RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Colorado >> Saguache County >> Chester >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Chester (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 Chester. 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.

Chester is located in Saguache 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 Saguache County: Alamosa, Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Huerfano, Mineral & Rio Grande.

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

  • Saguache County     (The home county of Chester)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
    • Sargents
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Bonanza
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bonanza is located in Saguache County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonanza
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21 people
    • Kerper City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Kerper City is located in Saguache County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerper City
    • Spook City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Spook City is located in Saguache County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spook City
    • Villa Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Saguache
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Chaffee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
    • Monarch
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Mears Junction
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mears Junction is located in Chaffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mears Junction
    • Maysville ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Maysville is located in Chaffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
    • Poncha Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Hancock ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Hancock is located in Chaffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
    • Belleview
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Belleview is located in Chaffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
    • Browns Canon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Browns Canon is located in Chaffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Canon
    • Cleora
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Cleora is located in Chaffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleora
    • Salida
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Elmo ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Saint Elmo is located in Chaffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
    • Iron City ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Iron City is located in Chaffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
    • Turret ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Turret is located in Chaffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turret
  • Fremont County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
    • Calcite ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Calcite is located in Fremont County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcite
    • Wellsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Wellsville is located in Fremont County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsville
    • Howard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Vallie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Vallie is located in Fremont County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vallie
    • Coaldale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Gunnison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
    • Whitepine
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Whitepine is located in Gunnison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitepine
      • Whitepine has also been known as:
      • White Pine
    • Bowerman ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Bowerman is located in Gunnison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowerman
      • Bowerman has also been known as:
      • Camp Bowerman
      • Nugget City
    • Pitkin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Ohio City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Parlin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Tincup
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Tincup is located in Gunnison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tincup
    • Abbeyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Abbeyville is located in Gunnison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbeyville
      • Former name for Abbeyville:
      • Hillerton

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

Cemeteries Near Chester ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chester.

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 Chester - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Jacks Creek Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • White Pine Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Tomichi Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Poncha Springs Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Whites Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Doyleville Cemetery #1
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Doyle Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Campo Santo Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Villa Grove Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Cleora Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Pitkin Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Ohio City Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hillside Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)

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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Chester had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Sargents
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Bonanza
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bonanza is located in Saguache County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonanza
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 21 people
  • Mears Junction
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mears Junction is located in Chaffee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mears Junction
  • Monarch
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Garfield ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Garfield is located in Chaffee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
  • Maysville ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Maysville is located in Chaffee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maysville
  • Alder ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Alder is located in Saguache County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder
  • Poncha Springs
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Doyleville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Doyleville is located in Gunnison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyleville
  • Belleview
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Belleview is located in Chaffee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
  • Pitkin
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Villa Grove
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Cleora
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Cleora is located in Chaffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleora
    • Salida
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Browns Canon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Browns Canon is located in Chaffee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Canon

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

Newspapers Published in Chester ...

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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chester.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chester, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chester.

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 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 Chester:

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>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 Chester, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Chester) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.