Pikes Peak Genealogical Society

El Paso County, CO, Genealogy Resources

Welcome! We hope this page:
  • Helps you find your El Paso County, Colorado, ancestors and their history.
  • Helps local residents learn how and where to do genealogy throughout the country and world.
If you are not local and would like lookups in Pikes Peak Library District's Regional History and Genealogy or other local repositories, see Research Help. If you know of other useful sources to add to this page or can report a broken link, please let us know.
 
El Paso County was formed in 1859 from old Arapahoe County in Kansas Territory. On 1 November 1861 it became one of 17 original counties in Colorado Territory. On 23 March 1899, what is now Teller County was separated from El Paso County. The county seat is Colorado Springs. One of the best online sources for the county is the Pikes Peak NewsFinder, a Pikes Peak Library District index with some links to document images.
 
RESOURCES
 
Adoption
Cemeteries
Census Records
  • 1885 Colorado State Census. Free at FamilySearch, also on Ancestry.com
  • 1860–1940 federal censuses for Colorado are available on FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, and HeritageQuest. In 1860, what is now El Paso County was enumerated in Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory. Before 1899, El Paso County included nearly all of what is now Teller County.
Church Records
  • Catholic Church: The Diocese of Colorado Springs maintains within the Office of the Chancellor records for Roman Catholic churches across east central Colorado. Archivist Raymond Kelley, (719) 636-2345, accepts research requests over the telephone and will provide telephone replies after examining the microfilm and extracting the information as time is available. There is currently no charge for this service. Individuals may not access the microfilm/books to do their own research.   
  • The weekly Intermountain Catholic newspaper, 1899-1910, held online by Chronicling America, Library of Congress, includes a column of news from the Colorado Springs Catholic community.
  • Episcopal Church: Epiphany Parish Register, Good Shepherd Parish Register, Grace Church Parish Register, St. Stephen's Parish Register; mostly baptism, marriage, burial entries for various years. Registers are indexed and images viewable at Pikes Peak NewsFinder.
  • First United Methodist Church, archivist Brenda Hawley, 420 N. Nevada Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903. Founded 1871, first church in Colorado Springs.
Court Records / Law Enforcement
Directories
In addition to providing names and addresses of residents, city directories also usually offer street guides, information on city, county, and state governments, election precincts, lists of churches and clergy, hospitals and sanitariums, schools and colleges, businesses, labor organizations, clubs, societies, and secret organizations. The Colorado Springs directory often also contains Manitou Springs and Colorado City.
  • Colorado Springs city directories, PPLD, online all extant editions, 1879–1922.
  • HeritageQuest has online most Colorado Springs city directories, 1897–1963. If you hold a Pikes Peak Library District library card, select "HeritageQuest" on this page, [enter password], then click "City Directories."
  • Regional History and Genealogy, PPLD, 20 N. Cascade, Colorado Springs, CO, paper and/or microfilm copies for all extant editions, 1879–present.
  • El Paso County (Including Teller County) Rural Directory (microfilm reel for the year 1937-38 also contains: 1947, 1949, 1951, 1955, 1962, and 1969; 1972 as book on shelves), Regional History and Genealogy, PPLD.
  • Ancestry.com ($) has most Colorado Springs editions, with some breaks, through 1961.
  • Telephone books, most years from 1907 to present, PPLD Regional History and Genealogy microfilm, 384.6 C7192CM; covers county addresses not included in city directories.
 
