Socorro County, New Mexico Genealogy

United States New Mexico  Socorro County



County Courthouse
Socorro County Courthouse 200 Church St; PO Box 1 Socorro, NM 87801 Phone: 505.835.0589 County Clerk has marriage records from 1885, probate records from 1912, land records from 1859, birth and death records 1907-1941

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. United States forces occupied New Mexico starting in 1846 during the.
 * 1848 - Land that became Socorro County formally became a part of the United States when the Mexican War ended with the signing of the.
 * 1852 - Socorro County was created 9 January from unorganized land. Socorro county extended west to the California border including land in present day Arizona.   There is a small chance that a few records from 1846 to 1863 in what is now Arizona may  have been sent to courthouses in their respective New Mexico counties.



Boundary Changes

 * 29 December 1863 Arizona's three judicial districts were established by the Arizona Territory Organic Act  from the western half of New Mexico Territory. All previous counties were dissolved, and eventually four new counties were created in the new Arizona Territory.

Neighboring Counties

 * Catron
 * Cibola
 * Lincoln
 * Sierra
 * Torrance
 * Valencia

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battle was fought in Socorro County.


 * May 18, 1864 = Valverde


 * Map showing Civil War battles in New Mexico.

Vital Records
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

New Mexico, County Death Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Family History Centers

 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Socorro New Mexico Family History Center
 * Socorro, New Mexico

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.