Navajo County, Arizona Genealogy

United States

Arizona

Navajo County

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

Arizona Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Holbrook Organized: March 21, 1895 Parent County(s): Apache Neighboring Counties Apache • Coconino • Gila • Graham • San Juan (UT) See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

Navajo County was created on 21 March 1895 and named for the Navajo Nation. Its county seat is Holbrook. It is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Navajo County Courthouse
100 East Code Talkers Drive
Holbrook, AZ 86025
Phone: 928-524-4188
Navajo County Arizona

Clerk Superior Court has marriage, divorce, probate and court records.
County Recorder has land records.

Navajo County, Arizona Record Dates

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1895	1895	1895	1895	1895	1895	1830
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in July 1909. General compliance by 1926

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

Parent County(s): Created from Apache County on 21 March 1895. County Seat: Holbrook Arizona Individual County Chronologies - Newberry Library list of all boundary changes by county Arizona Historical Borders - Map at Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Also at: mapofus.org - animated maps illustrating Arizona county boundary changes

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Holbrook (county seat)	Show Low	Winslow
Towns
Pinetop-Lakeside	Snowflake	Taylor
Unincorporated communities
Aponi-vi Aripine Arntz Baby Rocks Bacavi Bell Betatakin Overlook Bidahochi Burton Castle Butte Cedar Springs Chakpahu Cibecue Creek Goodwater Grasshopper	Hano Hard Rocks Headquarters Hibbard Huk Ovi Indian Pine Kawaika A Manila Mumurva Na Ah Tee Navajo Gospel Mission Navajo Mountain (Chapter) Oraibi Penzance Pink Arrow	Pivahn hon kya pi Polacca Robinson Trail Crossing Roundy Crossing Silver Creek Sipaulovi Smoke Signal Sponseller Sunset Tsegi Twin Buttes Ubank Place Wepo Village White Mountain Lakes Estates
American Indian Communities
Fort Apache‡	Hopi‡	Navajo‡
Census-designated places
Chilchinbito Cibecue Clay Springs Dilkon East Fork First Mesa Fort Apache Greasewood Hard Rock Heber Overgaard Hondah Hotevilla Bacavi Indian Wells Jeddito	Joseph City Kayenta Keams Canyon Kykotsmovi Village Lake of the Woods Linden Low Mountain McNary‡ North Fork Oljato Monument Valley Pinedale Pinetop Country Club Pinon Rainbow City	Seba Dalkai Second Mesa Seven Mile Shongopovi Shonto Sun Valley Tees Toh Turkey Creek Wagon Wheel White Mountain Lake Whitecone Whiteriver Winslow West‡ Woodruff
Ghost towns
Brigham City Obed	Wilford	Zeniff

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

History Timeline

1852, New Mexico Territory
Arizona is in yellow, left of the dotted line

• 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.
  
• In 1821 - Mexico obtained jurisdiction over the land that later would become Arizona. Records of this period may have been sent to archives in Mexico City.
• 18 Aug 1846 - During the war with Mexico, the US took control of Santa Fe and proclaimed sovereignty over the land that later became the New Mexico Territory. Look for records in the National Archives and Records Administration, the Mexico Archives and the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives.
• 4 July 1848 - In the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Mexico ceded part of present day Arizona, including all of present day Navajo County. Look for records in the National Archives and Records Administration, the Mexico Archives and the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives.
• In 1852 - New Mexico Territory created counties that stretched east and west from the Texas border to the California border, including all the land that later became Arizona. The land covered by present-day Navajo County, Arizona was once part of Taos (NM), San Juan (NM) (1861-1862 only), Rio Arriba (NM), Santa Ana (NM), Bernalillo (NM), Valencia (NM), and Socorro (NM) counties of New Mexico. Look for records in Socorro, Bernalillo, Rio Arriba, Taos, and Valencia counties.
• 24 Feb 1863 - The US created the Arizona Territory from the western half of New Mexico Territory. All previous counties were discontinued for this new territory. Look for records in the Arizona State Library and New Mexico State Records Center and Archives
• 14 February 1879 - Apache County was created from Yavapai County. This county named for the Apache Indians. Look for records in Apache and Yavapai counties

Resources

Biographies

• 1860-Onward Arizona, Biographical Database at MyHeritage — index ($)

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Navajo, Arizona online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Find a Grave BillionGraves USGW Tombstone Transcription Project Interment.net
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Library WorldCat.org
List of Cemeteries in the County	Find a Grave FamilySearch Places
See Arizona Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

For tips on accessing Census records online, see: Arizona Census.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1900	8,829	—
1910	11,471	29.9%
1920	16,077	40.2%
1930	21,202	31.9%
1940	25,309	19.4%
1950	29,446	16.3%
1960	37,994	29.0%
1970	47,715	25.6%
1980	67,629	41.7%
1990	77,658	14.8%
2000	97,470	25.5%
2010	107,449	10.2%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For more about Arizona denominations, see Arizona Church Records.

ard and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Clay Springs, Heber, Holbrook, Joseph City, Lakeside, Linden, Pinedale, Showlow, Shumway, Snowflake, Taylor, Winslow and Woodruff .

