COLORADO VETERANS’ 
GRAVE REGISTRATIONS
1862 - 1949

The Colorado Graves Registration was a project to locate and register the graves of all United State veterans buried in Colorado. It includes many out-of-state deceased veterans who were sent to Fitzsimons Army Hospital or came to Colorado to regain their health (3).

The project had its beginning when the American Legion embarked on a program to see that the graves of every deceased veteran resting in the United States were included in the Decoration or Memorial Day service. In May 1933 the National Grave Registration Plan was adopted by the American Legion. In 1935 the task got underway, depending almost entirely on voluntary assistance. In 1938 a project proposal was written to make the project a state-wide project for the Works Project Administration under the sponsorship of the Military Department of the State of Colorado with the cooperation of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Funds were provided by the Works Project Administration and special appropriation made by the Colorado State Legislature (3).

Permanent files were transcribed with each record being placed on a registration card. Information was gathered county by county from all sources possible. In conjunction with investigation of burial plots and cemetery records, the research included many public records, newspaper files, city and county records, assessors books, church records, morticians records, records of service and patriotic organizations, contact with friends and relatives of the deceased veterans and county histories when available. Service connections were checked with the Official Roster of Colorado Soldiers who served in the Civil War, local records of the Grand Army of the Republic and rosters of the the other states in the Union (3).

For more in-depth information on the formation and completion of the Colorado Grave Registration, consult The Manual of Instructions, written in 1940 under the sponsorship of the Military Department of the State of Colorado. Copies of the manual are available at the Jefferson County Library at 20th and Miller Streets, (R.929.3), Lakewood, CO 80215 (3).

Information requested on each grave registration card includes the following:

• Name
• County buried in
• City or town nearest
• Cemetery
• Type of grave marker
• Type of standard on grave
• Information on marker
• Date of burial
• Grave location: Block, Lot, Grave, Section
• Date cemetery data was recorded
• Home address
• Date, place, and cause of death
• Date and place of birth
• Name and address of nearest relative
• Date of enlistment and discharge
• Rank
• Branch of service: Army, Navy, or Marine
• Company outfit or ship
• War record: Civil War, World War I, World War II, etc.
• Sources of information
• (Additional information on reverse side of card)

The original cards are currently filed in twenty volumes of books at the Colorado State Archives. Because cause of death is included in the Grave Registration, the records are not open for public inspection. However staff members can extract all the information except for the cause of death. Permission to look at specific records can be obtained in writing from the Colorado Adjutant General’s office, 6845 S. Revere Parkway, Englewood, CO 80112, phone 720-250-8801. The cards are also on six rolls of microfilm by county which are catalogued in the order given below. The total number of registrations are given in parenthesis following the county listed below:

• Roll 1:
  Adams (1300), surnames Abele through Z
  Arapahoe (2000 total), surnames A through William
• Roll 2:
  Arapahoe, surnames Windsheimer through Z
  Jefferson (1500)
  Boulder (875)
  Pueblo (925 total), surnames A through Levvie
• Roll 3:
  Pueblo, surnames Lewis through Z
  Rio Grande (800)
  Alamosa (76)
  Archuleta (54)
  Baca (75)
  Bent (475)
  Boulder (see Roll 2)
  Cheyenne (26)
  Costilla (48)
  Chaffee (225)
  Clear Creek (no grave registrations)
  Conejos (147)
  Crowley (34)
  Custer (65)
  Delta (241)
  Delores (no grave registrations)
  Denver (10)
  Douglas (85)
  Eagle (46)
  Elbert (no grave registrations)
  El Paso (350 total), surnames A through Fellows
• Roll 4:
  El Paso, surnames Felter through Z
  Fremont (500)
  Garfield (225)
  Gilpin (76)
  Grand (20)
  Gunnison (125)
  Hinsdale (24)
  Huerfano (152)
  Jackson (no grave registrations)
  Jefferson (see Roll 2)
  Kiowa (32)
  Kit Carson (72)
  Lake (216)
  Las Animas (510)
  Logan (100)
  La Plata (290)
  Larimer (540 total), surnames A through Baxter
• Roll 5:
  Larimer, surnames Beach through Z
  Lincoln (no grave registrations)
  Mesa (455)
  Mineral (no grave registrations)
  Otero (400)
  Moffat (40)
  Montezuma (140)
  Montrose (185)
  Morgan (163)
  Ouray (35)
  Park (no grave registrations)
  Pitkin (136)
  Phillips (50)
  Prowers (140)
  Pueblo (see Rolls 2 and 3)
  Rio Blanco (50)
  Rio Grande (see Roll 3)
  Routt (90)
  Saquache (50)
  San Juan (no grave registrations)
  San Miguel (16)
  Sedgwick (26)
  Summit (50)
  Teller (105)
  Washington (75)
  Weld (570 total), surnames A through Macy
• Roll 6:
  Weld, surnames Madden through Z
  Yuma (145)

Information from these grave registration cards may be obtained by contacting:

The Colorado State Archives
Room 1B-20
1313 Sherman Street
Denver, CO 80203
Phone (303)866-2358

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. Burek, Deboral M., Cemeteries of the United States, 1607 pp. (1994) (Colorado cemeteries covered in pp. 91-120).
2. Columbine Genealogical & Historical Society, Littleton, CO, Colorado Territory Civil War Volunteer Records, 445 pp. (1994).
3. Jefferson County Grave Registration (1992).
4. Merrill, Kay R., Colorado Cemetery Directory, 623 pp. (1985).
5. Sherard, Gerald E., Colorado Civil War G.A.R. Members, 252 pp. (1994)(DPL G929.3788, S551co).
6. Sherard, Gerald E., Colorado National Guard Service Records 1862 - 1952, 725 pp. (1997).

Last modified April 20, 2007