Funeral Homes and Mortuaries
History
Land and Property Records
   Law
Maps
Medical
Military
El Paso County is or has been home to many U.S. military installations, including:
  • Fort Carson: Post Guide & Telephone Directory, held by PPGS, Regional History and Genealogy: 1962, 1964, 1965, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 2001, 2009, 2016 
Mining
Naturalization
Newspapers
  • PPLD Pikes Peak NewsFinder index with Gazette 1871–present, Colorado City [now part of western Colorado Springs] Iris, Weekly Gazette,  Colorado Springs Independent, Colorado Springs Sun, Denver Post, El Paso County Democrat, Free Press, Out West, Manitou Journal, Pueblo Chieftain, Rocky Mountain News, Security Advertiser & Fountain Valley News, and seven early Cripple Creek newspapers. Various years are indexed and may not be complete. Request free copies of articles online from PPLD Regional History and Genealogy. Some article images before 1987 are linked to the index.
  • PPLD has the Colorado Springs Gazette, 1988–present online; access is free with library card. From PPLD.org, select "Magazines/Newspapers," then "America's News," a GenealogyBank product. Enter login. Select Gazette, then desired source, usually "Newspaper." Highly configurable text searches are allowed, or a particular newspaper may be selected by date.
  • Ancestry.com ($) has Colorado Springs Gazette, 1873-78, 1878-87, 1887-94, 1900-15; Weekly Gazette, 1879-82, 1884-86, 1888-95, 1897-1900; Out West, 1872.
  • GenealogyBank.com ($) has Colorado Springs Gazette, 1896–1922 and Eastonville World, 1894-95. Searchable on all words.
  • Newspapers.com ($) has Weekly Gazette, 1872-1906, incomplete, and Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph, 1960-1978, incomplete. Searchable on all words.
  • NewsBank has the Colorado Springs Gazette, 2 Apr 1988–present. Free access with Denver Public Library card, which is available free to anyone with a library card from any Colorado public library. (Click www.denverlibrary.org, Research Sources, Newspapers, Access World News, Colorado, Gazette.)
  • Colorado Historic Newspapers has Gazette, 1873-78; Out West, March–December 1872; Colorado Mountaineer, 1876–77. Free.
  • Colorado Springs Gazette Archive ($), www.gazette.com; from the Gazette's webpage: "The Gazette archive contains text-only archives from April 2, 1988, to November 30, 2002. Beginning December 1, 2002, the archive was expanded to include an electronic edition of the newspaper, which features searchable PDFs. These more recent issues are fully text searchable and reflect the full content and layout of the printed Gazette." Available to e-subscribers.
  • Special Collections, Tutt Library, Colorado College, has bound volumes (1894-1922) of the weekly El Paso County Democrat, which has news from rural El Paso County communities. Not indexed, but easily searchable by community for a given period.
  • Newspapers held by Tutt Library, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, per Library of Congress.
  • Newspapers held by Regional History and Genealogy, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs, per Library of Congress.
  • Current El Paso County newspapers include: Colorado Springs Gazette, Pikes Peak Bulletin (Manitou Springs, 2001- ), Tri-Lakes Tribune (Monument), Colorado Springs Independent.
  • The weekly El Paso County Advertiser and Fountain Valley News was published on Wednesdays from 1958 to Dec. 28, 2022 and served the Security and Widefield area. Archives are held by the Security Public Library
  • African American Voice (1991-present), monthly, Colorado Springs, includes links to archival issues from 2007.
  • The New Falcon Herald covers Peyton, Falcon, and Black Forest in El Paso County. The monthly started in January 2004; it is published on the first Saturday of the month. 
Obituaries
  • PPLD Pikes Peak NewsFinder index with Gazette 1871–present; some years from the 1970s are not fully indexed; Colorado City [part of  Colorado Springs since 1917] Iris, Colorado Springs Sun, and other newspapers. Request free copies of articles online from PPLD Regional History and Genealogy.
  • www.legacy.com
  • FamilySearch, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014, index
Occupations and Businesses/Organizations
  • Look up Colorado licensed professionals or organizations at DORA, the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies: accountants, medical/dental/mental health/veterinary, trades (plumbing, electrical, barbers/cosmetology), funeral homes, architecture, and more. Includes current, expired, cancelled, and revoked licensees. Searchable by name or portion of name. Licensee mailing address available from occupation download link.
  • Colorado business search: includes images of historic and current reports for businesses and nonprofit organizations. Click on "Filing history and documents" to see principles' names and addresses.
  • Used bookstores specializing in local historical materials:
Oral Histories
Pensions
People
Links to information on prominent people in the Pikes Peak region
Photographs
Place Names
Probate/Wills
School Records
Taxation
Vital Records
Birth Records
  • Birth certificates, State of Colorado An employee at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environoment said in 2022 that they have Colorado birth certificates from 1902. Handybook for Genealogists says they have records from 1907. Order birth certs through VitalChek at 1-866-300-8540. 
  • Birth certificates, El Paso County Health Department
  • Pikes Peak NewsFinder: Search for births by parents’ last name(s). Not yet complete for some years, but names are continuing to be added. Digital images of microfilmed copies may be requested for free from the library if not already available.
  • Entries in the Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry.com ($) include date and place of birth (usually a town or county) and parents' names. You can search on selected fields, including names and place of birth.
Marriage Records
  • Pikes Peak NewsFinder, marriages reported in various newspapers.
  • 1858–1939, Colorado Marriage Index, WPA project, with some later, FamilySearch
  • In 2020, Ancestry ($) added 613,745 marriage records for El Paso County to the database "Colorado, U.S., Select County Marriages, 1863-2018." Most records include marriage license and marriage certificate images. 
  • If you don't find a marriage where you expect in southern Colorado, look in the "Gretna Green" of  Raton, Colfax Co., New Mexico. Many couples in the mid-1900s went there for a fun road trip with their friends and/or to avoid blood tests.
Divorce Records
Death Records
Death certificates are available for $20 from the state or the El Paso County Health Department. To determine if you are eligible to order one, see the back of the form. Colorado is quite restrictive with vital records. 
  • Death Certificates, State of Colorado
  • Death Certificates, El Paso County Health Department
  • Pikes Peak NewsFinder has death announcements and obituaries from area newspapers.
  • 1870 El Paso County Mortality Schedule extraction
  • 1880 El Paso County Mortality Schedule extraction
  • 1885 El Paso County Mortality Schedule, available at U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885, Ancestry ($)
  • El Paso County autopsy reports from 1971 to present are public records and can be requested by e-mail. It's best to have evidence (death certificate, newspaper account) that an autopsy was performed before requesting one. The coroner's office says autopsy reports before 1971 were destroyed, but El Paso County coroner's reports 1882-1942 are at the Colorado State Archives.
  • Homicides of the Colorado Springs Area, 1872 to Present, vols. 1-6, compiled by Dwight Haverkorn, Regional History and Genealogy, PPLD, 20 N. Cascade, Colorado Springs. Call no.: SC 364.152 H767, indexed at Pikes Peak NewsFinder.
  • El Paso County Coroner's Record, 1882-1933, 1933-42 at Colorado State Archives: Colorado State Archives Finding Aids Quick Index
  • Colorado Springs Death Register, 1871-1920, Pikes Peak NewsFinder, has information on people who died in Colorado Springs and were buried here or shipped elsewhere, as well as people who died elsewhere and were shipped in for burial in city-owned Evergreen Cemetery. Some of the later years have information on people who died in other parts of El Paso County.
  • The Social Security Death Index is an online searchable database of names of deceased individuals whose deaths were reported to the Social Security Administration.  It has been kept since 1962, when operations were computerized. The index includes about 50 percent of deceased persons from 1962 to 1971 and about 85 percent of deceased persons from 1972 to 2005. It also includes a few deaths from 1937 to 1961. Beginning in 2014, rules governing the SSDI changed and online database have not been updated since then. 
  • Beyle Funeral Home Record Abstracts, 1897-1937, Colorado Springs and (Old) Colorado City, Colorado
Voters
 
