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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 San Miguel (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 San Miguel. 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 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.

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

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

  • Rio Arriba County     (The home county of San Miguel)
    • The following are listed by their distance from San Miguel, with the one closest to San Miguel listed first.
    • Lava ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Lava is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lava
    • Sublette
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Sublette is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sublette
    • Lobato ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Lobato is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobato
    • Chama
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Chama is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chama
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 976 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chama <1>
    • Brazos
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Brazos is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos
    • Los Ojos
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Rutheron
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Rutheron is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutheron
  • Taos County
    • The following are listed by their distance from San Miguel, with the one closest to San Miguel listed first.
    • Tres Piedras
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Servilleta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Servilleta is located in Taos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servilleta
  • Conejos County (CO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from San Miguel, with the one closest to San Miguel listed first.
    • Mogote
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Mogote is located in Conejos County (CO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mogote
    • Ortiz
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Ortiz is located in Conejos County (CO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortiz
    • Paisaje
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Paisaje is located in Conejos County (CO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paisaje
    • Osier
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Osier is located in Conejos County (CO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osier
    • Antonito
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Conejos
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cumbres
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Cumbres is located in Conejos County (CO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumbres
    • Romeo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Romeo is located in Conejos County (CO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romeo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Romeo <1>
    • Manassa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Manassa is located in Conejos County (CO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manassa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manassa <1>
    • Bountiful
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bountiful is located in Conejos County (CO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bountiful
    • Capulin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • La Jara
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • La Jara is located in Conejos County (CO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Jara
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 805 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Jara <1>
    • Sanford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Sanford is located in Conejos County (CO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sanford <1>
  • Costilla County (CO)

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

Cemeteries Near San Miguel ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of San Miguel.

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 San Miguel - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • San Miguel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Ortiz Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Ortiz Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Mogote Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mogote Cemetery
    • The Mogote Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mogote Presbyterian Cemetery
  • Las Mesitas Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Martinez Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinez Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Martinez Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<2> to the west of Antonito (CO).
    • The Martinez Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2267023 <3>
  • Fox Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • San Antonio Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Antonio Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Warshaver Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Conejos Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Lobatos Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • New Manassa Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Nance Family Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nance Family Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Nance Family Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the south of Manassa (CO).
    • Old Manassa Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Manassa Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Old Manassa Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the south of Manassa (CO).

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 San Miguel in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of San Miguel.

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

  • Big Horn
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Big Horn is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Horn
  • Lava ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Lava is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lava
  • Sublette
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Sublette is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sublette
  • Toltec
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Toltec is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toltec
  • Ortiz
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ortiz is located in Conejos County (CO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortiz
  • Antonito
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Conejos
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Cumbres
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Cumbres is located in Conejos County (CO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumbres
  • Los Cerritos
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Los Cerritos is located in Conejos County (CO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Cerritos
  • No Agua
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • No Agua is located in Taos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for No Agua
  • Manassa
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Manassa is located in Conejos County (CO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manassa
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manassa <1>
  • Lobato ‑ Historic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Lobato is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobato
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Capulin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Chama
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Chama is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chama
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 976 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chama <1>
    • Tres Piedras
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in San Miguel ...

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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around San Miguel.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of San Miguel, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for San Miguel.

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 websites either 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 San Miguel:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- San Miguel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 San Miguel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.