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Directories

• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary

Funeral Homes

Greer's Mortuary in Winslow Owens Livingston Mortuary in Holbrook Owens Livingston Mortuary in Show Low Owens Livingston Mortuary in Snowflake Silver Creek Mortuary in Pinetop Silver Creek Mortuary in Taylor

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Arizona Land and Property for additional information about early Arizona land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse.

Navajo County AZ Recorders Office
PO Box 668
100 E Code Talkers Dr
Holbrook AZ 86025
Phone: 928-524-4190

Online Land Indexes and Records

• Land Search at General Land Office Records
• Land Records, 1989 to the present at Navajo County Recorders Office
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the Wiki page section Arizona Local Histories.

Journal of May Louise Hunt Larsen of Snowflake AZ. Journal kept between 1894 and 1943.

• Great Register of Navajo County, Arizona Territory. Navajo County [Ariz.]: County Recorder, 1800. WorldCat 71332919

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

Civil War

• 1861-1865 Arizona Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

World War II

• 1940-1945 Arizona, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index & images - How to Use this Collection

Newspapers

• 1800s-Current Arizona, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)

Obituaries

The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

• 1959-2014 Arizona, Mesa LDS Family History Center, Obituary Index, 1959-2014 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Other Records

• 1895-1964 Arizona, Navajo County, Voting Records, 1895-1954 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Probate Records

From 1850 to 1864, probate records of Arizona were kept by the probate courts of New Mexico. From 1864 to 1912, the records were handled by county probate courts. 1912 to present, records such as wills, claims, administrations, case files, and calendars are kept in the custody of the clerk of the superior court in the county courthouse.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• 1803-1995 Arizona Wills and Probate Records 1803-1995 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
• 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Arizona Department of Health Services or the county clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.

Birth

• 1800-1946 Arizona Genealogy Birth Certificates, 1800-1947 at Arizona Department of Health Services — images
• 1855-1930 Arizona, Birth Certificates and Indexes, 1855-1930 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1887-1935 Arizona Birth Certificates, 1887-1935 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• 1909-1917 Arizona, Births and Christenings, 1909-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index; Also at: Ancestry($)
• 1909-1917 Arizona Birth Certificates, 1909-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index

Marriage

• 1809-2011 Western States Marriage Index, 1809-2011 at Ancestry — index($)
• 1833-1949 US Marriages – Arizona, 1833-1949 at Findmypast — index($)
• 1864-1982 Arizona Marriage Collection, 1864-1982 at Ancestry — index($)
• 1871-1964 Arizona, County Marriages, 1871-1964 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1888-1908 Arizona Select Marriages, 1888-1908 at Ancestry — index($)
• Western States Marriage Index at BYU Idaho — index; Also at: FamilySearch
• 1895-1912 Arellano, Fay Louise Smith. Arizona Territorial Marriages. Navajo County, 1895-1912. Mesa, AZ: Arizona Genealogical Advisory Board, 2001. WorldCat 49016868
  

Death

• 1800-1972 Arizona Genealogy Record Search at Arizona Department of Health Services — images
• 1870-1951 Arizona Deaths, 1870-1951 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1870-1963 Arizona Death Certificates, 1870-1963 at MyHeritage — index & images ($)

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Navajo County. For state-wide facilities, see Arizona Archives and Libraries.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Holbrook Arizona FamilySearch Center
• Polacca Arizona FamilySearch Center
• Show Low Arizona FamilySearch Center
• Snowflake Arizona FamilySearch Center
• Woodruff Arizona FamilySearch Center
• East Flagstaff Public Library - an affiliate library
• Flagstaff City - Coconino County Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Navajo County. For state-wide library facilities, see Arizona Archives and Libraries.

Museums

Historic Courthouse Museum
100 E. Arizona Street and Navajo Blvd.
Holbrook, AZ 86025
Phone: 928-524-6558
Website

Show Low Museum
541 E. Deuce of Clubs St.
Show Low, AZ 85902
Phone: 928-532-7115
Website

Societies

Listed below are societies in Navajo County. For state-wide genealogical and historical societies, see Arizona Societies.

Navajo County Historical Society
P.O. Box 473
100 E Arizona St
Holbrook, AZ 86025
Phone: 928-524-6558
Website

Websites

• Navajo County AZGenWeb
• Navajo County, Arizona Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.

This table contains the dates the local or state government began recording in the county or county equivalent. Use substitute records for earlier dates. If you believe there is an error, email us at wikisupport@familysearch.org.

County boundary maps are currently unavailable. Download information instead.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Users should verify which locations and dates are included in this collection.

“Current” indicates records are available as recently as privacy laws allow. This date can change from year to year. To determine the exact dates available, contact the respective organization/repository.

FamilySearch affiliate libraries may have access to center-only databases, but do not always have all services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.