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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Saint Thomas. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Saint Thomas to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Saint Thomas, please Contact Us.

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 Saint Thomas (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 Saint Thomas. 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.

Name Variations for Saint Thomas ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Saint Thomas: St. Thomas

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 hospitals and 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Saint Thomas is historic, it would have been located within present day Las Animas 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 Las Animas County: Baca, Bent, Costilla, Huerfano, Otero, Pueblo, Colfax (NM) & Union (NM).

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

  • Las Animas County     (The home county of Saint Thomas)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
    • Sopris ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sopris. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sopris
      • Sopris is located in Las Animas County
    • Starkville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Trinidad
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cokedale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokedale
      • Cokedale is located in Las Animas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
    • Engleville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Engleville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Engleville
      • Engleville is located in Las Animas County
    • Madrid ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrid
      • Madrid is located in Las Animas County
    • El Moro
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Moro
      • El Moro is located in Las Animas County
    • Morley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morley
      • Morley is located in Las Animas County
    • Valdez
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valdez
      • Valdez is located in Las Animas County
    • Segundo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • San Miguel ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Miguel have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Miguel
      • San Miguel is located in Las Animas County
    • Boncarbo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boncarbo have been provided by the GNIS.<4> 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 <3>
  • Colfax County (NM)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Thomas, with the one closest to Saint Thomas listed first.
    • Brilliant ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brilliant
      • Brilliant is located in Colfax County (NM)
    • Raton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raton
      • Raton is located in Colfax County (NM)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,923 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raton <3>

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

Cemeteries Near Saint Thomas ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saint Thomas.

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

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

  • Carpios Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carpios Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carpios Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Vigil Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vigil Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vigil Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jansen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jansen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jansen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Starkville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Starkville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Starkville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Masonic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Garcia Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garcia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garcia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tijeras Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tijeras Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tijeras Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cordova Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cordova Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cordova Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Valdez Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valdez Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Valdez Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Burro Canyon Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burro Canyon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burro Canyon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rivera Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rivera Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rivera Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (36 more) ...
    • Gallegos Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gallegos Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gallegos Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • San Juan Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Juan Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the San Juan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • San Juan Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Juan Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the San Juan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.

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

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

  • Sopris ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sopris. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sopris
    • Sopris is located in Las Animas County
  • Starkville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Trinidad
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Engleville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Engleville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Engleville
    • Engleville is located in Las Animas County
  • Madrid ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madrid
    • Madrid is located in Las Animas County
  • Morley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morley
    • Morley is located in Las Animas County
  • El Moro
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Moro
    • El Moro is located in Las Animas County
  • Forbes ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forbes have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbes
    • Forbes is located in Las Animas County
  • Wootton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wootton have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wootton
    • Wootton is located in Las Animas County
  • Barela
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barela have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barela
    • Barela is located in Las Animas County
  • Gulnare
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Weston
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Raton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raton
      • Raton is located in Colfax County (NM)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,923 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raton <3>
    • Aguilar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Dillon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dillon have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
      • Dillon is located in Colfax County (NM)

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

Newspapers Published in Saint Thomas ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saint Thomas.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Saint Thomas, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Saint Thomas.

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 Saint Thomas:

The official website for Las Animas County: www.tlac.net/county/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Saint Thomas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>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- Saint Thomas) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Saint Thomas. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.1345, Longitude: -104.5575       In this case, the coordinates for Saint Thomas have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025