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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 Mortimer (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 Mortimer. 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.

Mortimer is located in Costilla 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 Costilla County: Alamosa, Conejos, Huerfano, Las Animas, Colfax (NM) & Taos (NM).

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

  • Costilla County     (The home county of Mortimer)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mortimer, with the one closest to Mortimer listed first.
    • Garland City ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Garland City is located in Costilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland City
    • Fort Garland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Russell ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Russell is located in Costilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Blanca
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • San Luis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Chama
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • San Pablo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • San Acacio
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Alamosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mortimer, with the one closest to Mortimer listed first.
    • Alamosa East
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Alamosa East is located in Alamosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamosa East
    • Alamosa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Huerfano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mortimer, with the one closest to Mortimer listed first.
    • Uptop ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Uptop is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uptop
    • Muleshoe
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Muleshoe is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muleshoe
    • La Veta Pass
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • La Veta Pass is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Veta Pass
    • Cuchara
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • La Veta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Red Wing
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Alamo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Alamo is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
    • Gardner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Tioga
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Tioga is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
    • Bradford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Bradford is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
    • Calumet
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Calumet is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
  • Las Animas County
    • Monument Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Monument Park is located in Las Animas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument Park
  • Saguache County
    • Liberty ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Liberty is located in Saguache County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty

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

Cemeteries Near Mortimer ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mortimer.

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

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

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

  • Brennaman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Ft. Garland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Myer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Mac Mullan Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Blanca Trinchera Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanca Trinchera Cemetery
    • The Blanca Trinchera Cemetery has also been known as:
    • New Ft. Garland Cemetery
  • Oak View Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Pioneer Urraca Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Uracca Pioneer Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Chama Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • San Pedro Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • La Veta Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Veta Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the La Veta Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the east of La Veta.
    • The La Veta Cemetery has also been known as:
    • La Veta Spanish Cemetery
    • La Wahatoya Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2256280 <3>
  • Sanches Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (24 more) ...
    • Yellowstone Creek Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Gonzales Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • 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 <3>

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

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

  • Garland City ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Garland City is located in Costilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland City
  • Fort Garland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Russell ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Russell is located in Costilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
  • Blanca
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Muleshoe
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Muleshoe is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muleshoe
  • Sharpsdale
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Sharpsdale is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsdale
  • San Luis
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • La Veta
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Malachite
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Malachite is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malachite
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Gardner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Badito
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Badito is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badito
    • Lasauses
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lasauses is located in Conejos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasauses
    • Stonewall
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Stonewall is located in Las Animas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewall
    • Tioga
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Tioga is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
    • Bradford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Bradford is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford

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

Newspapers Published in Mortimer ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mortimer.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mortimer, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mortimer.

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 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 Mortimer:

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>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- Mortimer) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Mortimer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.