Chaves County, New Mexico Genealogy

United States New Mexico  Chaves County

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



County Courthouse
Chaves County Courthouse 401 N Main Street Roswell, NM 88201-4726 Phone: 505.624.6614 County Clerk has marriage, land and military records from 1900; District Court Clerk has probate records from 1900, 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. United States forces occupied New Mexico starting in 1846 during the.
 * 1848 - Land that became Chaves County formally became a part of the United States when the Mexican War ended with ratification of the.

1889--Chaves County was created 25 February 1889 from Lincoln County.

Description
Chaves county is in the southeastern portion of New Mexico, the second county from the southern territorial boundary, north of Otero and Eddy. It lies south of Roosevelt and throws up a narrow strip of territory into Lincoln. It has an area of 11,520 square miles and a population of nearly 5,000 people. Roswell, the county seat, is one of the brisk, attractive and somewhat remarkable cities in New Mexico, situated in the midst of a wonderful artesian belt and a rapidly developing district of farms and orchards, and being only eight miles northeast of the great Honda reservoir, under process of construction by the United States government and designed to irrigate 10,000 acres of land immediately adjoining that city.

Chaves county comprises a section of country about a hundred miles square and is the heart of the Pecos valley, through whose western third flows the river by that name, the second largest in the Territory. The affluents of the Pecos, from the west, are the Rio Hondo, Rio Felix and Spring river. The eastern half of the county is occupied almost wholly by the Staked Plains.

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.

City

 * Roswell (county seat)
 * Towns[edit]
 * Dexter
 * Hagerman
 * Lake Arthur

Census-designated place

 * Midway

Unincorporated communities

 * Dunken
 * Elk
 * Elkins
 * Greenfield
 * Mesa

Neighboring Counties

 * De Baca
 * Eddy
 * Lea
 * Lincoln
 * Otero
 * Roosevelt

Cemeteries

 * New Mexico Cemetery Records
 * AHGP New Mexico Cemetery Transcription & 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
 * South Park Cemetery, Roswelll BillionGraves

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.

Newspapers

 * NewspaperArchive.com ($) has the Roswell Daily Record (1916-2009) available online.

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
 * 1903 - 1907 Birth Records 1903-1907at USG Archives.net

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
Historical Society For Southeast New Mexico 200 N Lea Ave Roswell, NM 88201 Telephone: 575-622-8333 Website

Chaves County Genealogical Society PO Box 51 Roswell, New Mexico, 88201

Chaves County Genealogy and History Societies Florence Hamilton 807 N. Missouri Roswell, New Mexico, 88201 Telephone: 505-624-2477

Roswell Historical Society 100 West 11th Street Roswell, New Mexico, 88201

Family History Centers

 * Roswell New Mexico Family History Center 2201 W Country Club Rd Roswell NM 88201 United States Location Map

Web Sites

 * Chaves 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.