Dona Ana County, New Mexico Genealogy

United States New Mexico  Doña Ana County

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



County Courthouse
Doña Ana County Courthouse 180 West Amador; Las Cruces, NM 88001 Phone: 505.647.7285 County Clerk has marriage and probate records from 1870 and land records from 1801; Clerk District Court has divorce and court records.

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 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. United States forces occupied New Mexico starting in 1846 during the.
 * 1848 - Land that became Doña Ana County formally became a part of the United States when the Mexican-American War ended with the signing of the.
 * 9 January 1852 - Doña Ana County was created from unorganized territory. Doña Ana county extended west onto land in present day Arizona.   Residents living far from the county seat, probably didn't send many records to the county offices.

Description
Doña Ana County is one of 33 counties in the state of New Mexico. It was created in 1852 and is the second-most populated county in the state. The county seat, Las Cruces, has been ranked as one of the fastest-growing communities in the United States for the past decade.

In 1900, the county hosted an agriculturally based society with a population of 10,187. The market centers were Las Cruces, El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. By 1990, the county was urbanized with a population of 135,510 and boasted an economy based on service and retail. Rapid population growth has occurred in and around the city of Las Cruces, as well as in the southern part of the county. The part of the county north of Hill remains primarily rural in nature. Las Cruces is home to New Mexico State University, as well as Doña Ana Branch Community College.

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
 * 3 February 1855 - Doña Ana County gained all of the land from Mexico. This included land south of the Gila River in present day Arizona, which extended Dona Ana county west to the Baja California border.
 * 24 February 1863 Arizona was created from the western half of New Mexico Territory. Dona Ana county was reduced in size to the portion that was still in New Mexico Territory.
 * 30 January 1868 - DOÑA ANA county lost land to creation of GRANT county.
 * 3 April 1884 - DOÑA ANA county lost land to creation of SIERRA county.
 * 30 January 1899 - DOÑA ANA county lost land to creation of OTERO county.
 * 16 March 1901 - DOÑA ANA county lost land to creation of LUNA 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.

Cities

 * Las Cruces (county seat)
 * Sunland Park

Towns

 * Anthony
 * Mesilla

Village

 * Hatch
 * Census-designated places[edit]
 * Berino
 * Chamberino
 * Chaparral
 * Doña Ana
 * Fairacres
 * Garfield
 * La Mesa
 * La Union
 * Mesquite
 * Organ
 * Picacho
 * Placitas
 * Radium Springs
 * Rincon
 * Rodey
 * Salem
 * San Miguel
 * San Pablo
 * San Ysidro
 * Santa Teresa
 * University Park
 * Vado
 * White Sands

Neighboring Counties

 * Luna County, New Mexico
 * Otero County, New Mexico
 * Sierra County, New Mexico
 * El Paso County, Texas

Cemeteries

 * New Mexico Cemetery Records
 * AHGP New Mexico Cemetery Transcription &amp; 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.

Church History and Records
Catholic

Parish registers (baptisms, marriages, and burials) are available online for the following years:

LDS

LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Hatch
 * Las Cruces

Land
Dona Ana county online record search You do not need to Register, Sign on as Guest. Some records found online go back to the 1950's. But most are from the 1970 to the present. If searching for an older record, you may have to visit the County Clerks Office. 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 Dona Ana County, New Mexico
 * 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.

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

Family History Centers

 * Las Cruces New Mexico Family History Center 2915 E Idaho Ave Las Cruces, NM 88001 United States Location Map

Societies
Doña Ana County Genealogical Society (DACGS) PO Box 123 Las Cruces, NM 88004-0123 E-mail: [mailto:lcgenealogy@aol.com lcgenealogy@aol.com ] Website: https://dacgs.wildapricot.org/

Doña Ana County Historical Society 500 North Water Street Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88001-1224 Website: http://www.donaanacountyhistsoc.org

Gadsen Historical Society PO Box 147 Mesilla, New Mexico, 88046

Southern New Mexico Genealogical Society PO Box 2563 Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88004-2563

Southern New Mexico Historical Collections at NMSU Austin Hoover archivist Telephone Number: 505-646-1543

Facebook: Doña Ana County Genealogical Society

Websites

 * Dona Ana County, NM History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * New Mexico Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * New Mexico Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Doña Ana County Trails To The Past