Los Alamos County, New Mexico Genealogy

United States New Mexico  Los Alamos County

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



County Courthouse
Los Alamos County Courthouse PO Box 30 2300 Trinity Drive Los Alamos, NM 87544-3051 Phone: 505.662.8010 County Clerk has marriage records from 1940, land records from 1949, probate records from 1953, and burial records from 1961; District Court Clerk has divorce and court records.

Parent County

 * Up until 1821 - New Spain controlled land that later would become New Mexico and Arizona. Some records of early settlers may have been sent to an archives in Seville, Spain, or to archives in Mexico City.
 * From 1821 until 1846 - 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. Starting in 1846 United States forces occupied New Mexico during the.
 * 1848 - Land that became Los Alamos County formally became a part of the United States when the Mexican-American War ended with ratification of the.


 * 1949--Los Alamos County was created 16 March 1949 from Sandoval and Santa Fe counties.

Description
Los Alamos is spanish for "poplars, cottonwoods" and the area was settled as early as 1880. It was named by Ashley Pond when he established the Los Alamos Ranch Boys School in 1925 Northwest of Santa Fe approximately 24 miles. In 1943 the school and the surrounding land was taken over by the military Manhattan District of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. Los Alamos was the birthplace of the atomic bomb July 16, 1945 when the first atomic bomb was activated at the Trinity Site on White Sands. The weapon that ended World War II. Everything in Los Alamos county was classified; military and civilian. Most all of these records would be declassified now if the government would just get on the job and declassify these billion (more or less) pieces records.

Los Alamos County was the thirty second county in the state. It was created by the federal government as a site for the study of atomic energy. The federal government had exclusive jurisdiction of portions of Santa Fe and Sandoval counties for use of the Los Alamos atomic energy project. In May of 1949 it was returned to the jurisdiction of New Mexico and by the action of the state legislature Los Alamos County was created June 10, 1949 and it became a county. The city of Los Alamos became the county seat.

The history of Los Alamos can be traced back before 1598 when Juan de Oñate and his expedition arrived and settled. The Spanish brought with them "land grants" which is a system of distribution of the land. The land that the city of Los Alamos is now on was the Ramon Vigil grant of 1746 for 31,209 acres. Slowly the history of the classified county and city of Los Alamos is being researched and printed. - unknown author

Boundary Changes
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.
 * 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

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Populated Places

 * Los Alamos (county seat)
 * White Rock

Neighboring Counties

 * Rio Arriba
 * Sandoval
 * Santa Fe

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.

Land
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

 * 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.

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

Societies and Libraries
Los Alamos Historical Society PO Box 43 Los Alamos 87544 Website

Los Alamos Family History Center 1967 18th St. Los Alamos, NM. Telephone: 505-662-3186

Family History Centers

 * Los Alamos New Mexico Family History Center 1967 18th St Los Alamos NM 87544 United States Location Map


 * White Rock New Mexico Family History Center 366 Grand Canyon, Los Alamos NM 87544 United States Location Map

Web Sites

 * Los Alamos County, NM History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * New Mexico Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * New Mexico Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.