Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

• That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
• We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
• On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Portal (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Portal. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Portal is located in Cochise County.

To see how the shape of Arizona's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Cochise County: Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Santa Cruz & Hidalgo (NM).

Below are the counties that are near Portal. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Portal:

• Cochise County     (The home county of Portal)
  • The following are listed by their distance from Portal, with the one closest to Portal listed first.
  • Paradise
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
    • Paradise is located in Cochise County
  • Hilltop ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hilltop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
    • Hilltop is located in Cochise County
  • Apache
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apache
    • Apache is located in Cochise County
  • Camp Bowie ‑ Historic
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Bowie
    • Camp Bowie is located in Cochise County
  • Fort Bowie ‑ Historic
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Bowie
    • Fort Bowie is located in Cochise County
  • San Simon
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Simon
    • San Simon is located in Cochise County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Simon <2>
  • Sunizona
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunizona
    • Sunizona is located in Cochise County
• Hidalgo County (NM)
  • The following are listed by their distance from Portal, with the one closest to Portal listed first.
  • Rodeo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodeo
    • Rodeo is located in Hidalgo County (NM)
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rodeo <2>
  • Animas
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Animas
    • Animas is located in Hidalgo County (NM)
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Animas <2>
  • Cotton City
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotton City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton City
    • Cotton City is located in Hidalgo County (NM)
  • Gibson
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gibson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
    • Gibson is located in Hidalgo County (NM)
  • Steins ‑ Historic
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steins
    • Steins is located in Hidalgo County (NM)
    • Former name for Steins:
    • Stein's Pass
  • Windmill
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windmill
    • Windmill is located in Hidalgo County (NM)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Portal, see our County-by-County Page for Portal.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Portal ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 3 newspapers that have been published in the area around Portal.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

• A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Portal. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Portal and those printed in the larger area surrounding Portal.
• An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4> of Portal.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Portal:

• Websites specific to Arizona
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Website for the //www.azlibrary.gov/arm

• Pages specific to Cochise County
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Genealogy information for nearby counties
  • Hidalgo County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Cemetery Information and Directories for Arizona
  • Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Arizona
  • Cyndi's List
  • Cemeteries of Arizona
  • Cemeteries of Cochise County
  • FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Arizona
  • Find-A-Grave: Home Page
  • Interment.net
  • Cemeteries of Arizona
  • Cemeteries of Cochise County

Cemeteries Near Portal ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Portal.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Portal covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Portal, with the one closest to Portal listed first.

• Paradise Cemetery
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Paradise Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Paradise Cemetery
• Rodeo Cemetery
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rodeo Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Rodeo (NM).
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rodeo Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2144971 <5>
• Erickson Cemetery
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Erickson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Erickson Cemetery
• Apache Cemetery
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Apache Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #56962 <5>
• Neighborhood Cemetery
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Neighborhood Cemetery
• Busy Bee Cemetery
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • The Busy Bee Cemetery has also been known as:
  • Animas LDS Cemetery
  • Animas LDS Cemetery
  • Cotton City LDS Cemetery
  • Cotton City LDS Cemetery
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Busy Bee Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2454001 <5>
• Riggs Cemetery
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riggs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riggs Cemetery
• Middle Animas Cemetery
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Middle Animas Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1986872 <5>
• Valley View Community Church Cemetery
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valley View Community Church Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1762309 <5>
• Continue List   (6 more) ...
  • Rucker Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rucker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rucker Cemetery
  • Steins Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Steins Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2216766 <5>
  • Kambitsch Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kambitsch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kambitsch Cemetery
  • Ft. Bowie Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ft. Bowie Cemetery
  • Light Cemetery
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Light Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Light Cemetery
  • John James Giddings Gravesite
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the John James Giddings Gravesite have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The John James Giddings Gravesite has also been known as:
    • Giddings Grave
    • Giddings Gravesite
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the John James Giddings Gravesite
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57018 <5>

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

While we didn't find Portal in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Portal.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Portal, with the one closest to Portal listed first.

• Steins ‑ Historic
  (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steins
  • Steins is located in Hidalgo County (NM)
  • Former name for Steins:
  • Stein's Pass
• Fort Bowie ‑ Historic
  (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Bowie
  • Fort Bowie is located in Cochise County
• San Simon
  (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Simon
  • San Simon is located in Cochise County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Simon <2>
• Olga
  (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olga have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olga
  • Olga is located in Cochise County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Portal. See our List of 1890's Communities around Portal.

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Portal. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Cochise County: www.cochise.az.gov/

The official website for State of Arizona: https://az.gov/