Mora County, New Mexico

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Mora County, New Mexico, United States

Welcome to Mora County, New Mexico!

... ... ... is a part of New Mexico history. Join: New Mexico Project Discuss: New Mexico

Contents 1 Brief Description 2 History/Timeline 3 Record Loss 4 County Records 5 Church Records 5.1 Catholic Churches 5.2 Presbyterian 6 Other Sources 7 Cities/Towns 8 Sources

Brief Description

Mora County was organized on 1 Feb 1860, created from Taos County.^[1] The county seat is also named Mora. It is located in the northwestern corner of New Mexico, surrounded by Colfax County on the north, Harding County on the east, San Miguel County on the south, Santa Fe and Rio Arriba Counties on the west, and Taos County on the northwest side of the state.

History/Timeline

The Mora area was mostly uninhabited before the late 1700s, even by the Pueblo Indians.^[1] The area was used by nomadic tribes such as the Utes, Navajo, and Apache for hunting. It wasn't until peace was established with the Commanches^[2] that Spanish settlers began moving into the area, then known as Lo de Mora.^[3] The settlers first petitioned for a church in 1818. They were going to the Picuris church for the Sacraments but it was still dangerous due to the distance and the possibility of Indian attack.^[3] In 1835 the Mora Community Land Grant was approved.^[3]

Record Loss

During the Mexican-American War in 1847, the Taos Rebellion spilled over into Mora.^[4] Local settlers led by one of the Taos insurgents, Manuel Cortez, unsuccessfully fought the American troups, who then destroyed the town of Mora with artillary, including the courthouse and all its records.

County Records

During the Colonial Periods with Spain and Mexico (1598-1846), all vital records were kept by the Catholic church. A list of land and probate records can be found in The Spanish Archives of New Mexico, Vol. 1, by Ralph Emerson Twitchell. Digital copies of the originals can be found on Ancestry in the "New Mexico, U.S., Land Records of New Spain, 1692-1846 (in Spanish)" record collection, series Collected Spanish Land Files.

County records are archived at the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives (1205 Camino Carlos Rey, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507, (505) 476-7913, contact.srca@state.nm.us). Most records are not yet digitized.

Church Records

Catholic Churches

1. Santa Gertrudis Church, Mora - these are the oldest records in the county. Some are available online in the FamilySearch microfilm catalog. Some are only available at a Family History Library (FHL). For records prior to 1856, check Taos or Picuris.
   • Film #16,837, #16,838, #16839 - Baptisms 1856-1956; Film #16,841 - Marriages 1910-1956; #16,840 - Deaths 1877-1896, 1910-1955.
   • Film #1,930,435 (FHL only) - Baptism Indexes 1856-1869, 1870-1822, 1896-1907, 1882-1895; Marriages Feb 1856-Nov 1862, Jan 1876-Dec 1895, Nov 1896-Aug 1908.
   • Film #1,930,436 (FHL only) - Burials 1856-1896.
2. Our Lady of Guadalupe, Cimarron and Ocate Parishes (records are combined).
   • Film #17,035 - Baptisms 1872-1894, Baptisms 1897-1901 (Ocate only).
   • Film #17,040 - Marriages 1872-1889, 1893-1894.
   • Film #1,930,435 (FHL only) - Baptisms Mar 1865 - Nov 1865 (Ocate only)
3. Santa Clara Church, Wagon Mound (previously Santa Clara).
   • Film #17,038 - Baptisms 1920-1956.
   • Film #17,040 - Marriages 1873-1950 (Watrous, Wagon Mound, Ocate and various other places; 1951-1956 (Wagon Mount only); Deaths 1873-1937, 1940, 1946-1956.
4. Watrous Parish (formerly La Junta).
   • Film #17,036 - Baptisms 1873-1903.
   • Film #17,037 - Baptisms 1905-1920.
   • Film #17,040 - Marriages 1873-1950 (Watrous, Wagon Mound, Ocate and various other places.
5. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Holman (formerly San Antonio) - for records prior 1941, check Mora.
   • Film #16,780 - Baptisms 1941-1956
6. San Isidro, Holman (formerly San Antonio) - for records prior to 1941, check Mora.
   • Film #16,780 - Marriages 1941-1956; Deaths 1941-1956.

Presbyterian

1. Mora - Session minutes often include member lists or changes with family information.
   • Film #503,600 (FHL only) - Session Minutes 1883-1905; Baptisms 1882-1886
2. "U.S. Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970," Ancestry (behind paywall). There are records for Holman, Mora, and Ocate.

Other Sources

• Regensbergf, Al and edited by Della Ulibarri Montoya, New Mexico Baptisms, Santa Gertrudis Church of Mora, Book 1, 1855-1860, (Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico Genealogical Society, 1994).
• Sandoval, Armando R and Jill Montoya, editors. New Mexico Baptisms, Mora, 1861-1878, (Albuquerque, NM: Hispanic Genealogical Research Center, 2008), p.
• Sandoval, Armando R and Jill Montoya, editors. New Mexico Baptisms, Mora, 1879-1899, (Albuquerque, NM: Hispanic Genealogical Research Center, 2008), p.
• Padilla y Baca, Luis, New Mexico Marriages, Mora, NM, February 4, 1856 – December 25, 1875 (Location not listed: Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico, 2001).
• Padilla y Baca, Luis Gilberto. New Mexico Marriages, Mora, January 1, 1876 to December 1895 (Albuquerque, NM: Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico, n.d.).

Cities/Towns

• Buena Vista
• Chacon (formerly El Rito de Agua Negra)
• Cleveland (formerly San Antonio or La Valle de San Antonio)
• Golondrinos
• Guadalupita
• Holman (formerly part of San Antonio and Agua Negra)
• La Cueva
• Ledoux (formerly San Jose)
• Mora (formerly Lo de Mora, El Valle de Santa Gertrudis; neighborhoods: El Alto, Juarez, Tramperos, and China Block)
• Ocate
• Ojo Feliz
• Rainsville (formerly Llano del Coyote)
• Wagon Mound (formerly Santa Clara)
• Watrous (formerly La Junta de los Riós Mora y Sapelló or just La Junta)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Mora County," New Mexico Counties, (https://www.nmcounties.org/counties/mora-county/ : accessed 9 Jun 2023.
2. ↑ "Juan Bautista de Anza," New Mexico History, State Records Center & Archives, (https://newmexicohistory.org/2012/06/27/juan-bautista-de-anza/ : 9 Jun 2023).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Shadow, Robert D. and Marìa Rodrìguez-Shadow. "From Reparticiòn to Partition: A History of the Mora Land Grant, 1835–1916." New Mexico Historical Review 70, 3 (1995), p. 257-258. https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmhr/vol70/iss3/3
4. ↑ "1847 Taos Rebellion," New Mexico History, State Records Center & Archives, (https://newmexicohistory.org/2013/11/21/1847-taos-rebellion/ : 9 Jun 2023).