New Mexico, Deaths - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
The collection consists of a name index of death certificates and records of death for the years 1889 to 1945. Microfilm copies of original records are available at the Family History Library and at Family History Centers.

Statewide vital records registration officially began in 1920, although there are some records as early as 1889. Death records prior to 1919 were collected by a variety of institutions which were not health-related, including counties and churches. For the most part these records are not available from New Mexico Vital Records and Health Statistics.The state achieved 90-percent compliance by the end of the 1920s.

The state required counties to begin recording deaths to track public health issues. The information recorded about the death is usually reliable; however there is always a chance for errors. The accuracy of the information depended on the memory of the informant, who was often a family member.

Record Content
Information found in most death records includes:


 * Name of the deceased
 * Death date and place
 * Cause of death
 * Age in years, months, and days
 * Gender
 * Color or race
 * Marital status
 * Parents’ names
 * Birthplace
 * Occupation
 * Name of the informant (earlier entries list the relationship to the deceased)

How to Use the Records
The records usually contain clues for further research, including:


 * Birth date and birthplace of the individual
 * Spouse’s name
 * Parents’ names
 * Residence
 * Occupation
 * Marital status
 * Name of an informant

Death records contain information about a person's death, including:


 * Date of death
 * Place of death
 * Sometimes the names of the mother and father
 * Physician who attended the death

Death certificates issued by state and local governments will often include:


 * Place of residence
 * Mother's maiden name

Search the Collection
To search by index: Fill in the requested information on the search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them 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.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

Related Web Sites
Online New Mexico Death Records &amp; Indexes

Related Wiki Articles

 * New Mexico Genealogy
 * New Mexico Vital Records

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):