New Mexico Church Records

  United States New Mexico  Church Records

Prior to 1900 the largest religious group in New Mexico was the Roman Catholic Church. Other churches represented in New Mexico include the Methodist Episcopal, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Christian.

Roman Catholic
The Family History Library has an extensive collection of Roman Catholic Church records from 1694 to 1957 for the areas served by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and the Diocese of Las Cruces.

From 1678 to 1869 the Catholic Church investigated the blood relationship of couples before they were allowed to marry. Some genealogical information in the records of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe has been extracted and published in:


 * Chavez, Angelico. New Mexico Roots LTD: A Demographic Perspective from Genealogical, Historical, and Geographical Data Found in the Diligencias Matrimoniales or Pre-nuptial Investigations (1678-1869), 11 Volumes. (Not Published, 1982. book 978.9 D2ca; fiche 6051367. This source lists the names of the bride and groom, the date of marriage, and the parents' names.

Several histories of the Catholic missions and of early churchmen have been published, such as:


 * Dominquez, Francisco A. The Missions of New Mexico, 1776. Albuquerque, N.M.: University of New Mexico Press, 1956. book 978.9 K2d

You can write to the following addresses for further information about Roman Catholic records:

Archdiocese of Santa Fe 4000 St. Joseph Place N.W. Albuquerque, NM 87120 Phone: (505) 831-8100 The Archdiocese website does not include family history records.

The Archdiocese includes the counties of: Bernalillo, Colfax, Curry, De Baca, Guadalupe, Harding, Los Alamos, Mora, Quay, Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Socorro, Taos, Torrence, Union and Valencia

Diocese of Gallup 711 S. Puerco Drive Gallup, NM 87301 Phone: (505) 863-4406

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1338 Gallup, NM 87301 The diocese website does not include family history records.

The diocese includes the counties of: Bernalillo, Catron, Cibola, McKinley, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan and Valencia

Diocese of Las Cruces 1280 Med Park Las Cruces, NM 88004 Phone: (505) 523-7577

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 16318 Las Cruces, NM 88004

The diocese website does not include family history records.

The diocese includes the counties of: Chaves, Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Luna, Otero and Sierra

For additional help locating Catholic Church records in New Mexico visit Locating Catholic Church Records

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Early New Mexico ward and branch records are available on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Find film numbers by searching the FamilySearch Catalog, or by refering to Jaussi, Laureen R., and Gloria D. Chaston. Register of Genealogical Society Call Numbers. 2 vols. Provo, Utah: Genealogy Tree, 1982. (FHL book 979.2258 A3j; fiche 6031507). These volumes contain the film numbers for many (but not all) membership and temple records.

Other Denominations
To locate church records see:


 * Directory of Churches and Religious Organizations in New Mexico, 1940. Albuquerque, N.M.: New Mexico Historical Records Survey, 1940. book 978.9 K24n; fiche 6051186 published in 1940.