Step-by-Step Colorado Research, 1850-1910
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Step 1: Find out everything possible from living relatives and their family records.
Every good genealogy project starts with finding all the clues that can be gathered from living relatives — both from their memories and from documents or memorabilia in their homes.
What are the best questions to ask?
In order to extend research, ask for names, dates, and places. Everything about who a relative was and when and where they lived is a clue to a new record search. For ideas, see :
- 50 Questions to Ask Relatives About Family History at ThoughtCo.com
- Creating Oral Histories at FamilySearch Wiki
What documents should be collected or copied?
Because these records cover names, dates, places, and relationships, they are a valuable source of clues. Look for them in your home, your parents' home, and ask living grandparents to check for them.
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Step 2: Find ancestors in every possible census record, 1850-1950, online.
- A census is a count and description of the population for a given date. A census took a "snapshot" of a family on a certain day.
- For each person living in a household (depending on the year), their name, age, birthplace, relationship to head of household, place of birth for father and mother, citizenship status, year of immigration, mother of how many children and number of children living, native language, and whether they were a veteran of the military can be listed.
- Searching for a family in census records every ten years can identify all the children in a family.
- Searching in earlier census records to find someone as a child can identify parents.
Example of a census record.
Look for ancestors in as many censuses as possible. Use the clues from each census for hints where to find families in both earlier and later census records.
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For more information, see Colorado Census and United States Census.
Step 3: Try to find additional details in death certificates, Social Security, obituary and cemetery records online.
When a person dies, several records will be created: death certificates, Social Security records, obituaries, and cemetery records.
- Death certificates can give birth information for people born before actual birth registration began. Death certificates frequently give the birth date and place, parents' names, and birth places of parents.
- The Social Security Death Index includes those who had a Social Security number and/or applied for benefits. The index entries give the person's full birth date, last known residence, and residence at the time they first enrolled.
- The Social Security Applications and Claims Index provides information filed in the application or claims process, including valuable details such as birth date, birth place, and parents’ names.
- Cemetery records can be as simple as the information on the headstone or, in some FindAGrave records, they can report more thorough information about birth, parents, spouses, children, and siblings.
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Example of a death index entry. |
Example of a Social Security Death Index entry: |
Example of a Social Security Application and Claims Index Entry: |
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Example of a FindAGrave cemetery record. |
Example of an obituary. |
Death Indexes
- 1986-2017 Colorado, Select County Death Records, 1986-2017 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
Writing for Full Death Certificates
The full original certificate will contain information not contained in the index. Although it costs money, consider sending for the full original certificates, particularly for direct line ancestors (grandparents, great-grandparents, etc).
- Where to Write for Colorado Birth, Marriage, Death and Divorce Records at at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC.gov
Obituary Collections
- 1859-1928 Colorado Online Historical Newspapers at Google Sites — index & images
- 1859-1978 List of 302 Newspapers in Colorado at GenealogyBank — index ($)
- 1980-2014 United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, Births, and Marriages 1980-2014 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
- Colorado Newspapers and Obituaries at LDS Genealogy — index
- Colorado Newspapers and Periodicals at Ancestry — index ($)
- Native American Obituaries : A Project of the Farmington, NM Family History Center. Farmington, New Mexico: Family History Center, n.d. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
Cemetery Record Collections
- 1949-1969 United States, Cemetery Abstracts, 1949-1969 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
- BillionGraves — index & images
- BillionGraves Index at FamilySearch — How to Use This Collection; index; Also at: Findmypast ($)
- Colorado Cemetery Records at AccessGenealogy — index
- Colorado Cemetery Records at Interment.net — index
- Colorado Gravestone Photo Project at ColoradoGravestones — index & images
- Colorado Tombstone Transcription Project at USGenWeb Tombstones — index
- FindaGrave — index & images
- Find a Grave Index at FamilySearch — How to Use This Collection; index; Also at: Ancestry ($)
- Online Colorado Death Records and Indexes at DeathIndexes.com — index
U.S. Social Security Death Index and Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
- The U.S. Social Security program began in 1935 but most deaths recorded in the index happened after 1962.
