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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 Sierra Vista (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 Sierra Vista. 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.

Name Variations for Sierra Vista ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Sierra Vista: Sierra Vis.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Sierra Vista is located in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County: Chaves, DeBaca, Guadalupe, Otero, Sierra, Socorro & Torrance.

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

  • Lincoln County     (The home county of Sierra Vista)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra Vista, with the one closest to Sierra Vista listed first.
    • Sun Valley
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sun Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Valley
      • Sun Valley is located in Lincoln County
    • Alto
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Bonito
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonito
      • Bonito is located in Lincoln County
    • Alpine Cellars Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alpine Cellars Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine Cellars Village
      • Alpine Cellars Village is located in Lincoln County
    • Ruidoso
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hollywood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
      • Hollywood is located in Lincoln County
    • Ruidoso Downs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruidoso Downs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruidoso Downs
      • Ruidoso Downs is located in Lincoln County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,631 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ruidoso Downs <2>
    • Nogal
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Capitan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Capitan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitan
      • Capitan is located in Lincoln County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,457 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Capitan <2>
    • Fort Stanton ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Stanton
      • Fort Stanton is located in Lincoln County
    • Glencoe
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Lincoln
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
      • Lincoln is located in Lincoln County
  • Otero County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra Vista, with the one closest to Sierra Vista listed first.
    • Carrizo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrizo
      • Carrizo is located in Otero County
    • Mescalero
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Bent
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Tularosa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Sierra Vista ...

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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sierra Vista.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sierra Vista, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sierra Vista.

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 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 Sierra Vista:

Cemeteries Near Sierra Vista ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sierra Vista.

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 Sierra Vista covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • West - Box Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • The West - Box Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Pioneer Little Creek Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West - Box Cemetery
  • Stetson Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Ruidoso-Hondo Valley Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • San Ysidro Mission Church Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Nogal Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nogal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nogal Cemetery
  • Silva Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Silva Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Silva Cemetery
  • Coe Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coe Cemetery
  • Glencoe Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Glencoe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Glencoe Cemetery
  • Whitetail Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whitetail Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whitetail Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38512 <4>
  • Griego Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Griego Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Griego Cemetery
  • Blazer Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Blazers Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blazers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blazers Cemetery
    • Mescalero Indian Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Lincoln Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lincoln Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lincoln Cemetery

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

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

  • Bonito
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonito
    • Bonito is located in Lincoln County
  • Ruidoso
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Nogal
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Fort Stanton ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Stanton
    • Fort Stanton is located in Lincoln County
  • Lincoln
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
    • Lincoln is located in Lincoln County
  • White Oaks ‑ Historic
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oaks
    • White Oaks is located in Lincoln County

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

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

The official website for State of New Mexico: www.newmexico.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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- Sierra Vista) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sierra Vista. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.4102, Longitude: -105.6927    
<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 Sierra Vista, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024