New Mexico Marriages and Baptisms

San Augustin de la Isleta Church

Marriages 1726 to 1846
Baptisms 1730-1776, 1829-1842

NMGS Press Item #A5/#C4, 1996
Indexed and spiral bound. $40.00. 338 pages.

Map of the area

Excerpt from the introduction by Marina Ochoa,
Director, Office of Historic-Artistic Patrimony and Archives, Archdiocese of Santa Fe:

"Sacramental registers are the only documents which systematically record events in the lives of everyday people in New Mexico. The baptism of a child and his or her eventual marriage were milestones in the lives of people and were extremely important to them. The relationship between padrinos (sponsors) of a child baptized and his or her parents was extremely important. In many cases they served as co-parents to the child and were considered special people to the parents of the child they baptized. . . The baptismal entry in the sacramental record is important because it documents these relationships and places people in certain places at specific times. The record generally states where the parents and sponsors are from. The record may state that the parents and padrinos are from the same community or may simply state that they were vecinos (neighbors or residents/inhabitants) of the place or parish where the baptisms took place. Genealogists or those conducting family history research rely on sacramental records for information not found any other place."

Transcribed by Lila Armijo Pfeufer and Margaret L. Buxton. Compiled by Margaret Leonard Windham and Evelyn Lujan Baca. Map by Ernie Jaskolski. A publication of the New Mexico Genealogical Society.