Notes:
The original petition (around 1818, as nearly as can be determined) asked for permission to build a church in Lo de Mora. The petitioners were from San Juan de los Caballeros. No documentation has been found as to what the official response was at that time. The Mora land grant was officially established in 1835 with migrations then and later from the church jurisdictions of Santa Cruz de La Cañada, Picuris, Taos, and the area around Ojo Caliente. Later settlers came from the south, via San Miguel del Vado, through Las Vegas.

The church in Chacon NM (San Antonio de Padua) is referred to as a Capilla built in 1864. Mass is celebrated in the Capilla two or three times a year. [article in the Las Vegas Optic, July 1, 2005. ]

 [Notes by Armando Sandoval]  

County:
Mora County was established as a U.S. county on February 1, 1860. The history of its name has more than one version, one being that it was named Lo de Mora, referring to early residents of that name. A second story attributes the name to Mora, Spanish for mulberry, because of the large number of mulberry trees found there. The Mora County Courthouse address is: P.O. Box 360, Mora, NM 87732. Phone (505) 387-1448; FAX (505) 387-9022.

Diocese:
This county is within the Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe (see map). Where can you search the records, books, and microfilm? See Records for the sources and addresses known to date.

Published records:
New Mexico Genealogist: Since its first issue in 1962, the Genealogist has been publishing a continuous stream of county, state, and church records as well as other informative articles. Available:
1) a CD containing every issue published in the first forty years of publication:  See NMG-CD.
2) a printed topic index 1962-1999: Book #E4b at NMGS Press.
3) An index for each current year is provided within the Genealogist in that year's December issue.
4) There are also some articles from the Genealogist being published on this web site. For a list, see Genealogist online.