New Mexico, Records of the Bureau of Land Management - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States New Mexico

What is in the Collection?
Records from various offices of the Bureau of Land Management in New Mexico. Records digitally captured at the National Archives at Denver. Land records are primarily used to learn where an individual lived and when he or she lived there. They often reveal other family information, such as the name of a spouse, heir, other relatives, or neighbors. They may also include information about previous residences, occupations, military service, citizenship, and so forth. Most of the states in the United States are public domain states, which means the federal government controls the land. In state-land states, however, the state government appropriates all land within its borders.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Key genealogical facts found in this collection may include:


 * Name of land owner
 * Name of buyer
 * Date of transaction
 * Reference numbers to other land records
 * Legal description of land
 * Name of spouse, heirs, other relatives, or neighbors
 * Place of residence at time of purchase
 * Occupation

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search, it would be helpful to know:


 * The name of your ancestor
 * The place where your ancestor lived
 * The approximate date of the land transaction

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page. br>
 * 1) Select Record Type, Year Range, and Volume number or letter

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

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

What Do I Do Next?
If these are indexes, the original records may contain additional information than was not indexed, or the information might have been indexed incorrectly. You may want to search for the original record at the https://www.archives.gov/denver National Archives].

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Copy the citation below, in case you need to find this record again later.
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional New Mexico Land and Property records that might have more information.
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to find county or New Mexico Vital Records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death records.
 * Search for death or burial information in New Mexico Cemeteries and New Mexico Newspapers.
 * Use the information found in the record to New Mexico Probate Records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find New Mexico Emigration and Immigration records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in the New Mexico Census records. Witnesses were usually family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching a nearby locality Arizona Land and Property.
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

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