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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 Sunshine (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 Sunshine. 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.

Sunshine is located in Taos 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 Taos County: Conejos (CO), Costilla (CO), Colfax, Mora & Rio Arriba.

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

  • Taos County     (The home county of Sunshine)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
    • Buena Vista
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cerro
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Questa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Costilla
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Amalia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Amalia is located in Taos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amalia
    • Lama
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Lama is located in Taos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lama
    • Ventero
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Ventero is located in Taos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventero
    • Red River
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • San Cristobal
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Kiowa Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Kiowa Village is located in Taos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa Village
    • Taos Ski Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Arroyo Hondo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Valdez
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Colfax County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
    • Idlewild
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Idlewild is located in Colfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewild
    • Virginia City ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Virginia City is located in Colfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
    • Eagle Nest
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lakeview Pines
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lakeview Pines is located in Colfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Pines
  • Rio Arriba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
    • Lava ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Lava is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lava
    • Petaca
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Conejos County (CO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
    • Ortiz
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Ortiz is located in Conejos County (CO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortiz
    • Antonito
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Conejos
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Manassa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Paisaje
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Paisaje is located in Conejos County (CO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paisaje
    • Mogote
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mogote is located in Conejos County (CO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mogote
    • Romeo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
  • Costilla County (CO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
    • Jaroso
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Garcia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • San Pablo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • San Acacio
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Chama
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • San Luis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Sunshine ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sunshine.

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 Sunshine - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Sunshine Valley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Latir Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • El Cerro Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Chapel of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • St. Anthony Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Veterans Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Garcia Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Jaroso Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaroso Cemetery
    • The Jaroso Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mountain View Cemetery
  • Red River Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Rael Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Lobatos Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (28 more) ...
    • San Antonio Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Old Town Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Old Town Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the west of San Luis (CO).
    • Old Ortiz Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)

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

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

  • Cerro
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Questa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Costilla
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • No Agua
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • No Agua is located in Taos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for No Agua
  • Arroyo Hondo
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Tres Piedras
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Arroyo Seco
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Ortiz
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Ortiz is located in Conejos County (CO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortiz
  • Elizabethtown ‑ Historic
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Elizabethtown is located in Colfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabethtown
  • Los Cerritos
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Los Cerritos is located in Conejos County (CO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Cerritos
  • Antonito
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Servilleta
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Servilleta is located in Taos County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servilleta
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Conejos
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lava ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Lava is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lava
    • San Luis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Sunshine ...

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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sunshine.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sunshine, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sunshine.

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 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 Sunshine:

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 '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- Sunshine) 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 Sunshine, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.