Preface: Arapahoe County Marriages
Preface
In 1986, the Colorado Genealogical Society, Inc. compiled early marriage records and published Marriages of Arapahoe County, Colorado 1859-1901: Including Territory That Became Adams, Denver, and Other Counties. The volume contains indices for both groom and bride surnames.
In the 1930’s, the U. S. Works Progress Administration (WPA) working through the Colorado Division of Vital Statistics indexed all marriages statewide from the beginning of the Gold Rush in 1858 until 1939. Detailed information was typed on index cards. These cards were filed alphabetically by the surname of the groom only; access by the bride’s surname was impossible. In 1990, this original card index of extracted Colorado marriages was preserved on 104 reels of microfilm. This microfilm series is available to researchers at the Colorado State Archives and the Denver Public Library.
In 1992, a volunteer committee at the Denver Public Library began creating a brides index from this Colorado marriage data from 1858 through 1939. Ten years of effort went into this project and bound volumes can be found on the shelves of the Denver Public Library. A database of Coloradomarriages from 1975 to present is searchable on line by accessing the Colorado State Archives web site.
The Columbine Genealogical and Historical Society frequently undertakes special projects to aid in the research of our local area. The objectives of the Society are to:
- Promote interest in genealogy and history;
- Encourage and instruct members in genealogical research through informative programs, careful documentation and maintenance of quality genealogical standard;
- Locate, preserve and index public and private genealogical and historical records and make such available to members and to the public;
- Assist and support genealogical libraries, archives and historical museums in Coloradowhich are open to the public;
- Publish genealogical and historical information in a regular newsletter and any other publications as directed by the membership.
The Society formed a committee to extract and publish a compilation of marriage records from January 1940—December 1974 continuing the indexing of this portion of Arapahoe County marriage history. After this research effort was initiated, a few 1939 marriages were found recorded in the early months of 1940. These additional names appear in Volume I, which spans the period January 1940 to July 1950. Volume II covers the period from July 1950 through December 1959. Volume III covers the period from December 1959 to June 1965. The Society is continuing the process of extracting and compiling Arapahoe County, Colorado marriage records through 1974 to bridge the gap in marriage records indexing. Addresses for the grooms and brides are presented when the information appears on the original marriage record. An integrated index of groom and bride surnames is included in each volume.