New Mexico Genealogical Society

The New Mexico Genealogical Society (NMGS) was organized in 1960 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The original by-laws were written by the six founding members of the society. Later, it was decided that all persons who joined the society before April 1962 would be considered charter members of the society.

Officers
The first officers of NMGS were Frank Miller, president; Hermann Bohnoff, vice-president; and Martha Gardiner, secretary-treasurer. By the summer of 1962, the first president of NMGS resigned to take a position out of state. Since his vice-president declined to finish off his term, Robert G. Norfleet II instead was appointed in September 1962 as NMGS president.

As of 2010, there have been 29 separate NMGS presidents, many who served for only one year.

Journal
The quarterly journal of the society,The New Mexico Genealogist, premiered in October 1962. Dr. Albert R. Ellwell was the journals first editor, and Mrs. Mary Reeder was the assistant editor.

Early journal articles focused on preparing the membership for active participation in the society by teaching them the methods of genealogical research. Other articles included information about genealogical resources, descriptions of genealogical forms such as pedigree charts, definitions of certain terms, and listings of library acquisitions and member's private libraries. Source material such as cemetery listings, census records and historical letters. There was a query page in the first issue, which has been part of every issue since.