New Mexico Church Records

Historical Background
Prior to 1900 the largest religious group in New Mexico was the Roman Catholic Church. Other churches represented in New Mexico include the Methodist Episcopal, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Christian.

Information Found in the Records
To effectively use church records, become familiar with their content. Click on these links to learn about a specific record type:

Look for online records.
'''Ancestry.com, Findmypast.com, and MyHeritage.com can be searched free of charge at your local family history center or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

FamilySearch Indexes

 * 1726-1918 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index only
 * 1751-1918 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1788-1798; 1838-1955 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Ancestry.com Indexes

 * 1727-1900 - New Mexico Marriages, 1727-1900 Index ($)

Catholic

 * 1701-1956 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1678-1869 - New Mexico Roots Ltd. Diligencias Matrimoniales (1678-1869), and Terms used in Diligencias matrimonales and  Index From 1678 to 1869 the Catholic Church investigated the blood relationship of couples before they were allowed to marry. Some genealogical information in these records, at the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, has been extracted and published in this source. This source lists the names of the bride and groom, the date of marriage, and the parents' names.
 * 1694-1875 - Navajos in the Catholic Church records of New Mexico, 1694-1875, e-book.

Dutch Reformed

 * 1856-1970 - U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Vital Records, 1856-1970, index and images, incomplete.($)
 * 1856-1970 - U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Membership Records, 1856-1970, index and images, incomplete.($)

Episcopal

 * 1889-1971 - Episcopal Diocese of Arizona church records : jurisdiction of New Mexico and Arizona, 1889-1971, images.

Lutheran

 * 1781-1969 - U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969, index and images, incomplete.($)

Methodist

 * 1870-1970 - New Mexico and Texas, Select United Methodist Church Records, 1870-1970($)

Presbyterian

 * 1701-1970 - U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970, index and images, incomplete.($)
 * Records of meetings, 1874-1952, Presbytery of Monmouth (New Jersey)

Other Collections

 * The Ancestor Hunt: Free New Mexico Online Church Records

Look for digital copies of church records in the FamilySearch Catalog.

 * The Family History Library (FHL) has a substantial collection of original church records and transcripts on microfilm for churches in the United States.
 * Online church records can be listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under the state, county, or town.
 * If you find a record that has not yet been digitized, see How do I request that a microfilm be digitized?
 * Some records might have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a Family History Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations.
 * To find records:
 * a. Click on the of United States, New Mexico'''.
 * b. Click on Places within United States, New Mexico and a list of counties will appear.
 * c. Click on your county if it appears.
 * d. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * e. Click on Places within United States, New Mexico [COUNTY] and a list of towns will appear.
 * f. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
 * g. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * h. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the record is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the records.

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Consult available finding aids.
These aids generally provide lists of records that are known to exist and information on their location.
 * Directory of Churches and Religious Organizations in New Mexico, 1940. Albuquerque, N.M.: New Mexico Historical Records Survey, 1940.

Correspond with or visit the actual churches.
Some records are still held in the local churches. Contact the current minister to find out what records are still available.
 * Make an appointment to look at the records. Or ask the minister of the church to make a copy of the record for you.
 * To find church staff available, you might have to visit on Sunday.
 * Ask for small searches at a time, such as one birth record or a specific marriage. Never ask for "everything on a family or surname".
 * A donation ($25-$40) for their time and effort to help you would be appropriate.
 * If the church has a website, you may be able to e-mail a message.
 * See the Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.
 * Each denomination page offers an online address directory of local churches for that denomination.

Check the church records collections in archives and libraries.
Some church records have been deposited for preservation in government archives or in libraries. Watch for links to digitized, online records offered by the archives. Some archives provide research services for a fee. For others, if you cannot visit in person, you might hire a researcher. '''Here you will find archive information unique to the state. Many more archives are kept by denomination. For denominational archives, go to  Searching for Church Records by Denomination.

Lutheran
South West California Synod / ELCA Region 2 Archives 1300 E. Colorado St. Glendale, CA 91205 Phone:(818) 937-4761 E-mail: archives@socalsynod.org
 * Archives hold records for closed churches. For open churches write directly to the local church.

Roman Catholic
FamilySearch has an extensive collection of Roman Catholic Church records from 1694 to 1957 for the areas served by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and the Diocese of Las Cruces.

Archdiocese of Santa Fe Archives 4000 St. Joseph Place N.W. Albuquerque, NM 87120 Phone: 505.983.3811 The Archdiocese includes the counties of: Bernalillo, Colfax, Curry, De Baca, Guadalupe, Harding, Los Alamos, Mora, Quay, Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Socorro, Taos, Torrence, Union and Valencia
 * Contact the local parish for assistance.
 * Various parish registers, 1844-1933: Catholic Church. Diocese of Santa Fe, images.

Diocese of Gallup Archives 711 S. Puerco Drive Gallup, NM 87301 Phone: (505) 863-4406 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1338 Gallup, NM 87301 The diocese website does not include family history records. The diocese includes the counties of: Bernalillo, Catron, Cibola, McKinley, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan and Valencia
 * Contact the local parish for assistance.

Diocese of Las Cruces Archives 1280 Med Park Las Cruces, NM 88004 Phone: (505) 523-7577 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 16318 Las Cruces, NM 88004
 * Contact the local parish for assistance.

The diocese includes the counties of: Chaves, Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Luna, Otero and Sierra -

Correspond with genealogical or historical societies.
Some church records have been given to historical societies. Also, historical societies may be able to tell you where the records are being held. To find a society near you, consult these lists:
 * Society Hill List of New Mexico Societies

Next, go to the Wiki article for your ancestors' denomination.
There are frequently additional, nationwide or regional archives and online collections for each denomination. Find the article for your ancestors' denomination and follow the instructions there to access these sources.

Carefully compare any record you find to known facts about the ancestor
You will possibly find many different people with the same name as your ancestor, especially when a family stayed in a locality for several generations, and several children were named after the grandparents or aunts and uncles. Be prepared to find the correct church records by organizing in advance as many of these exact details about the ancestor as possible:
 * name, including middle name and maiden name
 * names of all spouses, including middle and maiden name
 * exact or closely estimated dates of birth, marriage, and death
 * names and approximate birthdates of children
 * all known places of residence
 * occupations
 * military service details

Carefully evaluate the church records you find to make sure you have really found records for your ancestor and not just a "near match". If one or more of the details do not line up, be careful about accepting the entry as your ancestor. There are guiding principles for deciding how to resolve discrepancies between records that are seemingly close. For more instruction in evaluating evidence, read the Wiki article, Evaluate the Evidence.