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Sources of Information on Teller County Deaths

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

Remember that most of Teller County was part of El Paso County until 1899 and many deaths from that area were reported in Colorado Springs 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.

An online index to Colorado Springs-area newspapers is available at the Pikes Peak NewsFinder, sponsored by Special Collections, Pikes Peak Library District. Indexing is an ongoing process but will eventually include citations for obituaries and local news for newspapers from 6 January 1872 to the present. Click on Newspapers to see a list of the current status.

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

An excellent overview of Teller County newspapers is online at www.rootsweb.com/~coteller/resource/newspapers.html

Mining Accidents
Sherard, Gerald E. Colorado Mining Accidents, May 1895 to May 1900. Lakewood, Colo.: privately printed, 1995. PPLD call no. CO 622 S551C

Sherard, Gerald E. Pre-1963 Colorado Mining Fatalities. Lakewood, Colo.: privately printed, 1995. PPLD call no. CO 622 S551P
Online at http://denverlibrary.org/research/genealogy/fatalities.html

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

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.

Register of the Dead, 1898-1949, St. Peter's Catholic Church, Cripple Creek

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

Teller 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. After 1899, land records are at the Teller County Courthouse, 101 W. Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek, CO 80813.

Teller County Will Records Index
An index to Teller County wills, 1894-1971, is found online at the Colorado State Archives website: www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/wills/teller.html. Copies of the wills may also be obtained from the Colorado State Archives.

Teller County Inheritance Tax Records Index
An index to Teller County inheritance tax records, 1917-1936, is found online at the Colorado State Archives website: www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/inh_tax/teller.htm. Copies of the inheritance tax records may also be obtained from the Colorado State Archives.

Tombstone photos at www.findagrave.com.

Colorado tombstone photos at ColoradoGravestones.