Sources of Information on El Paso County Deaths

Most are available at Special Collections, Penrose Public Library (PPLD), 20 N. Cascade, Colorado Springs, CO 80903

Colorado City Newspaper Index
Sams, Norman Wells, compiler. Colorado City Iris Index : Jan. 31, 1891-June 8, 1917. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Pikes Peak Library District, [ca. 1965]. Includes index to Colorado City Independent (1914-1917) after name change from Iris. Penrose Public Library also holds the microfilmed newspapers. PPLD call no.: CO 071.8856 C718s

Colorado Springs Area City Directories
City directories 1879 to date; usually covers Manitou Springs and Colorado City, in addition to Colorado Springs
Comments: Death dates often appear in the early decades of the twentieth century; look in the edition following the year of death. Housed in Special Collections, Penrose Library

Colorado Springs Death Register
Colorado Cemetery Interment Records [microform] Roll 1: Colorado Springs: Death register #1 1880-1897 Evergreen, Insert 1870-1879; Death register #3 1897-1907 Evergreen; Death register #4 Aug. 1907-Aug. 1914; Roll 2: Death register #5 Sep. 1914-June 1920 Evergreen & Fairview; PPLD call no.: CK 929.3788 C719
Comments: Data usually included is name, age, date of death, place of birth and death, occupation, cause of death, complicating factors, undertaker, person who reported the death, and lot and plot of burial. The register includes people who died in Colorado Springs (even those shipped elsewhere for burial), as well as those who died elsewhere but were buried in Evergreen Cemetery; after about 1900, the register also includes people who died in the county. The register is recorded chronologically but has periodic indexes by first letter of surname. From April 1, 1920, the register records only name, date of burial, name, undertaker, and space in either Evergreen or Fairview cemeteries.

Colorado Springs Homicides
Havercorn, Dwight, compiler. Homicides of the Colorado Springs Area, 1872 to Present. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Dwight Havercorn, 1998- . PPLD call no.: CO 364.152 H767
Comments: This loose-leaf document in a binder is a work in progress; it was begun in 1997 and is current from then to date. As of January 2001, 1872 through 1886 had also been completed. Included are indexes of homicides by date, location, victim, and suspect. Information on the homicides is from local newspapers.

Colorado Springs Newspapers and Indexes
Penrose Public Library also holds the microfilmed newspapers.
Papers covered by the index:
Out West, 1872
Colorado Springs Weekly Gazette, 1873-1899
Colorado Springs Gazette, 1879-1946
Gazette Telegraph, 1946-1997
Gazette, 1997-present
Colorado Springs Sun, 1985
Colorado Springs Free Press, 1947-69, limited indexing
El Paso County Democrat, 1905-1921 (scattered years during this period)
Colorado Springs Evening Telegraph, 1897-1946 (no index, but obituaries can be found if you have a date)
Manitou Springs Journal, 1905-1919 (no index)
Pikes Peak Journal, October 1957-present, (published in Manitou Springs, no index, some missing)
Comments: Some periods have few obituaries. If an obituary isn't found in the index, check the actual newspaper for several days if the date of death or burial is known. Death or burial notices often are not included in the index. Although they are brief, sometimes they give a little clue, or list the mortuary, which may have more information. There is a gap in indexing between 1965 and 1972.

Cripple Creek Newspaper Index
Hoskins, Ruby Self, Kay R. Merrill, Ilene Hawkins, compilers. Index to The Cripple Creek Crusher 1892-1894, The Cripple Creek Journal 1893-1894, The Cripple Creek Mail 1895-1898, The Weekly Miner 1894-1895, The Cripple Creek Prospector 1892-1893, The Weekly Cripple Creek Times 1898, The Weekly Tribune & Advertiser 1899-1900. Englewood, Colo.: Colorado Records & Resources, 1983. Spine title: Cripple Creek Newspaper Index. Penrose Public Library also holds the microfilmed newspapers. PPLD call no.: CO 071.8858 I38

El Paso County Estate Index
El Paso County (Colo.), County Court, Probate Division, compiler. El Paso County Estate Index, 1874 thru 1966. Typescript (photocopy) of records in the office of the Clerk of the District Court, Colorado Springs. PPLD call no.: CO 346.054 C719e
Comments: Microfilm of estate files through the early decades of the twentieth century can be viewed and copied at the Trust and Estate Administration Office of El Paso County and Teller County, 105 E. Vermijo, Colorado Springs, CO.

El Paso County Land Records
Death dates are sometimes recorded in deeds for land that was sold upon the owner's death. The El Paso County Clerk and Recorders Office, 200 S. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903, has microfilm for grantor and grantee indexes and deed books that the public can access; the indexes are arranged chronologically by year and by the first letter of the surname. For example, if you want to find a William Palmer transaction in 1892, you'll need to read the "P's" for 1892. If you don't know the year, you have to guess and read a range of years. Remember that deeds are sometimes recorded several months or even several years after the transaction occurred.

Institutions
ˇTB sanitorium records are largely not available. Tutt Library, Colorado College, has the 1911 admissions book for Cragmor Sanitorium.
ˇEarly Colorado Springs Catholic death and burial records are available from St. Mary's Cathedral, 22 W. Kiowa, Colorado Springs, CO 80903; phone: (719) 473-4633.

Mortality Schedules
Jackson, Ronald Vern, Wylma Winmill, Shirley P. Zachrison, editors and compilers. Colorado 1870 Mortality Schedule. Bountiful, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems, [1980]. PPLD call no.: CO 929.3788 C7193 1870

Jackson, Ronald Vern, editor. Colorado 1880 Mortality Schedule. Bountiful, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems, [ca.1981]. PPLD call no.: CO 929.3788 C7193 1880

Also online at

1870 ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/co/elpaso/census/1870mort.txt

1880 ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/co/elpaso/census/1880mort.txt

Mortuaries
See Funeral Homes, Mortuaries, Undertakers.

Swan-Law is one of the oldest funeral homes and has records from 1912. Specify if the funeral home was Swan or Law if the funeral happened before the two merged.

Nolan Funeral Home. Funeral Books, 1897-1937 (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Filmed by the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS Genealogical Department Microfilm Center, Salt Lake City, 1981. 3 reels, 35 mm. Contents: roll 1, 1906-1917; roll 2, 1897-1914; roll 3, 1910-1937. PPLD call no.: CK 363.75 N787f r.1, CK 363.75 N787f r.2, CK 363.75 N787f r.3
Comments: Volumes from which the microfilm was made lack some pages. Some books include name indexes. Includes records of the Beyle Brothers (Colorado City and Colorado Springs), absorbed by Nolan Funeral Home.

State Death Certificates
Information on availability and how to order is at http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hs/certs.asp

Veterans
Colorado Cemetery Interment Records [microform] Roll 10: Cemeteries of Colorado Springs, Colorado veterans grave registrations. PPLD call no.: CK 929.3788 C719
Comments: Included are Civil War, Mexican War, Spanish-American War, Indian War, World War I, and a few World War II veterans. The bulk of the compilation was done in December 1939, but cards were noted for deaths as late as 1950. Arranged alphabetically, the cards have much useful information.

Sharrock, Charles E., compiler. Civil War and Indian War Veterans Buried in El Paso County, Colorado. [Denver?]: Bruce G. Clark, 1991. PPLD call no.: CO 929.509788 S532ce