Arizona Research Tips and Strategies

Birth information: Birth records in Arizona start on the county level in 1909 - although not all counties complied with the law. A helpful substitute record to find birth information is a death record. However, date and place of birth on a death record is considered secondary information, as it was not recorded at the time of the birth event. The birth information should be corroborated with other substitute records to improve accuracy.
Finding Parents: The State of Arizona began recording deaths in 1844. They often will list the parents of the deceased and their birth information. Search Arizona death records
Look in all censuses: Always look for your ancestor in every possible census. There are clues regarding immigration, naturalization, and occupation that can lead to other records. Sometimes parents can be found living with their children later in life. Search U.S. Censuses.

Record Finder Table for [STATE]

The following Record Finder table assists researchers in determining record types that may list the information they are looking for.

Order of Records

The typically most reliable sources are listed at the top of the list. However, depending on the time period of the record and location, multiple records in the list may need to be searched to achieve the objective. Alternative records are listed as well in case traditional records do not provide the desired information.

List of Topics

This Record Finder table links to the [STATE] topic Wiki pages, containing databases and other information about accessing the records.

Vital Events

Searching for:	Best Records to Search:	Alternative Records:
Birth date and place	[[[STATE] Vital Records\|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Church Records\|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Cemeteries\|Cemeteries]] [[[STATE] Newspapers\|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Obituaries\|Obituaries]]	[[[STATE] Bible Records\|Bible Records]] [[[STATE] Census\|Census]]
Marriage place and date	[[[STATE] Vital Records\|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Church Records\|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Census\|Census]] [[[STATE] Newspapers\|Newspapers]]	[[[STATE] Bible Records\|Bible Records]] [[[STATE] Cemeteries\|Cemeteries]] [[[STATE] Military Records\|Military Records]] [[[STATE] Probate Records\|Probate Records]] [[[STATE] Naturalization and Citizenship\|Naturalization and Citizenship]] [[[STATE] Land and Property\|Land and Property]]
Death date, place, and burial	[[[STATE] Vital Records\|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Church Records\|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Obituaries\|Obituaries]] [[[STATE] Cemeteries\|Cemeteries]] [[[STATE] Newspapers\|Newspapers]]	[[[STATE] Probate Records\|Probate Records]] [[[STATE] Bible Records\|Bible Records]] [[[STATE] Military Records\|Military Records]]

Maiden Names and Family Members

Searching for:	Best Records to Search:	Alternative Records:
Maiden name	[[[STATE] Vital Records\|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Church Records\|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Newspapers\|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Bible Records\|Bible Records]]	[[[STATE] Cemeteries\|Cemeteries]] [[[STATE] Military Records\|Military Records]] [[[STATE] Probate Records\|Probate Records]] [[[STATE] Obituaries\|Obituaries]]
Parents, children, spouses, and other family members	[[[STATE] Vital Records\|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Church Records\|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Census\|Census]] [[[STATE] Probate Records\|Probate Records]] [[[STATE] Obituaries\|Obituaries]]	[[[STATE] Bible Records\|Bible Records]] [[[STATE] Newspapers\|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration\|Emigration and Immigration]]
Living relatives	[[[STATE] Directories\|Directories]] [[[STATE] Court Records\|Court Records]] [[[STATE] Obituaries\|Obituaries]]	[[[STATE] Census\|Census]] [[[STATE] Biography\|Biography]] [[[STATE] Societies\|Societies]] [[[STATE] Church Records\|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Probate Records\|Probate Records]]

Immigration and Country of Origin

Searching for:	Best Records to Search:	Alternative Records:
Immigration date	[[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration\|Emigration and Immigration]] [[[STATE] Naturalization and Citizenship\|Naturalization and Citizenship]] [[[STATE] Societies\|Societies]]	[[[STATE] Census\|Census]] [[[STATE] Newspapers\|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Biography\|Biography]]
City or Country of foreign birth	[[[STATE] Vital Records\|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Church Records\|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration\|Emigration and Immigration]] [[[STATE] Census\|Census]] [[[STATE] Naturalization and Citizenship\|Naturalization and Citizenship]]	[[[STATE] Newspapers\|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Obituaries\|Obituaries]] [[[STATE] Military Records\|Military Records]] [[[STATE] Biography\|Biography]] [[[STATE] Societies\|Societies]]

