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 Sorrento (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 Sorrento. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Sorrento is located in Cheyenne 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 Cheyenne County: Kiowa, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Greeley (KS) & Wallace (KS).
Below are the counties that are near Sorrento. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sorrento:
- Cheyenne County (The home county of Sorrento)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sorrento, with the one closest to Sorrento listed first.
- Kit Carson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Wild Horse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Firstview
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Firstview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firstview
- Firstview is located in Cheyenne County
- Cheyenne Wells
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheyenne Wells have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheyenne Wells
- Cheyenne Wells is located in Cheyenne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 815 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cheyenne Wells <1>
- Kiowa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sorrento, with the one closest to Sorrento listed first.
- Galatea
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Galatea. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galatea
- Galatea is located in Kiowa County
- Eads
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Haswell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haswell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haswell
- Haswell is located in Kiowa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haswell <1>
- Chivington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chivington
- Chivington is located in Kiowa County
- Lincoln County
- Boyero
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sorrento, see our County-by-County Page for Sorrento.
Cemeteries Near Sorrento ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sorrento.
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 Sorrento covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sorrento, with the one closest to Sorrento listed first.
- Kit Carson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kit Carson Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Kit Carson Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Kit Carson.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57372 <4>
- McIntire Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McIntire Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the McIntire Cemetery is located 13 miles [20.9 km]<5> to the east of Kit Carson.
- The McIntire Cemetery has also been known as:
- Wild Horse Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2307816 <4>
- Aroya Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Aroya Cemetery
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Aroya Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Aroya Cemetery is located 20 miles [32.2 km]<5> to the east of Kit Carson.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2307811 <4>
- Galatea Cemetery
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Galatea Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Galatea Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Boyero Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Boyero Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Boyero Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Eads Pioneer Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eads Pioneer Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Eads Pioneer Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Eads.
- The Eads Pioneer Cemetery has also been known as:
- Eads Old Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2307806 <4>
- Eads Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eads Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eads Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Haswell Cemetery
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Haswell Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Haswell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- France Cemetery
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the France Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the France Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- New Freidonburg Cemetery
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Freidonburg Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Freidonburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Clifford Cemetery
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clifford Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clifford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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.<6>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Sorrento had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sorrento, with the one closest to Sorrento listed first.
- Kit Carson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Wild Horse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Firstview
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Firstview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firstview
- Firstview is located in Cheyenne County
- Galatea
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Galatea. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galatea
- Galatea is located in Kiowa County
- Eads
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Boyero
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Haswell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haswell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haswell
- Haswell is located in Kiowa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haswell <1>
- Cheyenne Wells
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheyenne Wells have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheyenne Wells
- Cheyenne Wells is located in Cheyenne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 815 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cheyenne Wells <1>
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sorrento. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sorrento.
Newspapers Published in Sorrento ...
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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sorrento.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sorrento, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sorrento.
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 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 Sorrento:
- Websites specific to Colorado
- Pages specific to Cheyenne County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Kiowa County
- Lincoln County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Colorado
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sorrento. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/
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> | 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> | 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. |
<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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Sorrento) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sorrento. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.7806, Longitude: -102.9060 In this case, the coordinates for Sorrento have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
<6> | 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 Sorrento, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |