Graham County, Arizona Genealogy

United StatesArizona Graham County

Parent County
1881--Graham County was created 10 March 1881 from Apache and Pima Counties. County seat: Safford

Neighboring Counties

 * Apache
 * Cochise
 * Gila
 * Greenlee
 * Navajo
 * Pima
 * Pinal

Cemeteries
Arizona Gravestones Project has listings for most of the cemeteries in Graham county and most of the graves in those cemeteries have pictures of the gravestones.

Central, Arizona

In the Town of Central there are two burial sites. The Old Central Cemetery and new Central Cemetery. They are not far apart from each other. Online memorials can be seen at Find A Grave for both of these cemeteries.

The Old Cemetery has many early settlers buried there, the first being in 1885. It is located in a flood plain. Since it was flooded so often, it was advocated that a new burial site was needed on higher ground. The new site is located on a hill to the northwest of the old site. Harry W. Layton worked to obtain the permit for the new cemetery on land that he donated for that purpose. They planned to begin burials on the north end of the cemetery. The first burial was in October, 1920. They found the ground was so hard to dig that after two days of trying, they had to get dynamite. They finished just in time to see the funeral procession coming up the hill. After this difficulty, the burials were made in the south end of the cemetery.

These cemeteries were maintained until recently, by the Central Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are still present day burials in the Old Central Cemetery, but most are in the Central Cemetery. The Sexton of these cemeteries is Carl Bryce of Central, Arizona. You can reach him at his home phone (928) 428-0578 for more information.

Pima, Arizona

In the Town of Pima there are three known burial sites. The original site, known as the Old Pima Cemeterywas established in 1879. You can view online memorials of the 15 interments in this cemetery at Find A Grave. The cemetery was moved when the railroad came into the Gila Valley, since the right of way went directly through the cemetery. See more detailed information at this website, Old Pima Cemetery by Wilma Carter Rhinehart.

The Pima Cemetery is located in the southwest part of town at 800 South 400 West, Pima, Arizona, 85543. You can view online memorials for the more than 2100 interments at Find a Grave. The cemetery is maintained buy the Town of Pima. They can be contacted at the Town Hall, 110 West Center Street, Pima, Arizona, 85543. Phone (928) 485-2611.

The Rogers Family Cemetery is a private historical cemetery located at 574 West 300 South, Pima, Arizona. There are 15 interments there that can be viewed online at Find A Grave.

Church
LDS Church and Branch Records: Artesia, Ashurst, Bryce, Central, Eden, Emery, Ft. Thomas, Graham, Hubbard, Kimball, Layton (Safford), Lebanon, Mathews, Pima, Safford, Solomonsville, Thatcher, Thatcher East and Thatcher West.

Land
Most of the land in Arizona was originally obtained from the US federal government by patent. These General Land Office Records are searchable online and most have free images of patents to download. The minimum information needed for a search is the state where the land is located and the name of the person receiving the patent. Surveys and Land Status Records can also be searched here.

Newspapers
Graham Guardian (Safford, Ariz.) 1895-1923 is available for searching free Online. Click Browse Issues tab.

Safford Rattler (Safford, Ariz.) 1896-189? is also available Online.

Vital Records
3,480 marriages from 1881 to 1926 are listed on the Western States Marriage Index.

Societies and Libraries
Graham County Historical Society and Museum 3430 W. Main St. (Hwy 70) Thatcher, AZ 85552 Telephone: 928-348-0470 Hours 10-4:00 M,T, Sat.

Family History Centers
Introduction to Family History Centers

Safford-Thatcher Arizona 515 11th St Safford, Graham, Arizona, United States Telephone: 928-428-7927

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

Websites

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