GUTHRIE RESEARCH BY LOCATION

Arizona Territory was established by the U.S. Congress on February 24, 1863, carved from the western half of the New Mexico Territory. It achieved statehood on February 14, 1912, as the 48th state. Early settlement was driven by mining, ranching, military outposts, and the Gadsden Purchase (1854), which secured southern Arizona from Mexico. The territory’s first four counties (Mohave, Pima, Yavapai, and Yuma) were organized in 1864; today Arizona has 15 counties with frequent boundary changes in the territorial era. A small populated place called Guthrie (a former railroad siding and mining camp in Greenlee County) was named for a stockholder in the Arizona Copper Company; it is now a ghost-town site with limited historical documentation.

Genealogy research in Arizona differs from the colonial-era states because organized civil records begin with territorial government in 1863. Pre-1863 mentions are rare and usually tied to New Mexico Territory records or military expeditions. Post-1863 records include territorial censuses (1864–1882), federal censuses starting 1870, land patents, probate files, military rosters, and vital records (many available via the Arizona State Archives or FamilySearch).

ONLINE ARIZONA GENEALOGY RECORDS

ARIZONA STATE LIBRARY, ARCHIVES & PUBLIC RECORDS – GENEALOGY
(includes assessment rolls, great registers/voter lists, coroner files, brand books, and territorial probate)

LIST OF ARIZONA COUNTIES, FORMATION DATES, AND MAPS

GUTHRIE FAMILY GROUP CONNECTIONS IN ARIZONA

No comprehensive published Guthrie family groups have been compiled specifically for Arizona at this time. Early Guthries appear primarily as individuals in territorial military, land, and civil records rather than large connected family clusters. Later 20th-century migrations brought additional branches; researchers should cross-reference federal censuses (1870 forward), Arizona territorial censuses (1864–1882 on Ancestry/FamilySearch), and Arizona Memory Project images for place-name context. If you have a documented Arizona Guthrie line, please contact the blog to contribute.

THE ARIZONA ARCHIVES (Territorial Period)

The Public Records of the Territory of Arizona, 1863–1912 (published volumes available via Internet Archive) contain legislative journals, petitions, and official acts. Searches through Volume 15 (covering up to 1891) yield no Guthrie entries in the earliest years:

• Volume 1 (April 1863 – April 1865): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 2 (May 1865 – November 1867): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 3 (May 1868 – June 1869): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 4 (August 1869 – May 1870): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 5 (October 1870 – October 1871): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 6 (May 1872 – October 1873): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 7 (May 1874 – October 1875): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 8 (October 1875 – October 1877): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 9 (May 1878 – November 1879): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 10 (May 1880 – February 1881): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 11 (May 1882 – March 1883): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 12 (May 1884 – October 1885): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 13 (May 1886 – May 1887): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 14 (October 1888 – April 1889): No Guthrie Entries
• Volume 15 (May 1890 – June 1891): No Guthrie Entries

Finance and Currency, Second Series, 1863–1912 p. 175: Guthrie, Joseph (A) – Lister certificate, 1873 (IX:48)

Arizona Archives – Territorial War, June 1863–May 1912 (Six Volumes and Index) p. 108:

• Guthrie, James, Prescott – petition with certificate by comptroller showing service in Col. Swift’s regiment; balance due and prayer to receive same. Resolve granting petition, May 1893 (III:221,222)
• Guthrie, Patience, Tucson – loss in Britain raid mentioned, 1892 (I:51c,63v); Western lands grantee, 1892 (I:63v)

Collections of the Arizona Historical Society, Vol. 8 p. 80 – Ninth Regiment, Short Term Levies, 1879: Abraham Guthrie, Prescott – Commencement of Service: 26 Aug; Expiration of Service: 4 Dec

Collections of the Arizona Historical Society, Vol. 10 p. 88 – Campaign of 1858 / Pay Roll 1858: Ephraim Guthrie – Time of Enlistment: April 2; Discharged: November 11

Lists and Returns of Arizona Men in the Territorial Period, 1863–1912

• p. 47 – Returns of Men in Service, 1867–1869, Tucson (bounty recipients): James Guthery
• p. 123 – James Guthra, Tucson, Company __, Regiment Col. Beardly
• p. 154 – Sixteenth Regiment, Capt. Richard Barnum’s Company, Tucson: James Guthrie
• p. 222 – Recruits 1880, bounties paid July 1880: Abel Guthrie
• p. 282 – Arizona Line 1881–1883: Abel Guthrie (procured in New Fairfield, May 16)
• p. 314 – Third Company, Capt. Betts, 3rd Regiment (Col. Webb), Muster Rolls Feb 1882: Abel Guthrie, enlisted Nov 19, 1880, term 3 years
• p. 330 – First Company, Capt. Betts, 3rd Regiment, Muster Rolls Dec 1882–Jan 1883: Abel (?) Guthrey, term 9 months 14 days

ARIZONA LAND RECORDS

Indexed land records (patents, deeds, and claims) are available at US Land Records – Arizona. Earliest online images begin around 1892; many entries lack digitized images. Pre-1892 and township-level deeds remain with individual county recorders or town clerks. Researchers should also consult Bureau of Land Management General Land Office records (glorecords.blm.gov) for federal patents and Arizona Memory Project for related maps and documents.

NEEDED DATA

The following collections may contain additional Guthrie references and are held at the Family History Library or Arizona State Library/Archives. Volunteers with access are encouraged to check and share findings:

• Sylvester Judd Manuscripts (Arizona) – land, vital, and town records (microfilmed).
• Territorial and county assessment rolls, great registers (voter lists), and brand books at the Arizona State Archives.
• Arizona territorial probate files (1803–1995 collection on Ancestry; original files at county superior courts or state archives).
• Full 1864–1882 Arizona territorial census images (available on Ancestry).
• Arizona Memory Project photographs and documents referencing Guthrie (e.g., the Greenlee County railroad siding).

If you locate additional primary sources, transcriptions, or family Bibles connected to Arizona Guthries, please reach out via the blog contact form or comments. Contributions help build a more complete picture of Guthrie migration into the Southwest during the territorial and early statehood periods.