Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Bent County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
Marriages, births and deaths
Tax records
See the repository's descriptions and search options
Repository access note: Selected county and court series from the Colorado State Archives 2013 Finding Aids Quick Index. Only unambiguous dated rows marked Open in that historical index are included. That label does not certify current access. Confirm custody and restrictions with the Archives. Spans summarize separate storage units and may contain gaps.
Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.
Where to find the records
- Find Bent County's official website
We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the county clerk and recorder and the district court.
- The county clerk and recorder
Deeds and other land records, and marriage licenses.
- The district court
Probate (wills and estates) in every county but Denver, which has its own probate court, plus divorces and civil cases.
- The Colorado State Archives
In Denver: county and court records, territorial records and indexes.
- Colorado State Archivesfree
The state archives in Denver, with county, court and territorial records and indexes to many of them.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Colorado, Bent" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Las Animas County, Pueblo County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Las Animas County, Pueblo County
Later formed partly from Bent County: Cheyenne County, Kiowa County, Lincoln County, Otero County, Prowers County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1870, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
A 1907 law set up statewide registration of births and deaths in Colorado; the state's own records begin with deaths in 1900 and births in 1910. Before 1861 the area was part of Kansas, Nebraska, Utah and New Mexico territories, so an early settler's records can be in any of them.