The Baca / Douglas Genealogy and Family History Blog

05 September 2008

10 Essential Books in My Genealogy Library

Just ten?

My genealogy library has grown from a scant few in the year 2000 to a whole mobile bookcase today. The 56 Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy asks gene bloggers to pick the ten most essential books in our collection. This is nearly an impossible task. Which ones do I choose?

My collection includes general genealogical reference, extractions of census and vital records, and genealogies of specific families. One can also find history books in my bookcase.

The bulk of my collection deals with Hispanic New Mexico genealogy. Therefore, it is from this category that I pick my 10 best.

The Ten Essential Books in my Genealogy Library


1.Origins of New Mexico Families: A Genealogy of the Spanish Colonial Period, Revised Ed. by Fray Angelico Chavez. This is a genealogy of 17th and 18th century Hispanic families from the area. The original book was published in the 1950s, with some additions in 1992. Certainly since the book is over 50 years old, genealogist have found mistakes since then. However, it is still an important seminal work of New Mexico genealogy.

2.The Spanish Recolonization of New Mexico: An Account of the Families Recruited at Mexico City in 1693 by Jose Antonio Esquibel and John B. Colligan. A well researched book about late 17th century Hispanic New Mexican families and their descendants.

3. Aqui Se Comienza: A Genealogical History of the Founding Families of La Villa de San Felipe de Alburquerque edited by Gloria M. Valencia y Valdez, et. al. An award winning book published by the New Mexico Genealogical Society. Over 20 people contributed to researching, writing and editing the book, including yours truly.

4. New Mexico Spanish & Mexican Colonial Censuses: 1790, 1823, & 1845, translated and compiled by Virigina Langham Olmsted, G.R.S.
I use it all the time.

5. Spanish and Mexican Censuses of New Mexico 1750 to 1830, compiled by Virginia Langham Olmsted, C.G.
A companion volume to the above census transcription.

6. New Mexico Censuses of 1833 and 1845: Socorro and Surrounding Communities of the Rio Abajo, by Teresa Ramirez Alief, et. al. A set of census transcription essential to persons who have ancestors from Socorro and the surrounding area.

7. New Mexico Baptisms: San Miguel de Socorro Church 1821-1853, extracted by Lila Armijo Pfeufer. The microfilmed records of Socorro is often difficult to read. Therefore, this transcription is a necessity.

8. San Miguel del Socorro, New Mexico: Marriage Records 1821-1853, extracted by Joe Sanchez III. Published independently, this is another good book for research.

9. Marriages: Socorro 1854 - 1900, San Ignacio, San Cristobal, San Marcial, La Jolla, published by the Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico. Ditto.

10. Genealogical Resources of New Mexico, 3rd edition, by Karen Stein Daniel, CGsm. The only book that you need to help you find resources for your New Mexico research.

Where to find these books

Book # 1: Amazon.com.

Books # 2 and 9: Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico.

Books # 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10: New Mexico Genealogial Society.

Book # 8: Joe Sanchez III

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