New Mexico Obituaries

New Mexico has printed newspapers in Spanish since 1834. Its historic papers, published in English and Spanish from 1852 to 1922, are fully searchable through the University of New Mexico.

Recent New Mexico obituaries (2000 to today)

Most obituaries published since about 2000 are online. Daily papers post paid death notices and family-written obituaries in an Obituaries section, usually hosted by Legacy.com, and keep them online with a guest book. The largest daily papers in New Mexico are:

• Albuquerque Journal
• Santa Fe New Mexican
• Las Cruces Sun-News
• Tri-City Record (formerly Farmington Daily Times)
• Roswell Daily Record

Legacy.com’s New Mexico page searches the obituaries of most of these papers and many smaller ones at once. Funeral homes also post obituaries on their own websites, often before the newspaper does and sometimes instead of it: search the person’s name with the town and “obituary” or “funeral home.” For obituaries no longer online, ask your public or state library: many offer NewsBank or ProQuest databases with the full text of recent newspapers, free with a library card.

New Mexico obituaries in historic newspapers

El Crepúsculo de la Libertad, associated with Padre Antonio José Martínez, was printed in Taos in 1834 on one of the first printing presses in the region. After New Mexico became a U.S. territory, the Santa Fe Weekly Gazette and later the Santa Fe New Mexican reported deaths across the territory, often in both English and Spanish.

Spanish-language papers flourished in New Mexico in the late 1800s and early 1900s, in towns such as Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Their death notices, called defunciones or esquelas, are essential for Hispano families. Railroad and mining towns added English-language papers that recorded Anglo settlers, miners and health seekers who came for the climate.

From 2010 to 2015, the University of New Mexico’s Center for Southwest Research digitized more than 200,000 pages for the National Digital Newspaper Program. The New Mexico State Library holds newspapers back to 1849.

Where to find older New Mexico obituaries

Digitized New Mexico newspapers

• NM Digital Newspapers, University of New Mexico — Free English- and Spanish-language New Mexico newspapers, 1852–1922.
• New Mexico Historical Newspapers, UNM Digital Repository — UNM’s repository of digitized New Mexico papers.

Archives and libraries

• New Mexico State Records Center and Archives — State archives in Santa Fe, with genealogy and vital records guidance.
• New Mexico Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to New Mexico newspaper archives, indexes and microfilm, with local links.

Also search the nationwide archives: Chronicling America, FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Newspapers.com. See all nationwide obituary resources.

New Mexico death records

New Mexico death certificates are restricted to family and others with an interest for 50 years, ordered from NMDOH. The State Records Center and Archives in Santa Fe has guidance on older vital records and genealogy.

• New Mexico Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics — the office that issues New Mexico death certificates, with ordering instructions and fees.
• Where to Write for Vital Records: New Mexico — the CDC’s summary of where to order, current fees and which years the office holds.
• New Mexico Vital Records, FamilySearch Research Wiki — free death indexes and certificate collections, with the years each covers.

Tips for finding an obituary in New Mexico

• Search Spanish-language papers. UNM's digitized papers include Spanish-language titles that carried notices for Hispano families.
• Check church records. Catholic burial records are often the best source for deaths before statewide registration.
• Try El Paso papers. Southern New Mexico deaths often appeared in El Paso papers.
• Look beyond the word “obituary.” Older papers reported deaths under headings like “Died,” “Deaths,” local news and personals columns, funeral notices and cards of thanks, and often listed married women under the husband’s name (“Mrs. John Smith”). See death notices vs. obituaries.

Common questions