Skip to main content

Records of the United States Territorial and New Mexico District Courts for San Miguel County,

 Collection
Identifier: 1960-043

Scope and Content

Collection consists of the territorial and New Mexico district court records of San Miguel County (1847-1955). The bulk of material covers the years 1847-1914. Included are record books (1847-1946), case files (1848-1939), and other court material (1889-1955). Record books consist of various dockets (1847-1946), court proceedings record books (1849-1911), clerk's books (1873-1914), a record of jurors (1892), testimony of witnesses books (1888-1912), a record of assignments (1890-1897), and a fee book (1879-1882). Dockets included criminal (1867-1886), civil (1863-1911), criminal and civil (1847-1850, 1857-1859) judge's (1847-1911), judge's minutes and trial (1892-1894), and judgement and execution (1874-1912) volumes. An index for criminal and civil hearings (1847-1881) is also included. Judge's dockets cover criminal (1847-1850, 1885-1901, 1904, 1908, 1911) and civil (1886-1909, 1935-1946) trials. Court proceedings record books cover criminal (1881-1907), civil (1880-1911), criminal and civil (1849-1860, 1866-1881) hearings. Clerk's books include cash (1873-1875, 1910-1914) and receipts (1889-1910) volumes. Fee book contains entries for Colfax and Mora Counties. Case files consist of criminal cases 2b-6453 (1848-1929) and civil cases 1-2290.5 (1862-1939). Large gaps may exist between case files. Many case files are unnumbered. Many of the cases after 1912 are not part of this collection. Other court material consists of jury records.

Some materials in Spanish.

Dates

  • 1847-1955 (bulk 1847-1914)

Language of Materials

English, and Spanish.

Access Restrictions

Outsized record books are extremely fragile. Use microfilm only.

Insanity Cases restricted/confidential under New Mexico statute (NMSA 23-7-12 and 24-1-20).

Adoption Cases restricted/confidential under New Mexico statute (NMSA 32-5-8).

Copy Restrictions

Limited duplication allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Historical Note

With the occupation of New Mexico in 1846 by the United States, seven political sub-divisions established by Mexico in 1844 were recognized as counties under the Kearny Code of Laws. San Miguel was one of these original seven counties. New Mexico remained under a military form of government until September 9, 1850, when an Act of Congress established the Territory of New Mexico. On January 9, 1852, the boundaries of the counties were fixed by an Act of the Territorial Legislative Assembly. San Miguel County was placed in the 1st Judicial District of the United States Territorial Courts in New Mexico in 1846. In 1877, San Miguel County was transferred from the 1st to the 4th Judicial District. Upon statehood in 1912, the Territorial Courts became the New Mexico District Courts.

Extent

66 linear feet + 126 v. + 34 rolls

Additional Description

Organization

The collection is organized into ten series:
  1. I. Docket Books
  2. II. Record Books (Journals)
  3. III. Judges Minutes
  4. IV. Jury Lists
  5. V. Miscellaneous Record Books
  6. VI. Miscellaneous Records
  7. VII. Criminal Case Files
  8. VIII. Civil Case Files
  9. IX. Insanity Cases (Restricted NMSA 23-7-12 and 24-1-20)
  10. X. Adoptions Cases (Restricted -- NMSA 32-5-8)

Microfilm Edition

Microfilm available.

Related Material

Naturalization records are located in the "Naturalization Records by New Mexico Courts" (Accession Number 1959-281).

Additional court material is located in the "Records of the United States Territorial and New Mexico District Court Clerk" (Accession Number 1974-033)

Most statehood material remains with the Judicial District Court Clerk.

General

Contact Information

  1. New Mexico State Records Center and Archives
  2. Archives and Historical Services Division
  3. 1205 Camino Carlos Rey
  4. Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
  5. Phone: 505-476-7908
  6. Fax: 505-476-7909
  7. Email: archives@rain.state.nm.us
  8. URL: http://www.state.nm.us/cpr/ahsd_top.htm

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Inventory of the Records of the United States Territorial and New Mexico District Courts for San Miguel County, 1847-1955 (bulk 1847-1914)
Status
Edited Full Draft
Author
Processed by Staff
Date
©2000
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid is in English

Revision Statements

  • June 28, 2004: PUBLIC "-//New Mexico State Records Center and Archives//TEXT (US::Nm-Ar::1960-043::Records of the United States Territorial and New Mexico District Courts for San Miguel County)//EN" "nmar1960-043.sgml" converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02.xsl (sy2003-10-15).
  • Monday, 20210524: Attribute normal is missing or blank.

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives Repository

https://www.srca.nm.gov/
Contact:
1209 Camino Carlos Rey
Santa Fe NM 87507
(505) 476-7948

Staff Interface | Visit ArchivesSpace.org | v2.8.1 | Send Feedback or Report a Problem