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Genealogy Center
Using Census Records to Discover Military Service
Using Census Records to Discovery Military Service
Some census records provide good clues about your ancestor's military service. Census records for these years are especially helpful:
- 1790 Presidio of Santa Fe, Spanish & Colonial Census of New Mexico
- 1823 Presidio of Santa Fe, New Mexico Colonial Census
- 1890 Veterans Schedule, U.S. Census. The 1890 Census included a veterans schedule for enumerating Union veterans of the Civil War (although some Confederates were also counted) and their widows; about half of the U.S. schedules survived a fire. New Mexico is fortunate in having these schedules complete.
- 1930 U.S. Census included a box that was marked if the person was a veteran and asked which war or expedition. This is especially helpful for identifying World War I and Spanish American War veterans.
New Mexico Military Records
New Mexico Military Records
The Genealogy Center and the Special Collections Library have a wealth of information on New Mexican's military service. With your library card you have free access to Fold3, one of the premier databases for military research, which includes searchable digitized images of millions of historical primary documents relating to the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, Vietnam, and much more.
Ancestry Library Edition has a large number of military records, including World War I draft registration cards and questionnaires filled out by New Mexicans who served in World War I.
- Fold3 History & Genealogy Archives This link opens in a new window
Formerly known as Footnote. Searchable digitized images of millions of historical primary documents relating to the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, WWII, U.S. Presidents, historical newspapers and naturalization documents, many from the National Archives.
- Ancestry Library Edition This link opens in a new window
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Ancestry Library Edition, distributed exclusively by ProQuest and powered by Ancestry.com, delivers billions of records in census data, vital records, directories, photos, and more. Access to over 7,000 databases & 200 billion images. Access is available only from the Genealogy Center or your branch library.
Colonial Soldiers
Colonial Soldiers
The Genealogy Center has microfilm copies of the Spanish Archives of New Mexico series II which contain military documents for this time period.
These books available at the Genealogy Center will help you to identify your Spanish Colonial soldier ancestors.
- Military records : Colonial New Mexico, notas y revistas (notes and musters) by An extraction of the Spanish Archives of New Mexico series II which lists soldiers who served in the Spanish Colonial army in New Mexico 1723 - 1819Call Number: 978.9 ChristmasPublication Date: 2004
- The Santa Fe Presidio Soldiers; Their Donation to the American Revolution by Documents the donativos (voluntary donations) made by individuals of the Spanish Americas in support of the patriots during the Revolutionary War and also contains a record of the immediate descendants of the New Mexican Patriot soldiers of the Santa Fe Presidio.Call Number: 978.956 ChristmasPublication Date: 2006
New Mexico Spanish and Mexican Colonial Censuses 1790, 1823, 1845 by
Recently revised by the New Mexico Genealogical Society, this book includes census records for Santa Fe Presidio soldiers.
Call Number: 978.9 Census 1790, 1823, 1845 revisedPublication Date: 2015
The Spanish Army in North America, 1700-1793 by
Spanish America played a significant role in British and American campaigns of the American Revolution. René Chartrand is an authority on the subject, and has amassed an array of original archival documents and illustrations on the key units and actions throughout the continent, including a detailed list of major forts where Spanish units were raised and based.
Call Number: 946 Army
Civil War in New Mexico
Civil War in New Mexico
Search the library catalog for the many Civil War pension applications and widow's Civil War pension applications for New Mexicans available in the Genealogy Center family vertical files. Civil War military records and Civil War pension application records are also available on Fold3.
The Genealogy Center has microfilmed copies of Union military records in New Mexico. These records are also available on the local area network at the Genealogy Center, and Fold3 and Ancestry Library Edition (available at your branch library) have these and Confederate records available. Also on microfilm at the Genealogy Center are Returns from U.S. Military Forts in New Mexico, 1800-1916.
The Veterans Schedule for the 1890 U.S. Census is especially helpful for identifying surviving soldiers, sailors, marines, and widows. It includes the person's name, rank, company, name of regiment or vessel, dates of enlistment and discharge, and disability incurred. This is available on Ancestry Library Edition and FamilySearch.org.
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database from the National Park Service is also available.
These books available at the Genealogy Center will help you to identify your Civil War ancestors in New Mexico.
