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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 Taos (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 Taos. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Taos is located in Taos County and is the County Seat.

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 Taos County: Conejos (CO), Costilla (CO), Colfax, Mora & Rio Arriba.

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

  • Taos County     (The home county of Taos)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taos, with the one closest to Taos listed first.
    • El Prado
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Canon
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canon
      • Canon is located in Taos County
    • Ranchito
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Ranchos de Taos
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Taos Pueblo
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taos Pueblo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taos Pueblo
      • Taos Pueblo is located in Taos County
    • Talpa
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talpa
      • Talpa is located in Taos County
    • Shady Brook
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Brook
      • Shady Brook is located in Taos County
    • Arroyo Seco
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Valdez
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Arroyo Hondo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Valle Escondido
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Kiowa Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kiowa Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa Village
      • Kiowa Village is located in Taos County
    • Carson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Colfax County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taos, with the one closest to Taos listed first.
    • Angel Fire
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Lakeview Pines
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Pines
      • Lakeview Pines is located in Colfax County
    • Idlewild
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewild
      • Idlewild is located in Colfax County
    • Eagle Nest
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Nest have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Nest
      • Eagle Nest is located in Colfax County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle Nest <1>
    • Virginia City ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
      • Virginia City is located in Colfax County
    • Ute Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Mora County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taos, with the one closest to Taos listed first.
    • Chacon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Guadalupita
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Holman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Cleveland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Los Huerros
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Huerros
      • Los Huerros is located in Mora County
  • Rio Arriba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taos, with the one closest to Taos listed first.
    • Apodaca
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apodaca
      • Apodaca is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Dixon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Embudo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Petaca
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • LaMadera
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaMadera
      • LaMadera is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Velarde
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Truchas
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Vallecitos
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Taos ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Taos.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Taos. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Taos and those printed in the larger area surrounding Taos.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3> of Taos.

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 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 Taos:

Cemeteries Near Taos ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Taos.

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

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

  • Los Cruces Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Los Cruces Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Los Cruces Cemetery
  • Kit Carson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kit Carson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kit Carson Cemetery
  • Campo Santo del Pueblo Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Campo Santo del Pueblo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Campo Santo del Pueblo Cemetery
  • Sierra Vista Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sierra Vista Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sierra Vista Cemetery
  • LaLoma Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the LaLoma Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the LaLoma Cemetery
  • Graham Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graham Cemetery
  • Pacheco Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pacheco Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pacheco Cemetery
  • Los Dolores Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Los Dolores Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Los Dolores Cemetery
  • Canon Brethren Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Canon Brethren Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Canon Brethren Cemetery
  • Penas Negras Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Penas Negras Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Penas Negras Cemetery
  • Hart Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hart Cemetery
  • Colonias Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Colonias Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Colonias Cemetery
  • Continue List   (50 more) ...
    • Descariso Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Descariso Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Descariso Cemetery
    • St. Francis Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Francis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Francis Cemetery
    • Talpa Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Talpa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Talpa 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Taos had a population of 306 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Taos had a population of 5,872 people.

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

  • Arroyo Seco
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Arroyo Hondo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Penasco
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Penasco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penasco
    • Penasco is located in Taos County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Penasco <1>
  • Barranca
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barranca have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barranca
    • Barranca is located in Taos County
  • Rinconada
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rinconada have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rinconada
    • Rinconada is located in Rio Arriba County
  • Elizabethtown ‑ Historic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabethtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabethtown
    • Elizabethtown is located in Colfax County
  • Questa
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Questa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>
  • Servilleta
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Servilleta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servilleta
    • Servilleta is located in Taos County
  • Cerro
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...

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

The official website for Taos: www.taosgov.com/

The official website for State of New Mexico: www.newmexico.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>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.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Taos) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Taos. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.4072, Longitude: -105.5734    
<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 Taos, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024