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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 Chama (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 Chama. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Chama is located in Huerfano County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Huerfano County: Alamosa, Costilla, Custer, Las Animas & Pueblo.

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

  • Huerfano County     (The home county of Chama)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chama, with the one closest to Chama listed first.
    • Red Wing
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Gardner
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • La Veta Pass
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • La Veta Pass is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Veta Pass
    • Muleshoe
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Muleshoe is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muleshoe
    • Uptop ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Uptop is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uptop
    • Bradford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Bradford is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
    • Alamo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Alamo is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
    • Tioga
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Tioga is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
    • La Veta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Calumet
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Calumet is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
    • Cuchara
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Apache City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Apache City is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apache City
  • Costilla County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chama, with the one closest to Chama listed first.
    • Russell ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Russell is located in Costilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Garland City ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Garland City is located in Costilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland City
    • Fort Garland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Blanca
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Custer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chama, with the one closest to Chama listed first.
    • Rosita
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Rosita is located in Custer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosita
    • Querida ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Querida is located in Custer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Querida
      • Querida has also been known as:
      • Bassick
      • Querida Junction
    • Silver Cliff
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Westcliffe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Pueblo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chama, with the one closest to Chama listed first.
    • Rye
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Rye is located in Pueblo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 253 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rye <1>
    • Greenhorn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Greenhorn is located in Pueblo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenhorn
    • Beulah
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Colorado City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Colorado City is located in Pueblo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colorado City
    • Beulah Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Beulah Valley is located in Pueblo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah Valley
  • Saguache County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chama, with the one closest to Chama listed first.
    • Liberty ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Liberty is located in Saguache County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
    • Duncan ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Duncan is located in Saguache County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Crestone
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Chama ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chama.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Chama - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Chama Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Gonzales Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Gardner Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Yellowstone Creek Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Sanches Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Farisita Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Maes Creek Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Cisneros Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Urraca Cemetery
    • The Urraca Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urraca Cemetery
    • The Urraca Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bad Booze Cemetery
    • Bowerman - Reimer - Nelson Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57595 <2>
  • Pioneer Urraca Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Uracca Pioneer Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Oak View Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Chavez Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Mac Mullan Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Blanca Trinchera Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanca Trinchera Cemetery
      • The Blanca Trinchera Cemetery has also been known as:
      • New Ft. Garland Cemetery

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.<4>

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

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

  • Malachite
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Malachite is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malachite
  • Sharpsdale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Sharpsdale is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsdale
  • Gardner
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Muleshoe
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Muleshoe is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muleshoe
  • Russell ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Russell is located in Costilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
  • Bradford
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Bradford is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
  • Badito
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Badito is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badito
  • Garland City ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Garland City is located in Costilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland City
  • Tioga
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Tioga is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
  • Fort Garland
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • La Veta
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Blanca
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Rye
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Rye is located in Pueblo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 253 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rye <1>
    • Fairview
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairview is located in Custer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
    • Rosita
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Rosita is located in Custer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosita

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

Newspapers Published in Chama ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chama.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chama, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chama.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Chama:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Chama) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Chama, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.