Yearbooks
  • Regional History and Genealogy, PPLD, has a good collection of Colorado Springs high school and college yearbooks.
  • Can you donate a yearbook? Here's a list of local yearbooks Regional History and Genealogy for its collection.
  • Ancestry.com ($) has a number of yearbooks from Colorado Springs high schools and college. See U.S. Yearbook Collection.
     REPOSITORIES
 
Archives
Libraries
  • Regional History and Genealogy, Penrose Library, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs. Also has archives.
    • Databases available from home with a library card include HeritageQuest, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, and Newspaper Archive.
    • Databases available at any PPLD branch library include Ancestry.com Library Edition  and Fold3. You may also log on to these databases with your laptop computer from the branch libraries.
    • American Ancestors database from New England Historic Genealogical Society may be accessed only on computers at PPLD's Regional History and Genealogy.
  • Special Collections, Tutt Library, Colorado College, Colorado Springs.
    • Tutt Library has on microfilm Rocky Mountain News, 1859--Dececember 1964, and Denver Post Jan. 1965--2012.
    • Newspapers held by Tutt Library, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, per Library of Congress.
    • Microfilm is held offsite. Make an appointment to pull the film you need before you arrive. (May be closed to public because of COVID.) Special Collections is on the Garden Level.
  • Stephen H. Hart Research Center, History Colorado, Denver; has the best collection of microfilmed Colorado newspapers in state.
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Libraries
FamilySearch Centers (previously known as Family History Centers)
Subscription databases available for free at all FamilySearch Centers include Ancestry.com, FindMyPast.com, Fold3.com, MyHeritage.com, ArkivDigital, Access Newspaper Archives.
 
