Arizona Genealogy

The town of Yuma was surveyed in 1854, one year after the sale of the territory embraced in the Gadsden Purchase had been agreed upon between the two governments. In reference to this survey, Colonel C. D. Poston, in an article printed in the Overland Monthly, July, 1894, says: ”As the geography of the country was not well understood at the time, it was not known to the makers of the treaty that the boundary line would include both banks of the Colorado River in the American boundary, but it does. By a curious turn in the Colorado River, after … Read more

At the time of which we are writing, 1849, Tucson was a part of Sonera, and the Government maintained only a precarious possession of that town. Continued raiding of the Apaches, driving off their livestock, made life in the Old Pueblo one of constant annoyance and danger. Retaliatory raids by the soldiers became less frequent, and although the Papago allies were somewhat more successful in repelling and pursuing the savages, there was a constant diminution of population. The census report of September, 1848, gave Tucson 760 inhabitants and Tubac 249. In December of that year after an attack in which … Read more

At this time Tucson was the leading town or settlement of Arizona. It had a population of perhaps a thousand, mostly Mexicans. The American flag had been raised there by a company of United States Dragoons, but its citizenship was not of a class to inspire confidence in peaceful, law abiding Americans. In the absence of civil law, the nearest courts being in New Mexico, every man was a law unto himself, and the consequence was that its graveyards were largely filled with the victims of private quarrels, but there were, among its citizenship, many of that class of Americans … Read more

Undoubtedly the Confederate invasion of Arizona and New Mexico, and the organization of Arizona into a separate Territory by the Confederates, which was acknowledged by the Confederate Government, with the discovery of gold in large quantities in Arizona, of which the Government at that time stood in great need, were the real causes of the passage of the bill through Congress in the session of 1862-63 for the creation of the Territory of Arizona. Charles D. Poston, who was in Washington at that time, aided by General Heintzelman, was active in promoting the measure, which had the support of Ben … Read more

Upon the disbanding of the Whig party and the organization of the Native American Know Nothing party, Henry A. Crabb became its leader in California. He was a man of scholarly attainments, of integrity and moral worth. In the fall election of 1855, the Know Nothing party carried the State of California and secured a majority in the Legislature. Crabb was a candidate for Senator and was endorsed in caucus by his party. Senator Flint from San Francisco refused to abide by the decision of the caucus because Crabb was a Southern man. This defeated the election at that session … Read more

In the campaign; of 1844, which resulted in the election of James K. Polk to the presidency over Henry Clay, the democrats had declared for two things, first, the annexation of Texas, and, second, the extending of their claims upon the Pacific to 59° 40. The last official act of President Tyler was the signing of a joint resolution of both Houses of Congress for the annexation of Texas, and one of the first acts of President Polk was to officially notify the people of Texas of such annexation. A treaty with England was made which defined the boundaries on … Read more

From the time of the organization of the Territory of New Mexico, which embraced Arizona, up to 1867, when it was abolished by act of Congress, peonage prevailed in that Territory. Peonage was one of the worst forms of slavery and it is described fully by W. W. H. Davis in his work entitled “El Gringo” as follows: “Another peculiar feature of New Mexico is the system of domestic servitude called peonage that has existed and still exists in all the Spanish American colonies. It seems to have been an institution of the civil law, and in New Mexico, is … Read more

On the morning of September 27th, 1861, a force of over two hundred warriors attacked the mining village of Pinos Altos, but, fortunately for the people, Captain Martin had arrived the night before with a detachment of Arizona Guards, a volunteer organization, and after several hours hard fighting, the Indians were driven off with considerable loss. Soon after one hundred and fifty warriors attacked a large wagon train, one day out from Pinos Altos, and besieged it for fourteen hours. The train escaped destruction by the timely arrival of the Arizona Guards, who escorted it to the Mimbres River. The … Read more

To Mr. Silas St. John, who was connected with the San Antonio and San Diego Line, established in 1857, we are indebted for the following facts in reference to this, the first stage line ever established across Arizona: “The initial contract was for a semimonthly service between San Diego, California, and San Antonio, Texas, via El Paso. Mr. James E. Birch, President of the California Stage Company, took it as a personal venture for the sum of one hundred and forty-nine thousand dollars per year. Mr. Isaiah C. Woods, previously at the head of Adams & Company’s Express in California, … Read more

According to the terms of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the Commissioners of the Boundary Survey were to be appointed within one year from the signing of the treaty. Mexico appointed General Pedro Garcia Conde, and President Polk, early in 1849, appointed John B. Weller, who had served in Congress from Ohio, and afterwards in the United States Senate from California, and also as Governor of the last mentioned State. In February, 1850, after establishing the initial point for the survey, the Commission adjourned. Soon thereafter Weller was superseded by John C. Fremont who, having been elected Senator from California, … Read more