- The Social Security Death index includes those who had a Social Security number and/or applied for benefits.
- You can search these records online at
- 1935-2014 U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 at Ancestry — index ($)
- 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry — index ($); Picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off by providing information filed in the application or claims process
- 1962-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
- If you find an ancestor in the SSDI index, you can order a copy of their original Social Security application (SS-5). If you can prove the individual has died (by sending an obituary or copy of their cemetery headstone), the application will also give the deceased's parents' names, if listed.
For more information, see Colorado Obituaries and Colorado Cemeteries.
Step 4: Search for county birth and marriage records online.
Vital records registration of births and marriages at the state level started in 1910. Prior to that the individual counties kept some records. The starting dates of those records vary from county to county, depending on when the county was formed.
Currently (July 2023), there are no online Colorado birth indexes.
Example of an indexed county marriage entry.
Online Records
Marriages
- 1850-2003 Western States Marriage Records Index at BYU Idaho — index & images ($)
- 1853-2006 Colorado Statewide Marriage Index, 1853-2006 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1859-1900 Colorado, U.S., Compiled Marriages from Mesa, Arapahoe and Boulder Counties, 1859-1900 at Ancestry — index ($)
- 1862-2006 Colorado, County Marriage Records and State Index, 1862-2006 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
- 1863-2018 Colorado, U.S., Select County Marriages, 1863-2018 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
- 1864-1995 Colorado, County Marriages, 1864-1995 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1900-1939 Colorado, Statewide Marriage Index, 1900-1939 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
- 1975-2004 Colorado, Marriages, 1975 - 2004 at MyHeritage — index ($)
Records at the County Courthouse.
These records were originally created by county clerks, and then copies were sent to the state. County clerks can be willing to help find all the birth records for one family or perform other searches that the state would not do. To contact county clerks by e-mail or telephone, go to the Wiki article for each county. Links to the county Wiki articles are found at the end of this page or by clicking here: Colorado Counties.
For more information on birth, marriage, and death records in Colorado, see How to Find Colorado Birth Records, How to Find Colorado Marriage Records, and How to Find Colorado Death Records.
Step 5: Search military records: World War I and World War II draft cards.
There are many different types of military records: draft records, enlistment records, service records, pension records, etc. Information in military records can vary from a simple lists of name, age, and residence, to more detailed records including name, residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, physical description, number of dependents, pensions received, disabled veterans, needy veterans, widows or orphans of veterans, and other information.
Example of a World War I draft card.
Example of a World War II draft card.
Search the World War I and World War II Draft Collections for male relatives.
- 1917-1918 United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1942 United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
For more information and additional collections, see Colorado Military Records.
Step 6: Look for church records online.
Church records function as vital records.
- An infant christening or baptism record documents a birth.
- Many, if not most, people are married in a church, and then a record is created by the minister.
- Likewise, ministers presided over funerals, then creating a burial record, which documents a death.
Church records are particularly helpful prior to the advent of civil registration.
Search for church records that can provide additional birth, marriage, and death information.
FamilySearch Records
- 1692-1942 Colorado, Church Records, 1692-1942 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
- 1876-1959 Church Records (Eastern Colorado District), 1876-1959(*) Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Eastern Colorado District at FamilySearch Catalog — images
Ancestry.com
Catholic
- 1800-1967 Colorado, U.S., Roman Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs Sacramental Records, 1800-1967 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
Dutch Reformed
- 1639-1989 U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
- 1701-1995 U.S., Selected States Dutch Reformed Church Membership Records, 1701-1995 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
- 1856-1970 U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Vital Records, 1856-1970 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
Lutheran
- 1781-1969 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
- 1800-1947 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Swedish American Church Records, 1800-1947 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
Presbyterian
- 1701-1970 U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
For help with church records kept in Colorado, see Colorado Church Records.
To search records by denomination, if you know your ancestors religion, go to Searching for Church Records by Denomination.
Step 7: Search for online wills and probate packets.
