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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 Potrero (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 Potrero. 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 hospitals 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.

Potrero is located in Santa Fe County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Santa Fe County: Bernalillo, Los Alamos, Mora, Rio Arriba, San Miguel, Sandoval & Torrance.

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

  • Santa Fe County     (The home county of Potrero)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Potrero, with the one closest to Potrero listed first.
    • Rio Chiquito
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Rio Chiquito is located in Santa Fe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio Chiquito
    • Cundiyo
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • La Puebla
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • La Puebla is located in Santa Fe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Puebla
    • Cuartelez
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Cuartelez is located in Santa Fe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuartelez
    • Arroyo Seco
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Arroyo Seco is located in Santa Fe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arroyo Seco
    • El Valle de Arroyo Seco
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Sombrillo
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Sombrillo is located in Santa Fe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sombrillo
    • Santa Cruz
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Santo Nino
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Santo Nino is located in Santa Fe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santo Nino
    • Pojoaque
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Cuyamungue
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cuyamungue is located in Santa Fe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuyamungue
    • Jacona
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jacona is located in Santa Fe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacona
    • El Rancho
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • El Rancho is located in Santa Fe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Rancho
  • Los Alamos County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Potrero, with the one closest to Potrero listed first.
    • White Rock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • White Rock is located in Los Alamos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
    • Los Alamos
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Mora County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Potrero, with the one closest to Potrero listed first.
    • Holman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Pacheco Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Pacheco Village is located in Mora County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacheco Village
  • Rio Arriba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Potrero, with the one closest to Potrero listed first.
    • Chimayo
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Cordova
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Truchas
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ohkay Owingeh
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • San Juan
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • San Juan is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Juan
    • Espanola
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Alcalde
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Chamita
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Chamita is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamita
    • Estaca
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Estaca is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estaca
    • La Villita
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • La Villita is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Villita
    • Los Luceros
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Los Luceros is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Luceros
    • El Duende
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • El Duende is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Duende
    • Hernandez
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • San Miguel County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Potrero, with the one closest to Potrero listed first.
    • Cowles
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Cowles is located in San Miguel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowles
    • Holy Ghost ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Holy Ghost is located in San Miguel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Ghost
    • Rociada
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Taos County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Potrero, with the one closest to Potrero listed first.
    • Trampas
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Vallecito
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Chamisal
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Llano
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Penasco
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Rio Lucio
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Rio Lucio is located in Taos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio Lucio
    • Picuris Pueblo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Picuris Pueblo is located in Taos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Picuris Pueblo
    • Vadito
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Pilar
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Ojo Caliente
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Tres Ritos
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Tres Ritos is located in Taos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tres Ritos
    • Angostura
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Angostura is located in Taos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angostura
    • Carson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Potrero ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Potrero.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Potrero - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Potrero covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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.<4>

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

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

  • Santa Cruz
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Pojoaque
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Espanola
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Jacona
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jacona is located in Santa Fe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacona
  • Alcalde
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Chamita
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Chamita is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamita
  • Velarde
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Rinconada
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Rinconada is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rinconada
  • Embudo
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Penasco
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Barranca
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Barranca is located in Taos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barranca
  • Santa Fe
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Potrero ...

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 104 newspapers that have been published in the area around Potrero.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Potrero, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Potrero.

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 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 Potrero:

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 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.
<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- Potrero) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Potrero, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.