A Civil War History of the New Mexico Volunteers and Militia by Call Number: 978.9 Civil War ThompsonISBN: 9780826355676Publication Date: 2015Department of New Mexico Colonel Edward Canby and Governor Henry Connelly recruited what became the First and Second New Mexico Volunteer Infantry. In this book leading Civil War historian Jerry Thompson tells their story for the first time, along with the history of a third regiment of Mounted Infantry and several companies in a fourth regiment. The emphasis is on how the volunteer companies were raised; who led them; how they were organized, armed, and equipped; what they endured off the battlefield; how they adapted to military life; and their interactions with New Mexico citizens and various hostile Indian groups, including raiding by deserters and outlaws. The appendix lists the names of all volunteers and militia men.- New Mexico Civil War soldiers : list of all individuals by unit, Union side only byCall Number: 978.9 Civil War
- The Confederate Army of New Mexico by Includes annotated rosters derived from the original muster rolls and from the compiled service records of Confederate soldiers who served in organizations from the State of Texas.Call Number: 978.9 Civil War
New Mexico and the Civil War by
Although the New Mexico Territory was far distant from the main theaters of war, it was engulfed in the same violence and bloodshed as the rest of the nation. The Civil War in New Mexico was fought in the deserts and mountains of the huge territory, which was mostly wilderness, amid the continuing ancient wars against the wild Indian tribes waged by both sides. The armies were small, but the stakes were high: control of the Southwest. Retired lieutenant colonel and Civil War historian Dr. Walter Earl Pittman presents this concise history of New Mexico during the Civil War years from the Confederate invasion of 1861 to the Battles of Valverde and Glorieta to the end of the war.
Call Number: 978.904 Pittman
New Mexico Territory During the Civil War : Wallen and Evans Inspection Reports, 1862-1863 by
By the late summer of 1862, Gen. James Henry Carleton arrived in New Mexico from California, determined to impose federal control on the territory. Major Henry Davies Wallen and Captain Andrew Wallace Evans were appointed inspector general and assistant inspector general, respectively. Fearing a second Confederate invasion, Carleton had Wallen and Evans examine various routes the Rebels might use to invade the territory as well as a variety of logistical and operational issues. These inspection reports, edited by award-winning Civil War historian Thompson, provide unique insight into the military, cultural, and social life of a territory struggling to maintain law and order.
Call Number: 978.9 Civil War Wallen
Bloody Valverde by
The first complete account of the largest battle in New Mexico, and a turning point in the Civil War in the West.
Call Number: 978.904 Taylor
Civil War Desk Reference by
"The bloody conflict that sundered the United States from 1861 to 1865 took 620,000 lives, laid waste to large sections of the American South, and decided the future course of the nation. Its reverberations are still felt in American Life. Now from the home of "The Nation's Memory" comes The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference. Drawn from the library's unparalleled Civil War collections - including previously unpublished letters and diaries, maps and photographs, as well as thousands of works by post-Civil War scholars and experts - this is the ultimate one-volume reference on the Civil War."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
New Mexicans in WWI
New Mexicans in World War I
World War I selective service draft registration cards 1917-1918 for New Mexicans are available on microfilm at the Genealogy Center or online on Ancestry Library Edition, which you can use from your closest ABC Library, and FamilySearch.org among other locations.
The Genealogy Center has microfilm copies of biographical questionnaires filled out by returning New Mexico WWI veterans just after the war and these are also available on Ancestry Library Edition as "New Mexico, World War I Records, 1917-1919 - Service Records." About 70% of returning veterans completed these questionnaires. Many of these questionnaires include photos and other correspondence. Also available on microfilm are lists of World War I casualties, wounded, unclaimed Gold Star Awards, and National Guard Enlistment Records for New Mexicans.
The following books available online and at the Genealogy Center will help you to identify your World War I ancestors from New Mexico:
War service of the University of New Mexico - Hodgin, Charles E.
Full text available online. Also available in print (call number 978.961 Hodgin) and on the local area network at the Genealogy Center.
Soldiers of the Great War - Haulsee, W.M.
Full text of all three volumes available online
Charles W. "Sam" Kindrick from House, NM, the tallest guy
in his unit, posing with the shortest guy in his unit.
Lest We Forget by Call Number: 940.3791 HoltbyPublication Date: 2018The first detailed study to describe New Mexico's wartime mobilization, its soldiers' combat experiences, and its veterans' postwar lives. Based on more than 1,500 eyewitness statements collected in Spanish and English not long after the war ended, the book offers a poignant account of the profound changes New Mexicans underwent both during and after the war.
