Core Records to be Retained

RG 101. COCHISE COUNTY

The eleventh Territorial Assembly established Cochise County on February 1, 1881, as the eighth county. It was named after Cochise, the Apache Indian who was the leader of a band of Chiricahuas. The county was formed out of eastern Pima County, and Tombstone was designated as the county seat. The seat was moved to Bisbee in 1929.

Assessment rolls. 1902-1914. (20 volumes)

The assessment rolls include supplemental assessment rolls that describe house construction materials or uses.

Coroners’ inquests. 1887-1925. (6 boxes and 11 rolls of microfilm).

Records of coroners’ juries inquiring into cause of death.

Register of action. 1889-1898. (1 roll of microfilm)

The two volumes are indexed.

Criminal judgments. 1881-1912 (10 rolls of microfilm)

Territorial cases, numbered 1-1715, are arranged numerically, 1881-1911, and although listed as Justice Court, may have been heard in Justice or District court. Includes probate hearings, 1881-1912, and requests for writs of habeas corpus.

Criminal dockets. 1904-1926. (23 volumes)

These dockets list actions in criminal cases.

Elections. 1882-1966. (6 boxes and 52 volumes)

Election records include a great register, 1882. Other great registers include a Supplement, 1884; a fragment from a great register, 1892; registers for 1894, 1896, 1902, 1906, 1908, 1910; and appendix to great registers. Records for the city of Bisbee are also included.

Register of action. 1889-1892 and 1901-1903. (1 rolls of microfilm)

Registers are indexed. Pages 243 and 250 are missing.

Tax collection. 1883-1888. (1 roll of microfilm)

Documents licenses collected during the year.

Annual reports. 1913-1957. (4 boxes and 13 volumes)

Records include teachers’ and principals’ annual reports, 1914-1938. Later, there are additional questions asked about teachers’ training, salary and certificates. Also noted are distributions of enrollment by ages and grades.

There are Superintendent and principal reports for 1930-1931 and 1933. School boundary records, 1913-1937, set boundaries for attendance for high school districts. There are also school boundary change request petitions, 1932-1957, from qualified electors. A County School Superintendent’s Tenth Annual Report on Personnel and Miscellaneous, 1941-1954, consists of tables noting administrative and instructional personnel. The county Superintendent’s annual financial reports, 1941-1957, give recaps of assets and valuation, school district expenditures by purpose and account, receipts and balances.

The Superintendent of Public Schools’ reports, 1901-1934, are titled School Statistics. State certificates, 1937-1938 and 1941-1957, are mainly for high school and elementary schools with some elementary school master reports in bound volumes included.

School census marshals’ reports. 1910-1920. (3 rolls of microfilm)

Reports are filed in chronological order by district number beginning with Tombstone District One, 1911. Some pages are damaged or indistinct.

Civil Division. 1881-1978. (145 boxes and 1 roll of microfilm)

Records include registers of actions and feebooks that are indexed, some with alphabetical and reverse index to actions. The rest of the records are marriage applications and records, judgments, dismissed cases, divorces, divorces not granted and tax suits.

Marriage index book 1A, A-Z, 1881-1978, has pages labeled males, females. Marriage records, 1882-1911, contain licenses and certificates.

The divorces are consecutively numbered, though there are gaps in the order, and may contain summons, defaults, cross complaints, costs and disbursements, decrees, petitions, testimony or certification.

Criminal Division. 1885-1928. (19 boxes and 2 rolls of microfilm)

Records include a criminal register of actions, indexed in alphabetical order with an appendix; criminal judgments, some of which are actually civil cases; and occasional cases that were heard in the probate Court. The judgments are in numerical order and contain all pages relevant to judgments rendered. Criminal case files, 1885-1928, are consecutively numbered but have gaps.

Probate Division. 1903-1921. (17 boxes)

Case files are in consecutive order beginning with number 228.

Revenue journal. 1920-1934. ( 1 volume)

Cash journal. 1935-1942. (1 volume)

Record of reported contagious diseases. 1903-1911. (1 volume)

This volume lists contagious diseases and is arranged chronologically.