Grant County, New Mexico Genealogy

United States

New Mexico

Grant County

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

County Facts County seat: Silver City Organized: January 30, 1868 Parent County(s): Doña Ana Neighboring Counties Catron  • Greenlee (AZ)  • Hidalgo  • Luna  • Sierra See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

Grant County was named for Ulysses S. Grant. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse

Grant County Courthouse
201 N Cooper St
PO Box 898
Silver City, NM 88062
Phone: 505.538.2979
Grant County Website

County Clerk has marriage records from 1872, probate records from 1884, land records from 1871, and newspapers from 1900;
District Court Clerk has divorce Records;
Municipal Court has court records.

Grant County, New Mexico Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1907	1872	1907	#6	1871	1884	1790
Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1907. General compliance by 1930.

Record Loss

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

Boundary Changes

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 Mexican-American War. 1848 -  Part of the land that became Grant County formally became a part of the United States when the Mexican-American War ended with ratification of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. 1855 -  The Gadsden Purchase of Mexican land was added to Doña Ana County, New Mexico, part of which later became the southern part of Grant County. 1868--Grant County was created 30 January 1868 from Doña Ana County. County seat: Silver City 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 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.

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Bayard
Towns
Hurley	Silver City (county seat)
Villages
Santa Clara
Unincorporated communities
Dwyer Fort Bayard Mangas Springs	Mimbres Valley Mule Creek Redrock	Riverside Separ Sherman
Census-designated places
Arenas Valley Buckhorn Cliff Cobre Faywood Gila	Hachita Hanover Lake Roberts Lake Roberts Heights Mimbres North Hurley	Pinos Altos Rosedale San Lorenzo Trout Valley Tyrone White Signal

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Grant County, New Mexico online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com NMGenWeb NMGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project New Mexico Gravestone Project NM Cemetery Project NM Interment Billion Graves
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Cemeteries of New Mexico Cemeteries in or near Grant by EPunk
See New Mexico Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1910	14,813	—
1920	21,939	48.1%
1930	19,050	−13.2%
1940	20,050	5.2%
1950	21,649	8.0%
1960	18,700	−13.6%
1970	22,030	17.8%
1980	26,204	18.9%
1990	27,676	5.6%
2000	31,002	12.0%
2010	29,514	−4.8%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for New Mexico starting in 1850. For links to Federal census indexes, see New Mexico Census.

State Census Records

• 1885 New Mexico Territorial Census 1885 at Ancestry(free)
• Late 1800s 1800s Arizona and New Mexico Territories Census, Late 1800s ($)

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about New Mexico denominations, view the New Mexico Church Records wiki page.

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

• Gila
• Hachita
• Silver City

Directories

• Telephone and City Directories at the Silver City Public Library - page includes a downloadable finding aid listing the telephone and city directories available at the Silver City Public Library.

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See New Mexico Land and Property for additional information about early New Mexico land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

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
  
• 1863 - 1908 - U.S. Homestead Records 1863-1908 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Grant County, New Mexico Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section New Mexico Local Histories.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Interactive Formation Boundary Map of New Mexico - shows boundary changes for New Mexico Counties
• NMGenWeb - historical maps

Military Records

Revolutionary War

• 1775 - 1783 - United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783 at FamilySearch - images only
  
• For more nationwide Revolutionary War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Civil War

• 1861 - 1865 - New Mexico Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 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

• 1940 - 1945 - New Mexico, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 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.

Naturalization and Citizenship

• 1882-1983 - New Mexico Naturalization Records, 1882-1983 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

• New Mexico Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.
• Newspapers at the Silver City Public Library - page includes a downloadable finding aid listing the newspapers available on microfilm at the Silver City Public Library.

Probate Records

Since statehood in 1912, probate matters have been under the jurisdiction of probate courts in each county. Records of guardianship and adoption have usually been transferred to the district courts. In 1953 the district courts were given concurrent jurisdiction with the probate court over all probate matters in each county.

See the wiki page New Mexico Probate Records for information about how to find earlier probate records.

The Family History Library does not have copies of the New Mexico county probate records. They are available at each county courthouse. You can obtain copies by contacting the county clerk.

Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, marriage, and adoption.

Online Probate Records

• 1801 – 1993 New Mexico Wills and Probate Records 1801-1993 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Tax Records

New Mexico tax records complement land records and can be used to supplement the years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. For more information, see the Wiki page New Mexico Taxation.

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. See the Wiki page, New Mexico Vital Records, for additional information about the vital records in New Mexico.

Marriage records - are at the County Clerk's office

Divorce records - are at the office of the County Clerk of Court

Birth and death records - are at the New Mexico Vital Records and Health Statistics Office which has records since 1920 and delayed records since 1880.

See also How to order New Mexico Vital Records, order electronically online or download an application for New Mexico Birth Certificate, Death Certificate Applications to mail.

Birth

• 1726 – 1918 New Mexico Births and Christenings, 1726-1918 at FamilySearch

Marriage

• 1727 - 1900 New Mexico Marriages 1727-1900 at Ancestry($)
• 1751 - 1918 New Mexico Marriages, 1751-1918 at FamilySearch

For a comprehensive death index of over 75,000 death records for Grant County, visit Carl W. Scholl Grant County New Mexico Death and Cemetery Records. Sources used to create this index include cemeteries, church records, death certificates (state and local copies), funeral home records, mining records, mortuary records, obituaries, and voter purge records.

Death

• 1788 – 1798; 1838 – 1955 New Mexico Deaths and Burials, 1788-1798; 1838-1955 at FamilySearch
• 1889 - 1945 New Mexico Deaths, 1889-1945 at FamilySearch

Research Facilities

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

• Silver City New Mexico Family History Center 3755 N Swan St Silver City NM 88061-6042 United States Location Map

Silver City Family History Center
3755 N Swan St.
Silver City, NM.
Telephone: 505-388-1068

Libraries

Silver City Public Library
515 W. College Avenue
Silver City, NM 88061
Telephone: 575-538-3672
Email: ref@silvercitymail.com
Website - Local History and Genealogy page

Museums

Silver City Museum
312 W. Broadway
Silver City, New Mexico, 88061
Telephone: 575-538-5921
Website

Websites

• Grant County, NM History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• New Mexico Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• New Mexico Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• FamilySearch Catalog - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records