World War I New Mexico by Call Number: 979.9 WW I CillisPublication Date: 2017In 1917, five years after New Mexico received its statehood, the United States entered World War I. With border tensions festering between Mexico and the United States, Germany attempted unsuccessfully to secure Mexico's allegiance. More than sixteen thousand New Mexicans joined the military, while civilians supported from the home front.
New Mexicans in WWII
New Mexicans in World War II
The Genealogy Center has WW II enlistments and Prisoners of War from New Mexico available on a local area network and on microfilm.
Bataan Memorial Museum from the New Mexico National Guard tells the history of the Bataan Death March.
The books below from the Genealogy Center tell the story of the role of New Mexicans in World War II.
Aggies of the Pacific War by Call Number: 978.966 Hines
Victory in WW II : The New Mexico Story by
No state in the Union made any more significant contributions to victory in World War II than New Mexico. These contributions ranged from extensive strategic research to the sacrifices made in combat by individuals and military units. A disproportionate number of New Mexicans were killed in action or turned up on MIA or POW lists. Many New Mexicans were forced into the Bataan Death March. Gen. Douglas MacArthur stated that New Mexican bravery accounted for slowing down the Japanese advance so that the nation had time to organize a massive counter offensive for victory. The Navajo Nation made another contribution to the war effort with the Navajo Code Talkers. A contingent of the U.S. Marines, they developed the only secret code that was never broken by enemy forces. The secret research at Los Alamos resulted in the development of the first atomic bomb, the single most important factor in bringing the war to an end. The complete story of New Mexico's contributions to victory will never be told until each survivor of the conflict records his or her experiences.
Call Number: 940.53789 V646
It tolled for New Mexico : New Mexicans captured by the Japanese, 1941-1945 by Call Number: 940.547252 Matson
The Whole Damned World : New Mexico Aggies at War : 1941-1945 by
During World War II, Jett, dean of engineering at New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, composed class newsletters and wrote scores of letters to each of the men and women in the School of Engineering in the military. These letters provide indelible insights into the lives of young men and women involved in cataclysmic world events.
Call Number: 940.54 Jeff
Military Research Days
Military Research Group
Need help tracking down information about your family's military history? Join the Military Research Group online or in person at the Genealogy Center on the first Tuesday of every month 10:30 am - noon for an informative talk and a chance to get your questions answered. See the Albuquerque Genealogical Society website for program details and information about attending online.
Experts in this area are also available to assist you at the Genealogy Center the last Tuesday of every month and at other times. Email the Genealogy Center to set up a consultation: librarygenealogy@cabq.gov
Other helpful sites
Other Sites of Interest
New Mexico has two military cemeteries -- one in Santa Fe and one at Fort Bayard, near Silver City.
- American Battle Monuments Commission Guardian of America’s overseas commemorative cemeteries and memorials — honors the service, achievements and sacrifice of U.S. Armed Forces.
- Army Cemeteries - U.S.Army cemeteries throughout the U.S.
- FamilySearch.org Wiki for New Mexico Military Records
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Links to military records for New Mexicans and tips for searching them. - Grave Locator for Veterans Search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker.
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- Military Records at the National Archives
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Research and order military records from the US National Archives. - Museum of the American Military Family
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Based in New Mexico, this organization collects, preserves, interprets, and shares the life stories of the people and families who have stood behind their soldiers in both peace and war throughout our nation’s history. - New Mexico Military MuseumLocated in Santa Fe, the Museum documents, preserves, and exhibits the stories of war to begin a dialogue with the community about how wartime efforts have shaped the state of New Mexico and the world-at-large.
- New Mexico Military Records on Genealogy Trails
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Free military documents and full-text books. - New Mexico Veterans Memorial
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Located in Albuquerque at 1100 Louisiana Blvd SE - Veterans History Project
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Preserves for public searching the personal stories and recollections of thousands of American veterans of every war since World War I. Many of these are available at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial library. - Veterans Legacy Memorial Online memorial that honors nearly 10 million Veterans interred in VA National Cemeteries, VA grant-funded cemeteries, DoD-managed cemeteries (including Arlington National Cemetery); U.S. Park Service National Cemeteries, and thousands of private cemeteries where Veterans have received a VA-provided gravesite marker since 1996.
