Southern New Mexico Burial Records online - Late 18th, 19th Century, and early 20th Century

Years ago, Oswald & Mary Ann Baca compiled a series of three research monographs on burial records in the Rio Abajo (Southern New Mexico.) Their research was about the "prevalence of infectious disease in predominately Hispanic populations, using infant mortality data" and to also to "reveal the extent of hostility between the Indians and the colonists". The first volume begins in the late 1700s and the last volume ends in the early 1900s.

They transcribed burial records from the communities of Tome, San Fernando, Los Enlames, Valencia, Peralta, Casa Colorada, Manzano, El Cerro, La Constancia, etc.These records come are from the Church of Immaculate Conception in Tome, and can be found on various microfilms.

In addition to being a good resource for historical and medical research, it is also an excellent resource for genealogists. Thousands of people are listed in these monographs. Dates of burial, ages of the deceased, the names of the deceased parents or spouses, and often causes of death are all transcribed. Spanish terms used in the transcriptions are defined in the glossaries of these books. The books are in a searchable PDF format which means that you are seeing the original transcriptions - as the transcribers intended - and are able to search for specific names and terms.

As always, we always suggest that you look at the original images on microfilm for confirmation. Transcribers can make mistakes. However, if you do not have access to this microfilm, this is a good place to look. Also, if you intend to look at the microfilm later, you can save a lot of time by searching these transcriptions first.

These monographs can be found in the Lobo Vault, an online repository compiled by the University of New Mexico.

To view the documents, click on these links:

•  A Compilation of Burial Records of the Central New Mexico Villages of Tome, San Fernando, Los Enlames, Valencia, Peralta, Casa Colorada, & Manzano - Vol I
by Oswald G. Baca and Mary Ann Baca.

•  A Compilation of Burial Records of The Central New Mexico Villages of Tome, Valencia, Peralta, El Cerro, San Fernando, Los Enlames, La Constancia and Casa Colorada - Vol II
by Oswald G. Baca and Mary Ann Baca.

•  Burial Records From New Mexico's Rio Abajo: Tome and Associated Villages – Vol III
by Oswald G. Baca and Mary Ann Baca.

NMGS wishes to thank Manny Olona for pointing these out for us.