New Mexico, Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Nuevo México, documentos eclesiásticos de la Iglesia Católica

Record Description
The collection consists of an index and images of baptisms, marriages, and deaths for some parishes in the following counties:


 * Bernalillo
 * Colfax
 * Doña Ana
 * Mora
 * Rio Arriba
 * San Miguel
 * Santa Fe
 * Socorro
 * Taos
 * Valencia

Record Content
The baptismal records include:


 * Child's name
 * Birth date and place
 * Christening date
 * Names of parents and their origin
 * Godparents' names

The death and burial records include:


 * Date and place of internment
 * Name and age of deceased
 * Residence of deceased
 * Death date
 * Cause of death

The marriage records include:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Names of bride and groom
 * Residences of bride and groom
 * Groom's baptismal date
 * Bride's baptismal date
 * Groom's parents' names
 * Bride's parents' names
 * Witnesses' names

How to Use the Record
To begin your search, you will need to know the following information:


 * Ancestor’s name
 * Type of event, such as the christening or baptism
 * Approximate date of the event

Search the Collection
To search the collection ⇒Select "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the appropriate "County, Town" ⇒Select the appropriate "Parish" ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type and Years" 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.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Spanish. For help with reading the records see the following wiki articles:


 * Spanish Genealogical Word List

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use christening (baptismal) and birth records to identify a person’s birth date and place. These are an excellent substitute for civil birth records.
 * Use confirmation records to identify a person’s birth date and place and age. If only the age is given, use it to calculate the person’s death date.
 * Use death or burial records to identify a person’s birth date and place. Use age at the time of death or burial to calculate the person’s birth date. These are an excellent substitute for civil death records.
 * Use marriage records to identify a couple and the marriage date and place and to begin compiling a family group. These are an excellent substitute for civil marriage records.
 * Use church records in general to identify other family members who may have served as witnesses to an event.
 * Use the date of the event along with the locality to find the family in census records and land records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. Or, if the surname is unusual, you may want to compile entries for every person of the same surname and then sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the birth records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born in the same county or nearby.
 * An infant’s christening usually took place within a few days or few weeks of the birth, depending on the religion. Some churches, such as the Baptists, baptized only adults not infants. Members of other sects blessed their infants when they were a few weeks or a few months old.
 * Many religions tested the church knowledge of those that had been baptized as infants and then confirmed them a member of that religion. Frequently, a person’s age at confirmation was between 14 and 20.
 * Church records are considered a primary source. They are usually reliable because they are kept by the minister, or a clerk appointed by the minister, who usually recorded an event at or very near the time it occurred.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names or for nicknames.
 * Check the records of other congregations in the area or nearby communities.
 * 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.

General Information About These Records
Church records in the United States began in the early 1600s. They can be found in the churches, church archives, or university archives. They normally included records of christenings, confirmations, marriages, and deaths.

The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian church in the world. Traditionally, Catholic records have been kept at the parish level, so a majority of records will be found at the church where the event transpired. Older Catholic records and records of defunct Catholic parishes have often been moved to archives, historical archives, or university libraries.

To know who were members, churches were required to record the date a person was baptized in the Christian religion. Many churches also recorded the date of birth along with the date of baptism. Churches were also required to record the burial and marriage dates of the members of the local congregation. Only some churches performed confirmations and were required to record the names of those that were confirmed members of the church.

Related Websites

 * Locating Catholic Church Records in New Mexico
 * New Mexico Genealogical Society
 * Roman Catholic Churches - Origins and Neighborhoods

Related Wiki Articles

 * New Mexico
 * New Mexico Church Records

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.