Pikes Peak Genealogical Society

Teller County

Welcome! We hope this page:
  • Helps you find your Teller County, Colorado, ancestors and their history.
  • Helps local residents learn how and where to do genealogy.
If you are not local and would like lookups in Pikes Peak Library District's Special Collections or other repositories that hold Teller County records, 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.
 
Teller County was formed March 23, 1899, from El Paso County, Colorado, following a population boom in the Cripple Creek mining district after gold was discovered. It was named after U.S. Sen. Henry M. Teller. The county seat is Cripple Creek. Pikes Peak NewsFinder, an online index at Pikes Peak Library District with some links to document images, includes some records for Teller County.
 
RESOURCES
 
Adoption
Cemeteries
Census Records
  • 1885 Colorado State Census. Free at FamilySearch, also on Ancestry ($). Present-day Teller County was then part of El Paso County.
  • 1860–1940 federal censuses available for Colorado on FamilySearch, Ancestry ($), HeritageQuest, and Fold3. Before 1900, Teller County was part of El Paso County.
Church Records
  • Catholic Church: The Diocese of Colorado Springs maintains within the Office of the Chancellor records for 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.   
  • Cripple Creek-Victor Mining District, Colorado, Catholic Baptisms, 1898-1908 and Cripple Creek-Victor Mining District, Colorado, Catholic Marriages, 1892-1913 by Miralyn Keske are held by PPLD Special Collections.
  • St. Peter's Catholic Church, Cripple Creek, Register of the Dead, 1898-1949
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.
  • Pikes Peak Library District Special Collections, 20 N. Cascade, Colorado Springs, has on microfilm Cripple Creek district directories for  1900, 1902, 1905, 1907-18.
  • HeritageQuest has online Cripple Creek district directories for 1900, 1902, 1905. If you hold a Pikes Peak Library District library card, select "HeritageQuest" on this page, [enter password], then click "City Directories."
  • 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), Special Collections, PPLD.
  • The 1963 Colorado Springs city directory includes listings for Cripple Creek. Available at PPLD Special Collections.
  • Ancestry ($) has Cripple Creek district directories for 1900, 1902, 1905.
Funeral Homes and Mortuaries
  • Cripple Creek District Museum holds several mortuary books from 1910 to 1974 that have been indexed.
History
  • Pikes Peak Region History Symposium books for purchase from Clausen Press.
Land and Property Records
Law
Maps
Mining
  • El Paso County Placer Mine Location Certificates, 1892-1942, Historical Records Index Search, Colorado State Archives
  • Mines appear by name in the El Paso County grantor/grantee indexes. Many were on land now in Teller County.
  • Colorado State Archives holds Teller County Mining Lode Records, 1899-1900, and Teller County Mining Records Index, 1892-94.
Naturalization
Newspapers
  • PPLD Pikes Peak NewsFinder index has indexed many Colorado Springs newspapers for various years, some of which may include news from what is now Teller county. It also includes indexes for these Cripple Creek newspapers before 1900: Cripple Creek Crusher 1892-1894, Cripple Creek Journal 1893-1894, Cripple Creek Mail 1890-1898, Weekly Miner 1894-1895, Cripple Creek Prospector 1892-1893, Weekly Cripple Creek Times 1898, Weekly Tribune & Advertiser 1899-1900. Request free copies of articles online from PPLD Special Collections. Some article images are linked to the index.
  • PPLD Special Collections holds microfilm for varying years:
    • Cripple Creek papers: Cripple Creek Crusher, Weekly Journal, Weekly Miner, Weekly Mail, Cripple Creek Mail, Weekly Times, Weekly Tribune, Cripple Creek Citizen, Cripple Creek Times 1897-1913, Cripple Creek Evening Star 1900-1904, Cripple Creek Times--Victor Daily Record (aka Times-Record) 1942-1988, Teller County Times Gold Rush, 1984-1987.
    • Victor papers: Daily Press, 1900-03
    • Woodland Park/Green Mountain Falls paper: Ute Pass Courier, 1964-2007
    • High Mountain Sun, 1989-1995. Published in Woodland Park, "Teller County's Hometown Newspaper."
  • Colorado Historic Newspapers has online the Cripple Creek Morning Times, aka Morning Times Citizen, 3 Dec 1895 to 15 March 1900. Free.
  • Current Teller County newspapers include the Pikes Peak Courier, and The Mountain Jackpot News (1989- ).
  • Newspapers held by Special Collections, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs, per Library of Congress.
Obituaries
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.
Pensions
  • Teller County Old Age Pension Lists, 1933-42, 1935-37, are held by the Colorado State Archives.
Photographs
Place Names
Probate/Wills
School Records
  • Teller County School Censuses, 1892-1960, Colorado State Archives.
Vital Records
Birth Records
Marriage Records
  • Pikes Peak NewsFinder, marriages reported in various newspapers.
  • 1858–1939, Colorado Marriage Index, WPA project, with some later, FamilySearch
  • 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
  • Colorado Statewide Divorce Index, 1900-39
  • Colorado Vital Records has a statewide index to divorces, 1900-1939 and 1975-present. Divorce decrees are held in the county courts in which they were filed or an archive.
  • MyHeritage.com, available for free at FamilySearch Centers or by subscription, has a database "Colorado Divorces, 1878-2004" with 1.4 million records. It does not appear to have entries between 1940 and 1967.
Death Records
Death certificates are available for $20 from the state or the Teller County Vital Records Department. Certificates for deaths older than 75 years are public record. Certificates 25 to 75 years old require a simple family tree to demonstrate some kinship to deceased. Certificates for deaths less than 25 years old have more stringent requirements; see instructions on back of form.
Voters
 
Yearbooks
 
     REPOSITORIES
 
Archives
Libraries
  • Special Collections, Penrose Library, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs, holds many resources for Teller County. Also has archives.
    • 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 Special Collections.
  • Special Collections, Tutt Library, Colorado College, Colorado Springs.
    • Has on microfilm Rocky Mountain News, 1859--Dececember 1964, and Denver Post Jan. 1965--2012.
  • Stephen H. Hart Research Center, History Colorado, Denver; has the best collection of microfilmed Colorado newspapers in state.
FamilySearch Centers (previously known as Family History Centers)
There are no FamilySearch Centers in Teller County. See information on the El Paso County records page re: the FamilySearch Centers there.
 
Museums
Cripple Creek District Museum, 5th and Bennett Ave. Cripple Creek, CO 80813. PO Box 1210, Cripple Creek, CO 80813.
Pikes Peak Historical Society Museum, PO Box 823, Florissant, CO 80816; museum is at 18033 Teller Co. Rd. 1.
Ute Pass Historical Society, P.O. Box 6875, Woodland Park, CO 80866; 231 E. Henrietta Ave., Woodland Park, CO.
 
Societies
Gold Camp Victorian Society, Cripple Creek, is dedicated to the preservation of the mining district's history.
 
Teller County Genealogy Links
Cyndi's List, Teller County
Genealogy Trails, Teller County
Colorado Genealogist Surname and Subject Indexes; periodical available at PPLD Special Collections, among other libraries.
Linkpendium, Teller County
Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK), Colorado
USGenWeb, Teller County
 
Planning a Trip to Teller County