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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 Arenas Valley (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 Arenas Valley. 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 Arenas Valley ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Arenas Valley: Arenas Vly. (or less commonly used: Arenas Vally. or Arenas Vlly.)
  • While the name of this community is Arenas Valley, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Arenas Valley may originally have been Arena's Valley.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Arenas Valley might be written as Arena Valley.

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 northeast 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 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.

Arenas Valley is located in Grant County.

To see how the shape of New Mexico's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Grant County: Greenlee (AZ), Catron, Hidalgo, Luna & Sierra.

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

  • Grant County     (The home county of Arenas Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arenas Valley, with the one closest to Arenas Valley listed first.
    • Fort Bayard
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Central
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
      • Central is located in Grant County
    • Santa Clara
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Clara have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Clara
      • Santa Clara is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,761 people
    • Bayard
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayard have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayard
      • Bayard is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,117 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bayard <2>
    • Cobre
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobre
      • Cobre is located in Grant County
    • Vanadium
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanadium
      • Vanadium is located in Grant County
    • Hanover
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
      • Hanover is located in Grant County
    • Little Walnut Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Walnut Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Walnut Village
      • Little Walnut Village is located in Grant County
    • Pinos Altos ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinos Altos
      • Pinos Altos is located in Grant County
    • Silver City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Santa Rita ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Rita have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Rita
      • Santa Rita is located in Grant County
    • Hurley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hurley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurley
      • Hurley is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,175 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurley <2>
  • Luna County
    • Old Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
      • Old Town is located in Luna County
  • San Miguel County

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

Newspapers Published in Arenas Valley ...

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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Arenas Valley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Arenas Valley, there are papers which were published within 5 miles [8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Arenas Valley.

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 either 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 Arenas Valley:

Cemeteries Near Arenas Valley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Arenas Valley.

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

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

  • Ft. Bayard / New Mexico Memorial Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Ft. Bayard National Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Memory Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memory Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memory Cemetery
  • Vanadium Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Cemetery #5
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cemetery #5 have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cemetery #5
  • Hanover Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Hurley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hurley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hurley Cemetery
  • Cemetery #4
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cemetery #4 have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cemetery #4
  • Fierro Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fierro Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fierro Cemetery
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Georgetown Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Georgetown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Georgetown Cemetery
    • Hicks Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hicks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hicks Cemetery
    • Clark Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clark Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clark Cemetery
    • Maldonado Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maldonado Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maldonado Cemetery
    • Stout Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stout Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stout 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 Arenas Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Arenas Valley.

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

  • Fort Bayard
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Central
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
    • Central is located in Grant County
  • Silver City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Pinos Altos ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinos Altos
    • Pinos Altos is located in Grant County
  • Hanover
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
    • Hanover is located in Grant County
  • Santa Rita ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Rita have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Rita
    • Santa Rita is located in Grant County
  • Mimbres
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Whitewater
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitewater have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewater
    • Whitewater is located in Grant County
  • Alhambra ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alhambra have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alhambra
    • Alhambra is located in Grant County
  • Gila
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Kingston ‑ Historic
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
    • Kingston is located in Sierra County

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

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

The official website for State of New Mexico: www.newmexico.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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- Arenas Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Arenas Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.7941, Longitude: -108.1842    
<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 Arenas Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024