RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of New Mexico >> Taos County >> El Rito >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
New Mexico

The Commemorative Quarter for New Mexico





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 El Rito (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 El Rito. 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 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.

El Rito is located in Taos 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 Taos County: Conejos (CO), Costilla (CO), Colfax, Mora & Rio Arriba.

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

  • Taos County     (The home county of El Rito)
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Rito, with the one closest to El Rito listed first.
    • Buena Vista
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cerro
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Questa
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Questa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Questa
      • Questa is located in Taos County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,741 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Questa <1>
    • Lama
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lama
      • Lama is located in Taos County
    • Red River
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Amalia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amalia
      • Amalia is located in Taos County
    • Costilla
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • San Cristobal
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Ventero
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventero
      • Ventero is located in Taos County
    • Kiowa Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kiowa Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa Village
      • Kiowa Village is located in Taos County
    • Taos Ski Valley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taos Ski Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taos Ski Valley
      • Taos Ski Valley is located in Taos County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Taos Ski Valley <1>
    • Valdez
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Colfax County
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Rito, with the one closest to El Rito listed first.
    • Idlewild
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewild
      • Idlewild is located in Colfax County
    • Virginia City ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
      • Virginia City is located in Colfax County
    • Eagle Nest
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Nest have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Nest
      • Eagle Nest is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle Nest <1>
    • Lakeview Pines
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Pines
      • Lakeview Pines is located in Colfax County
    • Ute Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Conejos County (CO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Rito, with the one closest to El Rito listed first.
    • Ortiz
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortiz
      • Ortiz is located in Conejos County (CO)
    • Antonito
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Costilla County (CO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from El Rito, with the one closest to El Rito listed first.
    • Garcia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garcia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garcia
      • Garcia is located in Costilla County (CO)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garcia <1>
    • Jaroso
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jaroso have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaroso
      • Jaroso is located in Costilla County (CO)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jaroso <1>
    • San Pablo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Pablo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pablo
      • San Pablo is located in Costilla County (CO)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Pablo <1>
    • Chama
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chama have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chama
      • Chama is located in Costilla County (CO)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chama <1>
    • San Acacio
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • San Luis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Luis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Luis
      • San Luis is located in Costilla County (CO)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Luis <1>

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

Newspapers Published in El Rito ...

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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around El Rito.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of El Rito, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for El Rito.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 El Rito:

Cemeteries Near El Rito ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of El Rito.

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 El Rito covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Latir Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Latir Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Latir Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38177 <4>
  • El Cerro Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the El Cerro Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the El Cerro Cemetery
  • Chapel of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Anthony Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Veterans Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Veterans Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Veterans Cemetery
  • Sunshine Valley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Red River Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Garcia Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Jaroso Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • The Jaroso Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mountain View Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jaroso Cemetery
  • Rael Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rael Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rael Cemetery
  • Colonias Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Colonias Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Colonias Cemetery
  • Continue List   (23 more) ...
    • LaLoma Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the LaLoma Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the LaLoma Cemetery
    • Campo Santo del Pueblo Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Campo Santo del Pueblo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Campo Santo del Pueblo Cemetery
    • Sierra Vista Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sierra Vista Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sierra Vista 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 El Rito in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of El Rito.

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

  • Cerro
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Questa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Questa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Questa
    • Questa is located in Taos County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,741 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Questa <1>
  • Costilla
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Arroyo Hondo
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Arroyo Seco
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Elizabethtown ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabethtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabethtown
    • Elizabethtown is located in Colfax County
  • No Agua
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for No Agua have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for No Agua
    • No Agua is located in Taos County
  • Tres Piedras
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Servilleta
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Servilleta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servilleta
    • Servilleta is located in Taos County
  • Taos
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • San Luis
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Luis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Luis
    • San Luis is located in Costilla County (CO)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Luis <1>
  • Ortiz
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortiz
    • Ortiz is located in Conejos County (CO)

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

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

The official website for State of New Mexico: www.newmexico.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>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.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- El Rito) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in El Rito. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.8000, Longitude: -105.5678       In this case, the coordinates for El Rito have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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 El Rito, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024