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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 South Petaca (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 South Petaca. 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 South Petaca ...

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 South Petaca: S. Petaca

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

South Petaca 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 South Petaca. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to South Petaca:

  • Rio Arriba County     (The home county of South Petaca)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Petaca, with the one closest to South Petaca listed first.
    • Petaca
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Vallecitos
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • LaMadera
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaMadera
      • LaMadera is located in Rio Arriba County
    • El Rito
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Embudo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Dixon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Apodaca
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apodaca
      • Apodaca is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Velarde
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Canjilon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Medanales
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Abiquiu
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cebolla
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Taos County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Petaca, with the one closest to South Petaca listed first.
    • Servilleta
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Ojo Caliente
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Carson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Arroyo Hondo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Pilar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • San Cristobal
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Kiowa Village
      (23 miles [37 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
    • Ranchito
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Valdez
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Arroyo Seco
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • El Prado
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near South Petaca ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Petaca.

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 South Petaca covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • La Cueva Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 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.
  • Tusas Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 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.
  • Ojo Caliente Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 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.
  • Father Kauper Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • El Santuario Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 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>
  • St. Anthony Catholic Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • St. Anthony Catholic Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Embudo Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 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>
  • Penas Negras Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • 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
    (22 miles [35.4 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.
  • Hart Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • 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.
  • Continue List   (35 more) ...
    • 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.
    • Velarde Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Descariso Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Descariso Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Descariso 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 South Petaca in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of South Petaca.

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

  • Servilleta
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Tres Piedras
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Ojo Caliente
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • El Rito
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • No Agua
    (15 miles [24.1 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
  • Barranca
    (18 miles [29 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
  • Arroyo Hondo
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Embudo
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Rinconada
    (20 miles [32.2 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
  • Velarde
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Arroyo Seco
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Taos
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Abiquiu
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Questa
      (27 miles [43.5 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>

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

Newspapers Published in South Petaca ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Petaca.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Petaca, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for South Petaca.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 South Petaca:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for South Petaca. 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 South Petaca, 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 from Point A (ie- South Petaca) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in South Petaca. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.4972, Longitude: -106.0103       In this case, the coordinates for South Petaca have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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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: 28 Apr 2025