Socorro County, New Mexico Genealogy

United States New Mexico  Socorro County

Guide to Socorro County, New Mexico ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.



County Courthouse
Socorro County Courthouse 200 Church St; PO Box 1 Socorro, NM 87801 Phone: 505.835.0589 County Clerk has marriage records from 1885, probate records from 1912, land records from 1859, birth and death records 1907-1941.

Parent County

 * Until 1821 - New Spain controlled land that later would become New Mexico and Arizona. Some records of early settlers may have been sent to an archives in Seville, Spain, or to archives in Mexico City.
 * In 1821 - Mexico had jurisdiction over the land that later would become New Mexico and Arizona. Some records of this period may have been sent to archives in Mexico City.
 * 1846 - United States forces occupied New Mexico starting during the.
 * 1848 - Land that became Socorro County formally became a part of the United States when the Mexican-American War ended with the signing of the.
 * 9 Jan 1852 - Socorro County was created from unorganized land. It extended west to the California border including land in present day Arizona.   Residents who lived far from the county seat, probably didn't send many records to the county offices.



Description
One of the original nine counties.

Socorro was originally the name given to a village by Don Juan de Onate in 1598. Having received vitally needed food and assistance from the native population, Onate named the pueblo Socorro (which means "succor" in English). The county contains several mountain ranges including Magdalena Mountains, the San Mateo Mountains and Ladron Peak.

Founded 1 July 1850 Seat: Socorro Largest city: Socorro

Boundary Changes

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of New Mexico - shows boundary changes for New Mexico Counties
 * New Mexico Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library
 * 29 December 1863 Arizona Territory created from the western half of New Mexico Territory. Socorro County reduced in size to the portion still within New Mexico Territory.
 * 30 January 1868 - SOCORRO county lost land to the creation of GRANT county.
 * 16 January 1869 - SOCORRO county lost land to the creation of LINCOLN county.
 * 3 April 1884 - SOCORRO county lost land to the creation of SIERRA county.
 * 30 January 1899 - SOCORRO county lost land to the creation of OTERO county.
 * 1 January 1905 - SOCORRO county lost land to the creation of TORRANCE county.
 * 1 July 1921 - SOCORRO county lost land to the creation of CATRON county.

For animated maps illustrating New Mexico County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation New Mexico County Boundary Maps" (1845-1981) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

See also Previous Jurisdictions to Land in Arizona for further details.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

City

 * Socorro (county seat)

Village

 * Magdalena

Census-designated places

 * Abeytas
 * Alamillo
 * Alamo
 * Chamizal
 * Escondida
 * La Joya
 * Las Nutrias
 * Lemitar
 * Luis Lopez
 * Polvadera
 * San Acacia
 * San Antonio
 * San Antonito
 * Veguita

Unincorporated communities

 * Bernardo
 * Claunch
 * Luis Lopez
 * Polvadera
 * Sabinal
 * San Antonio
 * Ghost towns[edit]
 * Adobe
 * Carthage
 * Council Rock
 * Field
 * Kelly
 * Park City

Neighboring Counties

 * Catron, New Mexico
 * Cibola, New Mexico
 * Lincoln, New Mexico
 * Sierra, New Mexico
 * Torrance, New Mexico
 * Valencia, New Mexico

Cemeteries

 * New Mexico Cemetery Records
 * AHGP New Mexico Cemetery Transcription & Photo Project
 * New Mexico Cemetery Records, Luna to Valencia
 * New Mexico Cemetery Record Information Online
 * New Mexico Tombstone Transcription Project
 * New Mexico Cemeteries Project
 * New Mexico Vital Record Information: Cemeteries
 * Online New Mexico Death Records and Indexes
 * Cemeteries of New Mexico
 * BillionGraves.com - Provides photos and GPS locations of grave markers.
 * Cyndi's List - Cemeteries &amp; funeral homes
 * Findagrave.com
 * Interment.net
 * Rootsweb
 * UsGenweb.org

State Census Records

 * 1885 New Mexico Territorial Census 1885 at Ancestry (free)
 * Late 1800s 1800s Arizona and New Mexico Territories Census, Late 1800s ($)

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for New Mexico starting in 1850. For links to Federal census indexes, see New Mexico Census.

Land
Online Land Records
 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796 - 1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1861 - 1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

Maps

 * 1895 map of Socorro County
 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of New Mexico - shows boundary changes for New Mexico Counties
 * NMGenWeb - historical maps

Revolutionary War

 * 1775 - 1783 - at FamilySearch - images only
 * For more nationwide Revolutionary War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Civil War

 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch
 * For more nationwide Civil War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battle was fought in Socorro County.


 * May 18, 1864 = Valverde


 * Map showing Civil War battles in New Mexico.

World War I

 * 1917 - 1919 - New Mexico, World War I Records, 1917-1919 at Ancestry ($)
 * For more natiowide World War I databases, see US Military OnlineGenealogy Records.''

World War II

 * 1941 - 1945 - World War II Records, 1941-1945 State Summary of War Casualties from World War II for Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Personnel from: New Mexico
 * 1941 - 1945 - World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel from: New Mexico
 * 1941 - 1945 - New Mexico, World War II Records, 1941-1945 at Ancestry ($)
 * For more nationwide World War II databases, see US Military Online Genealogy.

Newspapers

 * New Mexico Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1801 – 1993 New Mexico Wills and Probate Records 1801-1993 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Births

 * 1726 – 1918 at FamilySearch

Deaths

 * 1788 – 1798; 1838 – 1955 at FamilySearch
 * 1889 - 1945 at FamilySearch

Marriages

 * 1727 - 1900 New Mexico Marriages 1727-1900 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1751 - 1918 at FamilySearch

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

New Mexico, County Death Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Societies and Libraries
Socorro County Historical Society, Inc. PO Box 923 Socorro, New Mexico 87801-0923 Website

Family History Centers

 * Socorro New Mexico Family History Center El Camino Real across Sedillo Socorro, NM 87801 United States [ Location Map]

Web Sites

 * Socorro County, NM History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * New Mexico Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * New Mexico Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.