Residences and Locations

Searching for:	Best Records to Search:	Alternative Records:
Residence	[[[STATE] Census\|Census]] [[[STATE] Land and Property\|Land and Property]] [[[STATE] Vital Records\|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Directories\|Directories]] [[[STATE] Taxation\|Taxation]]	[[[STATE] Obituaries\|Obituaries]] [[[STATE] Probate Records\|Probate Records]] [[[STATE] Military Records\|Military Records]] [[[STATE] Biography\|Biography]] [[[STATE] Societies\|Societies]]

Personal Details and Affiliations

Searching for:	Best Records to Search:	Alternative Records:
Nationality or Race	[[[STATE] Cultural Groups\|Cultural Groups]] [[[STATE] Church Records\|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Naturalization and Citizenship\|Naturalization and Citizenship]] [[[STATE] Societies\|Societies]]	[[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration\|Emigration and Immigration]] [[[STATE] Periodicals\|Periodicals]]
Occupation	[[[STATE] Census\|Census]] [[[STATE] Directories\|Directories]] [[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration\|Emigration and Immigration]]	[[[STATE] Newspapers\|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Court Records\|Court Records]] [[[STATE] Biography\|Biography]]
Religion	[[[STATE] Church Records\|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Biography\|Biography]]	[[[STATE] Bible Records\|Bible Records]] [[[STATE] Cemeteries\|Cemeteries]]
Social activities	[[[STATE] Biography\|Biography]] [[[STATE] Newspapers\|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Societies\|Societies]]	[[[STATE] Obituaries\|Obituaries]] [[[STATE] Court Records\|Court Records]] [[[STATE] Cemeteries\|Cemeteries]] [[[STATE] Directories\|Directories]]
Physical description	[[[STATE] Military Records\|Military Records]] [[[STATE] Biography\|Biography]]	[[[STATE] Naturalization and Citizenship\|Naturalization and Citizenship]] [[[STATE] Vital Records\|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration\|Emigration and Immigration]]

Adoption

For information about adoptees and their biological families, please refer to: United States Adoption Research.

Search all of the Arizona record collections at FamilySearch.

Searching for:	Best Records to Search:	Alternative Records:
Nationality or Race	[[[STATE] Cultural Groups\|Cultural Groups]] [[[STATE] Church Records\|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Naturalization and Citizenship\|Naturalization and Citizenship]] [[[STATE] Societies\|Societies]]	[[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration\|Emigration and Immigration]] [[[STATE] Periodicals\|Periodicals]]
Occupation	[[[STATE] Census\|Census]] [[[STATE] Directories\|Directories]] [[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration\|Emigration and Immigration]]	[[[STATE] Newspapers\|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Court Records\|Court Records]] [[[STATE] Biography\|Biography]]
Religion	[[[STATE] Church Records\|Church Records]] [[[STATE] Biography\|Biography]]	[[[STATE] Bible Records\|Bible Records]] [[[STATE] Cemeteries\|Cemeteries]]
Social activities	[[[STATE] Biography\|Biography]] [[[STATE] Newspapers\|Newspapers]] [[[STATE] Societies\|Societies]]	[[[STATE] Obituaries\|Obituaries]] [[[STATE] Court Records\|Court Records]] [[[STATE] Cemeteries\|Cemeteries]] [[[STATE] Directories\|Directories]]
Physical description	[[[STATE] Military Records\|Military Records]] [[[STATE] Biography\|Biography]]	[[[STATE] Naturalization and Citizenship\|Naturalization and Citizenship]] [[[STATE] Vital Records\|Vital Records]] [[[STATE] Emigration and Immigration\|Emigration and Immigration]]