New Mexico, Territorial Census, 1885 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection contains indexes and images of the population schedule listing inhabitants of the New Mexico Territory in 1885. This collection coincides with NARA publication T1175.

Record Content
The following information is usually found in this collection:


 * Name
 * Color
 * Sex
 * Age
 * Month of birth if born within the census year
 * Relationship to head of the household
 * Marital status
 * Occupation
 * Sick, deaf, dumb, blind, or mentally ill
 * Attending school
 * Can read and write
 * Birthplace (state or country)
 * Birthplace of parents (state or country)

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know the name and some other identifying information such as age or parents' names.

Search the Collection
To search the collection: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "County" ⇒Select the appropriate "Locality" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor in the census, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use the age listed to determine an approximate birth date. This date along with the place of birth can help you find a birth record.
 * Use the race information to find records related to that ethnicity such as records of the Freedman’s Bureau or Indian censuses.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as school records; children’s occupations are often listed as “at school.”
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all families with the same surname in the same general area. If the surname is uncommon, it is likely that those living in the same area were related.
 * Be sure to extract all families before you look at other records. The relationships given will help you to organize family groups. The family groupings will help you identify related families when you discover additional information in other records.
 * Married family members may have lived nearby but in a separate household so you may want to search an entire town, neighboring towns, or even county.
 * You may be able to identify an earlier generation if elderly parents were living with or close by a married child.
 * You may be able to identify a younger generation if a young married couple still lived with one of their sets of parents.
 * Additional searches may be needed to locate all members of a particular family in the census.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Look for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

Related Websites
Territorial census of 1885

Related Wiki Articles
New Mexico

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.