- County probate records include probate proceedings, petitions, affidavits, orders for sales, reports of sales, administrators' and executors' bonds, guardianship papers, wills, and letters of administration.
- In a will book, usually just a transcription of the will is recorded. But all of these other records are kept in a probate packet.
- Administrations are probate proceedings that handled an estate if no known will existed.
This index entry can be used to request the full probate packet for Tor Hylbom's estate.
Search these indexes and images for probate records.
- 1875-1974 Colorado, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1875-1974 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
- Archives Search at Colorado State Archives — index
Probate Information in County Wiki Articles
Each Colorado county Research Wiki page lists additional probate sources, including where to write for records: Colorado Counties
For more information, see Colorado Probate Records and United States Probate Records.
Step 8: If any ancestor was an immigrant, search immigration and naturalization records online.
The census records may show that an ancestor was born in another country. It will be necessary to try to find the town or city they were born in to continue research in the country of origin. Searches of immigration records (usually passenger lists) and naturalization (citizenship) records would be the next step.
Look for immigrant ancestors in shipping lists and citizenship sources.
Colorado Immigration Records
- 1500-Onward All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s at Ancestry — index & images; includes those with destination of Colorado ($); Also at: MyHeritage ($)
- 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 at MyHeritage — index & images; includes those with destination of Colorado ($)
Cultural Groups
- 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritage — index ($); includes those with destination of Colorado
- Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage — index ($) ; includes those with destination of Colorado
- Italians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage — index ($); includes those with destination of Colorado
- Russians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage — index ($); includes those with destination of Colorado
Passport Records Online
- 1795-1925 United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at: Ancestry ($)
Published Pioneer Sources
- Pre-1861 McGrath, Maria Davies. The Real Pioneers of Colorado. Denver, Colorado: The Denver Museum, 1934. Online at: Denver Library
- 1858-1859 Bromwell, Henrietta E. FiftyNiners' Directory, Colorado Argonauts. Denver, Colorado: n.p., 1926. Online at: Denver Library
- Hafen, LeRoy R. Colorado and Its People : A Narrative and Topical History of the Centennial State; V. 03. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., Inc., 1948. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
Colorado Naturalization and Citizenship Online Records
- United States Naturalization and Citizenship Online Genealogy Records
- Online Colorado Naturalization Records Indexes
- Colorado, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1868-1990, index & images ($)
- Colorado Naturalization Records, 1876-1990
- Selected U.S. Naturalization Records - U.S. District Court in Colorado, 1877-1952 ($)
- Colorado State Archives Naturalization Index Years and counties covered listed here
For more information, see Colorado Emigration and Immigration and Colorado Naturalization and Citizenship.
Step 10: Search for printed local histories or biography collections online.
Local Histories
- Published histories of towns, counties, and states sometimes contain biographies and accounts of early or prominent families.
- Here are several websites that feature online copies of printed county histories: Colorado; that will bring up too many hits. Just use the name of the county and "county": for example, "Hyde County"
- Google Books. Use keywords "Colorado" and the county name. Hits will list online readable books, lists of libraries that carry the book, and purchasing opportunities.
- Family History Books
- County and Town Histories
- Internet Archive Use keywords "Colorado" and the county name.
- Ancestry.com ($). In the Card Catalog search box, use Colorado and the name of the county.
FamilySearch Collected Local Histories
- Local histories are extensively collected by the FamilySearch Library, public and university libraries, and state and local historical societies.
- If you have access to the FamilySearch Library or a FamilySearch center, you can find local histories by:
- Go to the FamilySearch Catalog.
- In the "Place" field, type the name of your county and click "Search".
- A list of subheadings for the county will appear. Local histories containing genealogies and biographies will be found under Biography, Genealogy, History, or History - Indexes.
