McKinley County, New Mexico Genealogy

United States New Mexico  McKinley County

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



County Courthouse
McKinley County Courthouse 200 W Hill Ave; Gallup, NM 87301-6309 Phone: 505.863.6866 County Clerk has birth records 1907-1958, probate and land records from 1901, and voter registeration; District Court Clerk has divorce 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. Starting in 1846 United States forces occupied New Mexico during the.
 * 1848 - Land that became McKinley County formally became a part of the United States when the Mexican-American War ended with ratification of the.


 * 1901--McKinley County was created 1 January 1901 (law dated 23 February 1899) from Bernalillo County.

Description
McKinley County is a county located in the northwestern section of the state of New Mexico.

McKinley County was created 23 February 1899. It was named for William McKinley who was the 25th president of the United States. The county seat is Gallup. Gallup is the center of American Indian Inter-tribal Ceremonial. McKinley boasts a lumber industry, oil refinery, coal mining, and uranium production. It has within its boundaries the Navajo reservation and other Indian lands and ancient attractions.

Boundary Changes

 * 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
 * 1901 - On 18 March 1901, McKinley gained from Bernalillo, San Juan, and Valencia counties, assuming present shape.

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.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

City

 * Gallup (county seat)

Census-designated places

 * Black Rock
 * Brimhall Nizhoni
 * Church Rock
 * Crownpoint
 * Crystal
 * Nakaibito
 * Navajo
 * Pueblo Pintado
 * Ramah
 * Rock Springs
 * Thoreau
 * Tohatchi
 * Tse Bonito
 * Twin Lakes
 * Yah-ta-hey
 * Zuni Pueblo

Unincorporated communities

 * Borrego Pass
 * Chi Chil Tah
 * Continental Divide
 * Gamerco
 * Jamestown
 * Pinedale
 * Prewitt
 * Rehoboth
 * Smith Lake
 * Vanderwagen

Neighboring Counties

 * Apache County, Arizona
 * Cibola
 * San Juan
 * Sandoval

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

Ramah Cemetery in Ramah NM

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.

Church
Catholic

Parish registers (baptisms, marriages, and burials) are available online for the following years:

LDS

LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Gallup
 * Ramah

Land
The primary function of the McKinley County Clerk is to file and record documents of all kinds, including all land documents, maps and plats for the county, subdivision maps and surveys, legal descriptions, bills of sale, and property tax liens. McKinley county Clerks Office

McKinley county NM Courthouse  207 West Hill St   Gallup, NM 87301 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.

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

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
Gallup Historical Society, Inc. 300 West Historic 66 Avenue Gallup, New Mexico, 87301 Telephone Number: 505-863-1363

Red Rock Historical Society PO Box 328 Gallup, New Mexico, 87305-0328

Luna County Historical Society 301 S. Silver Ave. Deming, NM 88030 Telephone Number:575-546-2382 E-mail:[mailto:dlmm@qwestoffice.net] Website

Family History Centers

 * Gallup New Mexico Family History Center 601 Susan Dr Gallup NM 87301 United States Location Map


 * Ramah New Mexico Family History Center 21 Lewis St Ramah NM 87321 United States Location Map


 * Thoreau New Mexico Family History Center 29 Navarre Blvd Thoreau NM 87323 United States Location Map

Web Sites

 * McKinley County, NM History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * New Mexico Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * New Mexico Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb for McKinley county NM. Has Cemeteries, Census, History, and Obituary information.
 * General Land Office records for original land patents.