Call to see if FHCs are open and hours.
 
 FamilySearch Center Hours
  Sunday Monday Tuesday  Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Broadmoor     10-4 1-9 2-9 10-4  
North     10-1, 6-9 10-1 10-1, 6-9    
East     7-9 10-2, 7-9      
Fountain     10-1, 6-9 6-9
10-1, 6-9
   
               
PPLD 1-5 9-9 9-9 9-9 9-9 10-6 10-6
Note: FHCs may be closed or require appointments because of COVID. Call!
Call to verify holiday and snow closures.
*Closed first Thursday.
†Pikes Peak Library District is a FamilySearch affiliate library. View restricted records there. FHC subscription databases are not available at PPLD. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Colorado Springs [Broadmoor] FamilySearch Center
150 Pine Ave.
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
719-634-0572
 
Snow Days: If inclement weather should cause District 12 (Cheyenne Mountain) or District 11 (Colorado Springs) to close, the FamilySearch Center will also close.  On days when a 2-hour delay is called by either of those school districts, the morning shift of the FHC will be closed (this applies to Tuesdays and Fridays only).
 
North FamilySearch Discovery Center
8710 Lexington Drive (at Research)
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Appointments required (as of January 2022)
719-800-1610
East FamilySearch Center
4955 Meadowland Blvd.
Colorado Springs CO 80918
Director's number: 719-534-2856 (March 2022)
Hours: Tuesday, 7-9 p.m.; Wednesday, 10-2, 7-9 p.m.; first and third Thursdays, 10-12 (nursery provided); other times by appointment

 
Fountain FamilySearch Center
1310 Aeroplaza
Colorado Springs, CO 80916
719-550-2867
CO_Fountain@ldsmail.net
 
 
Closed the week of Thanksgiving. Closed two weeks Christmas through New Year's Day. Closed for inclement weather according to local school district closings.

Museums
McAllister House Museum, Colorado Springs Springs
Miramont Castle Museum, Manitou Springs
 
Societies: Historical, Genealogical, and Ethnic
Colorado Native Club, call Dan & Ruth Tapio, 719-632-8117. Meets fourth Thursday.
 
  • DNA Study Group, fourth Wednesday, Carnegie Meeting Room, Penrose Library; all welcome; free
Sons of Norway, Colorado Springs
Pikes Peak Posse of Westerners International, a western-history organization. Meets second Monday (except July, August, December) at Masonic Temple, Panorama Dr., Colorado Springs, CO. Sheriff & "Rep" Doug Clausen, 622 N. Custer, Colorado Springs, CO 80903, (719) 633-1222, clausend@yahoo.com
 
Ethnic Research Groups at Denver Public Library:
Italian Research Group, 10-12 a.m., first Wednesday, Denver Public Library
Germanic Genealogical Society of Colorado, 10:15 a.m., first Tuesday, Denver Public Library
French Genealogy Study Group, 10:30 - noon, fourth Tuesday, Denver Public Library
Swedish Genealogical Society of Colorado, 9:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m., first Saturday, Sept.-May, Denver Public Library
Hispanic Legacy Research Center, open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., second Saturday, Denver Public Library
 
El Paso County Genealogy Links
Cyndi's List, El Paso County
Genealogy Trails, El Paso County
Colorado Genealogist Surname and Subject Indexes; periodical available at PPLD Regional History and Genealogy, among other libraries.
Linkpendium, El Paso County
Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK), Colorado
USGenWeb, El Paso County
 
Genealogy Classes
  • Fountain Branch Library, first Thursday, 7-8:45 p.m., "Genealogy on the Internet"
  • High Prairie Branch Library, second Saturday, 1-3 p.m., "The Genealogist's Internet"
Planning a Trip to Colorado Springs