Biography Collections
- County and Town Histories, Colorado at LearnWebSkills
- Encyclopedia of Biography of Colorado : History of Colorado at Ancestry — index & images ($)
- Portrait and Biographical Record of the State of Colorado. Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1899. Online at: HathiTrust
- Progressive Men of Western Colorado. Chicago: A. W. Bowen and Co., 1905. Online at: HathiTrust
- Representative Men of Colorado in the Nineteenth Century. New York and Denver: Rowell Art Publishing Company, 1902. Online at: HathiTrust
- Representative Women of Colorado. Denver, Colorado: James Alexander Semple, 1914. Online at: HathiTrust
Step 9: Search land records online.
These records will give the
- names of the buyer (grantee) and seller (grantor),
- previous or new residence of the parties to the deed
- the date they obtained the land,
- the description of exact location of the land, sometimes mentioning neighbors.
They can contain clues to
- family members who shared ownership of the land,
- sold or gave land to a child, or
- officially witnessed the sale.
===Search for any ancestor's land records.===
- See United States Land and Property for more databases and resources.
- 1788-Current U.S. Land Patent Search at Bureau of Land Management — index
- 1800-1955 United States Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1800-c. 1955 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1861-1932 United States, Cancelled, Relinquished, or Rejected Land Entry Case Files, 1861-1932 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1863-1908 U.S., Homestead Records, 1863-1908 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
- Land Owner Search at Historygeo.com — index ($); index to maps of original land owners
- Survey Plats and Field Notes at Bureau of Land Management — index
- U.S. Land Patent Search at Bureau of Land Management — index
For more information, see Colorado Land and Property and United States Land and Property.
Step 11: Contact a local historical or genealogical society.
- County historical societies have collections that are frequently little known and often overlooked.
- Many have a surname file, where they have collected genealogies, newspaper clippings, old photographs, etc.
- Many have a sort of "pioneer ancestor" program, where people can submit pedigrees to prove they are the descendants of an early resident of the county.
- Most keep track of queries about families that once lived in the area from other distant relatives who may actually have more family memorabilia than you.
- If you can find the society on the internet, they may list their holdings. Or call them on the phone, find out what they have, and find out what arrangements can be made to search their collection. Frequently, you can hire one of their members to search the collection for you.
This online directory by GenealogyInc. lists historical and genealogical societies by county: Click on the map to select a county, then scroll down to the historical or genealogical society listings. Here is an example of an internet website for a local genealogical society.
Step 12: Use other FamilySearch tools.
Historical Images
Records collected and digitized by FamilySearch can all be found through their Historical Images feature.
- Colorado, United States Historical Images, New Version
- Colorado, United States Historical Images, Old Version
Colorado Online Genealogy Records
Search any other online records listed in Colorado Online Genealogy Records. The steps given here are intended to list record sources which can most efficiently identify descendants. Many other online records which might or might not mention descendants are listed in the Colorado Online Genealogy Records page, including immigration records, land records, military records, newspapers, and probate records, and others. These can be records that cover a smaller group within the population, such as men who served in the military, etc.
Step 13: Study the Research Wiki pages for any county in Colorado.
This article focused more on Colorado state or state-wide records. There is a separate Wiki article for each county in Colorado. These articles give information, office addresses, and links to county records.
- Adams
- Alamosa
- Arapahoe
- Archuleta
- Baca
- Bent
- Boulder
- Broomfield
- Chaffee
- Cheyenne
- Clear Creek
- Conejos
- Costilla
- Crowley
- Custer
- Delta
- Denver
- Dolores
- Douglas
- Eagle
- Elbert
- El Paso
- Fremont
- Garfield
- Gilpin
- Grand
- Gunnison
- Hinsdale
- Huerfano
- Jackson
- Jefferson
- Kiowa
- Kit Carson
- Lake
- La Plata
- Larimer
- Las Animas
- Lincoln
- Logan
- Mesa
- Mineral
- Moffat
- Montezuma
- Montrose
- Morgan
- Otero
- Ouray
- Park
- Phillips
- Pitkin
- Prowers
- Pueblo
- Rio Blanco
- Rio Grande
- Routt
- Saguache
- San Juan
- San Miguel
- Sedgwick
- Summit
- Teller
- Washington
- Weld
- Yuma