Graham County, Arizona Genealogy

United StatesArizona Graham County

County Courthouse
Graham County Courthouse 800 Main Street Stafford, Az 85546-1414 Phone: 520-428-3250


 * Clerk of Superior Court has marriage, probate, divorce and court records from 1881
 * Naturalization Records 1907-1973
 * County Recorder has land records

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 Graham 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 Graham 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.

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.

Cemeteries in Graham County at Find a Grave

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.

Land Records in Graham County that were recorded from 1982 to the present can be searched online.

Viewing older records will require a visit to

Recorders Office   921 Thatcher Blvd    Safford AZ 85546    (928) 428-3560

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)