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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 Elephant Butte (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 Elephant Butte. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Elephant Butte is located in Sierra 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 Sierra County: Catron, Dona Ana, Grant, Lincoln, Luna, Otero & Socorro.

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

  • Sierra County     (The home county of Elephant Butte)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elephant Butte, with the one closest to Elephant Butte listed first.
    • Rock Canyon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Canyon
      • Rock Canyon is located in Sierra County
    • Truth or Consequences
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Williamsburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
      • Williamsburg is located in Sierra County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Williamsburg <1>
    • Cuchillo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuchillo
      • Cuchillo is located in Sierra County
    • Las Palomas
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Palomas
      • Las Palomas is located in Sierra County
    • Engle ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Engle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Engle
      • Engle is located in Sierra County
    • Caballo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Cutter ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cutter. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutter
      • Cutter is located in Sierra County
    • Arrey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Hillsboro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Chloride ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chloride. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chloride
      • Chloride is located in Sierra County
  • Dona Ana County
  • Socorro County
    • Lava
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lava. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lava
      • Lava is located in Socorro County

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

Cemeteries Near Elephant Butte ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elephant Butte.

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 Elephant Butte covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Elephant Butte Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elephant Butte Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elephant Butte Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Palomas Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palomas Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palomas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Graham Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graham Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Engle Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Engle Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Engle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cutter Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cutter Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cutter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Caballo Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Caballo Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Caballo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Monticello Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Monticello Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Monticello Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Santa Nino Cemetery
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Santa Nino Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Santa Nino Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hermosa Cemetery
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

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>

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

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

  • Cuchillo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuchillo
    • Cuchillo is located in Sierra County
  • Las Palomas
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Palomas
    • Las Palomas is located in Sierra County
  • Engle ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Engle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Engle
    • Engle is located in Sierra County
  • Cutter ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cutter. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutter
    • Cutter is located in Sierra County
  • Crocker
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crocker have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crocker
    • Crocker is located in Sierra County
  • Monticello ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monticello have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
    • Monticello is located in Sierra County
  • Lava
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lava. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lava
    • Lava is located in Socorro County
  • Hillsboro
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Paraje ‑ Historic
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paraje have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paraje
    • Paraje is located in Socorro County
  • Chloride ‑ Historic
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chloride. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chloride
    • Chloride is located in Sierra County
  • Hermosa ‑ Historic
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hermosa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermosa
    • Hermosa 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 Elephant Butte. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elephant Butte.

Newspapers Published in Elephant Butte ...

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 6 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elephant Butte.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elephant Butte, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elephant Butte.

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 helpful 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 Elephant Butte:

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

The official website for State of New Mexico: https://www.nm.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>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.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Elephant Butte) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Elephant Butte. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.1812, Longitude: -107.2267       In this case, the coordinates for Elephant Butte have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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 Elephant Butte, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025