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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 Pena Blanca (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 Pena Blanca. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Pena Blanca is located in Sandoval 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 Sandoval County: Bernalillo, Cibola, Los Alamos, McKinley, Rio Arriba & Santa Fe.

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

  • Sandoval County     (The home county of Pena Blanca)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pena Blanca, with the one closest to Pena Blanca listed first.
    • Sile
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sile
      • Sile is located in Sandoval County
    • Cochiti Pueblo
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Domingo
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Domingo
      • Domingo is located in Sandoval County
    • Kewa Pueblo
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Cochiti Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • San Felipe Pueblo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Felipe Pueblo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Felipe Pueblo
      • San Felipe Pueblo is located in Sandoval County
    • Algodones
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Diamond Tail Ranch
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Tail Ranch
      • Diamond Tail Ranch is located in Sandoval County
    • Santa Ana Pueblo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Ana Pueblo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Ana Pueblo
      • Santa Ana Pueblo is located in Sandoval County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Santa Ana Pueblo <1>
    • Placitas
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Placitas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Placitas
      • Placitas is located in Sandoval County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Placitas <1>
    • Ponderosa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Bernalillo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bernalillo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernalillo
      • Bernalillo is located in Sandoval County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,865 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bernalillo <1>
  • Bernalillo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pena Blanca, with the one closest to Pena Blanca listed first.
    • Sandia Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Corrales
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Sandia Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandia Heights
      • Sandia Heights is located in Bernalillo County
    • Sandia Knolls
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandia Knolls
      • Sandia Knolls is located in Bernalillo County
    • Rio Rancho
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Canoncito
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canoncito
      • Canoncito is located in Bernalillo County
    • Alameda
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Los Alamos County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pena Blanca, with the one closest to Pena Blanca listed first.
    • White Rock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
      • White Rock is located in Los Alamos County
    • Los Alamos
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Rio Arriba County
    • Santa Clara Pueblo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santa Clara Pueblo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Clara Pueblo
      • Santa Clara Pueblo is located in Rio Arriba County
  • Santa Fe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pena Blanca, with the one closest to Pena Blanca listed first.
    • La Cienega
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Cienega have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Cienega
      • La Cienega is located in Santa Fe County
    • Bonanza City ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonanza City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonanza City
      • Bonanza City is located in Santa Fe County
    • Los Cerrillos
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Cerrillos
      • Los Cerrillos is located in Santa Fe County
      • Los Cerrillos has also been known as:
      • Cerrillos
    • Madrid
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Agua Fria
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Eldorado at Santa Fe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eldorado at Santa Fe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado at Santa Fe
      • Eldorado at Santa Fe is located in Santa Fe County
    • Santa Fe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Seton Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seton Village
      • Seton Village is located in Santa Fe County
    • Golden ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Golden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden
      • Golden is located in Santa Fe County
    • San Pedro
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for San Pedro. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pedro
      • San Pedro is located in Santa Fe County
    • San Ildefonso Pueblo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Ildefonso Pueblo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Ildefonso Pueblo
      • San Ildefonso Pueblo is located in Santa Fe County
    • Galisteo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galisteo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galisteo
      • Galisteo is located in Santa Fe County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galisteo <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Pena Blanca ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pena Blanca.

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 Pena Blanca covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Pena Blanca Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Sile Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sile Cemetery
    • The Sile Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Santa Barbara Cathholic Church de Sile Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38454 <4>
  • La Bajada Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the La Bajada Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the La Bajada Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rosario Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rosario Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rosario Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • San Jose Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Madrid Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Cerrillos Catholic Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Los Cerrillos Protestant Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Algodones Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Tejon Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Placitas Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Cementerio de Agua Fria
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cementerio de Agua Fria
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cementerio de Agua Fria is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<5> to the east of Santa Fe.
    • The Cementerio de Agua Fria has also been known as:
    • Agua Fria Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2180292 <4>
  • Continue List   (42 more) ...
    • San Isidro Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Ponderosa Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ponderosa Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ponderosa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38333 <4>
    • Bernalillo Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bernalillo Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bernalillo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>

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

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

  • Waldo ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waldo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
    • Waldo is located in Santa Fe County
  • Los Cerrillos
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Cerrillos
    • Los Cerrillos is located in Santa Fe County
    • Los Cerrillos has also been known as:
    • Cerrillos
  • Ortiz ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ortiz have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortiz
    • Ortiz is located in Santa Fe County
  • Golden ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Golden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden
    • Golden is located in Santa Fe County
  • Santa Fe
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • San Pedro
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for San Pedro. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pedro
    • San Pedro is located in Santa Fe County
  • Lamy
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Corrales
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Jacona
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jacona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacona
    • Jacona is located in Santa Fe County
  • Pojoaque
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pojoaque have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pojoaque
    • Pojoaque is located in Santa Fe County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pojoaque <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Pena Blanca ...

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 98 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pena Blanca.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pena Blanca, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pena Blanca.

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 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 Pena Blanca:

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

The official website for Sandoval County: www.sandovalcounty.com/

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>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- Pena Blanca) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pena Blanca. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.5709, Longitude: -106.3381       In this case, the coordinates for Pena Blanca 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 Pena Blanca, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025