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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 Lester (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 Lester. 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 northwest 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 north.

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 north 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.

Lester is located in Huerfano County.

To see how the shape of Colorado's counties 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 Lester. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lester:

  • Huerfano County     (The home county of Lester)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lester, with the one closest to Lester listed first.
    • Walsenburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walsenburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsenburg
      • Walsenburg is located in Huerfano County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,003 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walsenburg <2>
    • Cuchara Junction
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuchara Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuchara Junction
      • Cuchara Junction is located in Huerfano County
    • Calumet
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
      • Calumet is located in Huerfano County
    • La Veta
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Alamo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
      • Alamo is located in Huerfano County
    • Tioga
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tioga have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
      • Tioga is located in Huerfano County
    • Lascar
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lascar
      • Lascar is located in Huerfano County
    • Cuchara
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Apache City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apache City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apache City
      • Apache City is located in Huerfano County
    • La Veta Pass
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Veta Pass have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Veta Pass
      • La Veta Pass is located in Huerfano County
    • Uptop ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uptop
      • Uptop is located in Huerfano County
  • Las Animas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lester, with the one closest to Lester listed first.
    • Aguilar
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Gulnare
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Ludlow ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow
      • Ludlow is located in Las Animas County
    • Boncarbo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boncarbo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boncarbo
      • Boncarbo is located in Las Animas County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boncarbo <2>
    • El Moro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Moro
      • El Moro is located in Las Animas County
    • Hoehne
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoehne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoehne
      • Hoehne is located in Las Animas County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hoehne <2>
    • Cokedale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokedale
      • Cokedale is located in Las Animas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
    • Trinidad
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Madrid ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrid
      • Madrid is located in Las Animas County
    • Segundo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Sopris ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sopris have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sopris
      • Sopris is located in Las Animas County
    • Valdez
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valdez
      • Valdez is located in Las Animas County
    • Weston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Lester ...

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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lester.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lester, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lester.

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 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 Lester:

Cemeteries Near Lester ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lester.

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 Lester covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Laguna Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Laguna Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Laguna Cemetery
  • Thomas Rodger Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thomas Rodger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thomas Rodger Cemetery
  • St. Anthony Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Anthony Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Anthony Cemetery
  • Trujillo Creek Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trujillo Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trujillo Creek Cemetery
  • Bustos Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bustos Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bustos Cemetery
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
  • Valdez Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Valdez Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valdez Cemetery
  • Jarosa Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jarosa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jarosa Cemetery
  • Old La Veta Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old La Veta Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old La Veta Cemetery
  • Albertson Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Albertson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Albertson Cemetery
  • Valdez Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Valdez Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valdez Cemetery
  • Chavez Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chavez Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chavez Cemetery
  • Continue List   (36 more) ...
    • La Veta Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the La Veta Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the west of La Veta.
      • The La Veta Cemetery has also been known as:
      • La Veta Spanish Cemetery
      • La Wahatoya Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the La Veta Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2256280 <4>
    • Prince Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prince Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prince Cemetery
    • Scott Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scott Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scott 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.<5>

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

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

  • Rouse
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rouse have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rouse
    • Rouse is located in Huerfano County
  • Aguilar
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Walsenburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walsenburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsenburg
    • Walsenburg is located in Huerfano County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,003 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walsenburg <2>
  • Pictou
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pictou have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pictou
    • Pictou is located in Huerfano County
  • Cuchara Junction
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuchara Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuchara Junction
    • Cuchara Junction is located in Huerfano County
  • Gulnare
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • La Veta
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Tioga
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tioga have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
    • Tioga is located in Huerfano County
  • Forbes ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forbes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbes
    • Forbes is located in Las Animas County
  • Badito
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Badito have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badito
    • Badito is located in Huerfano County
  • El Moro
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Moro
    • El Moro is located in Las Animas County
  • Trinidad
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Weston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Madrid ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrid
      • Madrid is located in Las Animas County
    • Sopris ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sopris have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sopris
      • Sopris is located in Las Animas County

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

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

The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lester) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lester. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5017, Longitude: -104.7133       In this case, the coordinates for Lester have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 Lester, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024