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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 Sharpsdale (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 Sharpsdale. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Sharpsdale is located in Huerfano 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 Huerfano County: Alamosa, Costilla, Custer, Las Animas & Pueblo.

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

  • Huerfano County     (The home county of Sharpsdale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sharpsdale, with the one closest to Sharpsdale listed first.
    • Red Wing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Bradford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Bradford is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
    • Gardner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • La Veta Pass
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • La Veta Pass is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Veta Pass
    • Uptop ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Uptop is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uptop
    • Muleshoe
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Muleshoe is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muleshoe
    • Alamo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Alamo is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamo
    • Tioga
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Tioga is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
    • La Veta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Calumet
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Calumet is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
    • Cuchara
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Apache City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Apache City is located in Huerfano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apache City
  • Alamosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sharpsdale, with the one closest to Sharpsdale listed first.
    • Hooper
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Mosca
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Costilla County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sharpsdale, with the one closest to Sharpsdale listed first.
    • Russell ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Russell is located in Costilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
    • Garland City ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Garland City is located in Costilla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland City
    • Fort Garland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Blanca
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Custer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sharpsdale, with the one closest to Sharpsdale listed first.
    • Rosita
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Rosita is located in Custer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosita
    • Silver Cliff
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Querida ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Querida is located in Custer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Querida
      • Querida has also been known as:
      • Bassick
      • Querida Junction
    • Westcliffe
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Ula ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Ula is located in Custer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ula
  • Pueblo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sharpsdale, with the one closest to Sharpsdale listed first.
    • Rye
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Rye is located in Pueblo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 253 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rye <1>
    • Greenhorn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Greenhorn is located in Pueblo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenhorn
  • Saguache County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sharpsdale, with the one closest to Sharpsdale listed first.
    • Liberty ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Liberty is located in Saguache County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
    • Duncan ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Duncan is located in Saguache County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Crestone
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Sharpsdale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sharpsdale.

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

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

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

  • Chama Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Gonzales Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • 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 <2>
  • Gardner Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Pioneer Urraca Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Uracca Pioneer Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Yellowstone Creek Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Sanches Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Farisita Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Maes Creek Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Cisneros Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Oak View Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Blanca Trinchera Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanca Trinchera Cemetery
      • The Blanca Trinchera Cemetery has also been known as:
      • New Ft. Garland Cemetery
    • Mac Mullan Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Myer Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 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>

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

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

  • Malachite
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Malachite is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malachite
  • Gardner
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Bradford
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Bradford is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
  • Russell ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Russell is located in Costilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
  • Muleshoe
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Muleshoe is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muleshoe
  • Garland City ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Garland City is located in Costilla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland City
  • Badito
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Badito is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badito
  • Fort Garland
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Blanca
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Tioga
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Tioga is located in Huerfano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
  • La Veta
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Rosita
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Rosita is located in Custer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosita
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Crestone
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rye
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Rye is located in Pueblo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 253 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rye <1>
    • Fairview
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairview is located in Custer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview

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

Newspapers Published in Sharpsdale ...

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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sharpsdale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sharpsdale, 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 Sharpsdale.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Sharpsdale:

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 '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- Sharpsdale) 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 Sharpsdale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.