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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 Las Tablas (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 Las Tablas. 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 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 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.

Las Tablas is located in Rio Arriba 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 Rio Arriba County: Archuleta (CO), Conejos (CO), Los Alamos, Mora, San Juan, Sandoval, Santa Fe & Taos.

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

  • Rio Arriba County     (The home county of Las Tablas)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Las Tablas, with the one closest to Las Tablas listed first.
    • Petaca
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Vallecitos
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • LaMadera
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaMadera
      • LaMadera is located in Rio Arriba County
    • El Rito
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Canjilon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Embudo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Dixon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Cebolla
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Apodaca
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apodaca
      • Apodaca is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Velarde
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Medanales
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Abiquiu
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lava ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lava
      • Lava is located in Rio Arriba County
  • Taos County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Las Tablas, with the one closest to Las Tablas listed first.
    • Servilleta
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Servilleta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servilleta
      • Servilleta is located in Taos County
    • Tres Piedras
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ojo Caliente
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Arroyo Hondo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Carson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • San Cristobal
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Lama
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lama
      • Lama is located in Taos County
    • Pilar
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Kiowa Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kiowa Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa Village
      • Kiowa Village is located in Taos County
    • Valdez
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Arroyo Seco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • El Prado
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Cerro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Las Tablas ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Las Tablas.

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 Las Tablas covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Tusas Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tusas Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tusas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • La Cueva Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the La Cueva Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the La Cueva Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ojo Caliente Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Rael Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rael Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rael Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Canjilon Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Canjilon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Canjilon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Father Kauper Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  • Penas Negras Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Penas Negras Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Penas Negras Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Colonias Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Colonias Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Colonias Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • El Santuario Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the El Santuario Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the El Santuario Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38043 <4>
  • Cedar Grove Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Embudo Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Embudo Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Embudo Presbyterian Church Cemetery is located outside and to the southeast of Dixon.
    • The Embudo Presbyterian Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Dixon Presbyterian Cemetery
    • Embudo Presbyterian Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2424075 <4>
  • St. Anthony Catholic Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (23 more) ...
    • St. Anthony Catholic Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Hart Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hart Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Graham Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 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.<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.<5>

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

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

  • Servilleta
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Servilleta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servilleta
    • Servilleta is located in Taos County
  • Vallecitos
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Tres Piedras
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • No Agua
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for No Agua have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for No Agua
    • No Agua is located in Taos County
  • El Rito
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Ojo Caliente
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Arroyo Hondo
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Barranca
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barranca have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barranca
    • Barranca is located in Taos County
  • Embudo
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  • Rinconada
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rinconada have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rinconada
    • Rinconada is located in Rio Arriba County
  • Arroyo Seco
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Velarde
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Questa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Questa have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>
    • Cerro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Taos
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Las Tablas ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Las Tablas.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Las Tablas, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Las Tablas.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Las Tablas:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Las Tablas. 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>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>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 Las Tablas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Las Tablas) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Las Tablas. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.5556, Longitude: -106.0292       In this case, the coordinates for Las Tablas have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025