The county is named for explorer and presidential candidate John C. Fremont(1813-1890), called by historians the Great Pathfinder.

Crossing The Plains in 1864 and Early History of Fremont County, by William H. Callen.



Military
Colorado in the Civil War, a FamilySearch wiki page.

Colorado Military Records, a FamilySearch wiki page.

Military Records, Colorado State Archives

Colorado Grand Army of the Republic(G.A.R.), Western History and Genealogy, Denver Public Library

Mortality Schedules

 * 1880 Mortality Schedule for Fremont County. This schedule is available at Ancestry.com.


 * Persons who died the year ending May 31, 1880.
 * Name; age; sex; color; whether single, married, widowed, or divorced
 * place of birth; where father born; where mother born;
 * profession, occupation, or trade;
 * month in which the person died;
 * disease or cause of death;
 * how long a resident of the county?;
 * place where disease was contracted, if not Fremont County;
 * name of attending physician.

Naturalization and Citizenship
See the FamilySearch wiki page for Colorado Naturalization and Citizenship.

Newspapers and Obituaries
Microfilm of years of the Canon City Daily Record are housed at the Royal Gorge Museum and History Center. Contact them for specific years.

Periodicals

 * The Colorado Magazine was published by the Colorado Historical Society from 1923 to 1980 and contains hundreds of articles about significant Colorado and Western people and events. Since 1980, the quarterly has been titled Colorado Heritage. (Denver)


 * Pinon Whispers, published quarterly by the Southeastern Colorado Genealogy Society. (Pueblo)

Probate Records
Online Records
 * 1875 – 1974 Colorado Wills and Probate Records 1875-1974 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Birth
Birth records may become public records when 100 years have elapsed after the date of birth. EXCEPTION: The birth record of any individual who is known to be currently alive will remain confidential even if they are 100 years of age or greater.

Marriage
Colorado, County Marriages, 1864-1995. Includes Fremont County. FamilySearch collection. Fremont County records:


 * 1864 - 1995 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Marriage certificate index, 1925-1929
 * Marriage certificates and licenses, 1874-1876
 * 1853 - 2006 at FamilySearch.org — index/images
 * 1900 - 1939 Colorado, Statewide Marriage Index, 1900-1939 at Ancestry.com — index $
 * 1859 - 1900 Colorado Marriages, 1859-1900 at Ancestry.com — index $

Death
Death records may become public records when 75 years have elapsed after the date of death.

Divorce
Colorado Statewide Divorce Index, 1900-1930. These records are found at FamilySearch. The index is arranged in alphabetical order.

Tax Records

 * Colorado State Archives has put the Fremont County Inheritance Tax Records Index for 1913-1943 on-line.

Family History Centers

 * Canon City Colorado Family History Center

Libraries

 * Canon City Public Library

516 Macon Ave

Canon City,CO 81212

Phone: (719) 269-9020

Website ccpl.lib.co.us/


 * Cotopaxi School/Community Library

0345 County Road 12

Cotopaxi, CO 81223

Phone: (719) 942-4131


 * John C. Fremont Library District (Florence)

130 Church Ave

Florence, CO 81226

Phone: (719) 784-4649

Website www.florencecolibrary.org/


 * Penrose Library District

555 4th Ave

Penrose, CO 81240

Phone: (719) 372-0606

Website; penrose.colibraries.org/

Museums

 * Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center

612 Royal Gorge Blvd. Canon City, CO 81215


 * Maintains and provides public access to records and artifacts of Fremont and Custer counties in Colorado.


 * Museum of Colorado Prisons


 * "a showcase of the atmosphere and exhibits of days, staff and inmates gone by."
 * Located on the west end of Canon City, one block off Hwy 50 on 1st Street.


 * Florence Pioneer Museum

100 East Front Street Florence, Colorado 81226


 * "To collect, preserve and interpret the rich historical heritage of Florence, Colorado, the surrounding mining towns and eastern Fremont County.

Societies

 * Fremont County Genealogy Society

Canon City Public Library 516 Macon Ave Canon City, CO 81218


 * Fremont County Historical Society

P.O. Box 965 Canon City, CO 81215


 * Southeastern Colorado Genealogical Society (SEGCS)


 * covers the following Colorado counties: Baca, Bent, Crowley, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, Kiowa, Las Animas, Otero, Prowers, and Pueblo.

P.O. Box 1407 Pueblo, CO 81002


 * Wetmore-Hardscrabble Genealogical and Historical Society

PO Box 211 Wetmore, CO 81253

Websites

 * History Colorado Center, Denver, Colorado
 * Fremont County, Colorado Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Fremont County, Colorado Genealogy and History, part of the Genealogy Trails Group
 * Lone Pine Ancestors, a Fremont County website written and maintained by Mary Ann Thomas, copyright 2001. Some information may not be updated.
 * Southeastern Colorado Genealogical Society, Pueblo, Colorado
 * Southeastern Colorado Genealogical Society, Pueblo, Colorado