New Mexico History

United States New Mexico  New Mexico History

Brief History
The following important events in the history of New Mexico affected political boundaries, record keeping, and family movements.

Historical Content
Histories are great sources of genealogical information. Many contain biographical information about individuals who lived in the area, including:

Local Histories
Some of the most valuable sources for family history research are local histories. Published histories of towns, counties, and states usually contain accounts of families. They describe the settlement of the area and the founding of churches, schools, and businesses. You can also find lists of pioneers, soldiers, and civil officials. Even if your ancestor is not listed, information on other relatives may be included that will provide important clues for locating your ancestor. A local history may also suggest other records to search. Local histories are extensively collected by the Family History Library, public and university libraries, and state and local historical societies. The "United States History" page cites nationwide bibliographies of local histories which include histories of Nebraska. The following sources are helpful for identifying local histories:


 * Filby, P. William. A Bibliography of American County Histories. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1985. ..


 * Kaminkow, Marion J. United States Local Histories in the Library of Congress: A Bibliography. 5 vols. Baltimore: Magna Charta Book, 1975-76. ..

Many articles and books on New Mexico local history are listed in:


 * Swadesh, Frances Leon. 20,000 Years of History: A New Mexico Bibliography. Santa Fe, New Mexico: Sunstone Press, 1973..

The University of New Mexico Library and the of New Mexico Library have good collections of local histories.

Colonial Period
For information on some of the earliest records for New Mexico, you will want to examine this inventory made by Ralph Emerson Twitchell


 * Twitchell, Ralph E. The Spanish archives of New Mexico: compiled and chronologically arranged with historical, genealogical, geographical, and other annotations, by authority of the state of New Mexico. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Torch Press, 1914. in two volumes. You can view digital copies online. Volume 1 and Volume 2.

To view the documents mentioned by Twitchell on microfilm, see Calendar of the microfilm edition of the Spanish archives of New Mexico, 1621-1821 Santa Fe, NM: New Mexico Records Center, 1968. .

Visit the website of the New Mexico State Archives to help correlate Twitchell's document numbers with the microfilm desired. The microfilms are available through FamilySearch.

More documents from the early history of New Mexico can be found among the manuscripts of the National Archive of Mexico in Mexico City or the Archivo General de la Nación. Transcripts of this early history can be found on microfilm from FamilySearch. ''Ramo de Historia: 1522-1822. ''.

State Histories Useful to Genealogists
Good genealogists strive to understand the life and times of their ancestors. In this sense, any history is useful. But certain kinds of state, county, and local histories, especially older histories published between 1845 and 1945, often include biographical sketches of prominent individuals. The sketches usually tend toward the laudatory, but may include some genealogical details. If these histories are indexed or alphabetical, check for an ancestor's name. A useful source for studying the history of New Mexico is:


 * Twitchell, Ralph E. The Leading Facts of New Mexico History, 5 vols. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Torch Press, 1911-1917. . Includes many biographies; each volume is indexed.

United States History
The following are only a few of the many U.S. history sources that are available:


 * Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur M. The Almanac of American History. Greenwich, Conn.: Bison Books, 1983. . . This provides brief historical essays and chronological descriptions of thousands of key events in United States history.


 * Dictionary of American History, Revised ed., 8 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1976. . . This includes historical sketches on various topics in U.S. history, such as wars, people, laws, and organizations. A snippet view is available at Google books.


 * Webster's Guide to American History: A Chronological, Geographical, and Biographical Survey and Compendium. Springfield, Mass.: G&amp;C Merriam, 1971. . Limited view at Google Books. . This includes a history, some maps, tables, and other historical information.


 * Writings on American History. By American Historical Association, Library of Congress, United States National Historical Publications Commission. Published by KTO Press, 1921. . . Full text available at Google Books.

To find more books and articles about Montana 's history try a Google search. Search for phrases like "New Mexico history." The FamilySearch Catalog "Place-names" search lists many more histories under topics like:


 * NEW MEXICO - HISTORY
 * NEW MEXICO, [COUNTY] - HISTORY
 * NEW MEXICO, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - HISTORY
 * NEW MEXICO, BIBLIOGRAPHY

Web Sites

 * New Mexico State Library
 * University of New Mexico Library