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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 Estrella (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 Estrella. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Estrella is located in Alamosa 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 Alamosa County: Conejos, Costilla, Huerfano, Rio Grande & Saguache.

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

  • Alamosa County     (The home county of Estrella)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estrella, with the one closest to Estrella listed first.
    • Henry
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Henry is located in Alamosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
    • Waverly
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Waverly is located in Alamosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
    • Alamosa
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Alamosa East
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Alamosa East is located in Alamosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamosa East
    • Parma
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Parma is located in Alamosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parma
    • Mosca
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Hooper
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Conejos County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estrella, with the one closest to Estrella listed first.
    • La Jara
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Sanford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Bountiful
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Bountiful is located in Conejos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bountiful
    • Capulin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Manassa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Romeo
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Conejos
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Antonito
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Paisaje
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Paisaje is located in Conejos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paisaje
    • Mogote
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Mogote is located in Conejos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mogote
    • Ortiz
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Ortiz is located in Conejos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortiz
  • Costilla County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estrella, with the one closest to Estrella listed first.
    • San Acacio
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Blanca
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Fort Garland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • San Luis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Jaroso
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Rio Grande County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estrella, with the one closest to Estrella listed first.
    • Homelake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Monte Vista
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Center is located in Rio Grande County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,385 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Center <1>
    • Jasper ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jasper is located in Rio Grande County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jasper
  • Rio Arriba County (NM)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Estrella, with the one closest to Estrella listed first.
    • Lava ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Lava is located in Rio Arriba County (NM)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lava
    • Sublette
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Sublette is located in Rio Arriba County (NM)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sublette

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

Cemeteries Near Estrella ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Estrella.

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

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

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

  • La Jara Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Alamosa Municipal Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Alamosa Spanish Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Sanford Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Becker Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Capulin Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Los Sauces Church Yard Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Los Lasauses Pentecostal Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Lasauses Pentecostal Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Los Lasauses Pentecostal Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<3> to the east of Sanford.
    • The Los Lasauses Pentecostal Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Assembly of God Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2335304 <2>
  • Gate to Heaven Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gate to Heaven Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Gate to Heaven Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<3> to the east of Sanford.
    • The Gate to Heaven Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Los Lasauses Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57390 <2>
  • Lasauses Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Soward Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (33 more) ...
    • Nance Family Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nance Family Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Nance Family Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the south of Manassa.
    • Old Manassa Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Manassa Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Old Manassa Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the south of Manassa.
    • New Manassa Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)

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 Estrella in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Estrella.

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

  • La Jara
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Sanford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Capulin
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lasauses
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lasauses is located in Conejos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasauses
  • Manassa
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Parma
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Parma is located in Alamosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parma
  • Los Cerritos
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Los Cerritos is located in Conejos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Cerritos
  • Conejos
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Monte Vista
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Antonito
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Blanca
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Ortiz
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Ortiz is located in Conejos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortiz
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Hooper
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Fort Garland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Lava ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Lava is located in Rio Arriba County (NM)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lava

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

Newspapers Published in Estrella ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Estrella.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Estrella, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Estrella.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Estrella:

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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Estrella) 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 Estrella, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.