Record Atlas
5 eras · 1598–2026 · 50 places

New Mexico and Arizona — Nuevo México to the Gadsden Purchase

Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Tucson, Phoenix, Prescott. Which empire held this ground in which years — and, the part that matters, which archive that means.

Whose archive this ground was

YearsWho held itWhose archive that means
1598–1821 Spanish New Mexico — Santa Fe de Nuevo México FamilySearch

Oñate founded the colony on July 12, 1598 and Santa Fe was founded in 1610. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 drove the Spanish out for about 12 years until the reoccupation of 1692. The Spanish Archives of New Mexico (1621-1821) are held by the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives in Santa Fe.
1821–1848 Mexico — Territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México FamilySearch

New Mexico became a territory of Mexico in 1821. The Mexican Archives of New Mexico (1821-1846) are in the same State Records Center and Archives in Santa Fe. U.S. forces under Kearny occupied the province in 1846 and Mexico ceded it in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.
1848–1863 New Mexico Territory (organised 1850) FamilySearch · National Archives Catalog (NARA) · Chronicling America

New Mexico Territory was organised on September 9, 1850. Land south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande, including southern Arizona and the Mesilla Valley area disputed since 1848, came with the Gadsden Purchase (treaty signed December 30, 1853). In 1861-62 the Confederate Territory of Arizona was proclaimed for the part of the territory south of the 34th parallel; Union control returned after Glorieta Pass in May 1862.
1863–1912 New Mexico Territory and Arizona Territory FamilySearch · National Archives Catalog (NARA) · Chronicling America

The Arizona Organic Act of February 24, 1863 split the western part of New Mexico Territory off as Arizona Territory. In 1867 Arizona Territory's northwestern corner, west of the Colorado River, was transferred to Nevada.
1912–2026 United States — State of New Mexico and State of Arizona FamilySearch · National Archives Catalog (NARA) · Chronicling America

New Mexico was admitted on January 6, 1912 and Arizona on February 14, 1912. Statewide birth and death registration began in Arizona in 1909 and in New Mexico in 1920, though some New Mexico records exist from 1889.

The rings are approximate — deliberately. They exist to shade which filing system a place fell under, not to adjudicate a border. A place near a ring's edge should be checked against both neighbours.

See the whole span, 1598–2026, on the map →

The map takes a range, and a range that crosses one of the rows above is where records get lost: the family never moved, and the archive on the far side of the handover will tell you it holds nothing.

50 places on this ground

1742 FamilySearch collections reach this ground

Ranked with the regional ones first — a collection for a province is usually a better lead than a national index, though the national index is often where a name is actually written down. A free account opens the images.

…and 1682 more.

All record regions · The map