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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 Willow Creek (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 Willow Creek. 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 Willow Creek ...

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 Willow Creek: Willow Crk. (or less commonly used: Willow Ck. or Willow Cr.)

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

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

  • Rio Arriba County     (The home county of Willow Creek)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Creek, with the one closest to Willow Creek listed first.
    • Chama
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chama
      • Chama is located in Rio Arriba County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 976 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chama <1>
    • Lobato ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobato
      • Lobato is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Brazos
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos
      • Brazos is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Los Ojos
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Monero
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monero
      • Monero is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Rutheron
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutheron
      • Rutheron is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Lumberton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumberton
      • Lumberton is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Dulce
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Navajo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navajo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navajo
      • Navajo is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Sublette
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sublette
      • Sublette is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Cebolla
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Canjilon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Archuleta County (CO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Creek, with the one closest to Willow Creek listed first.
    • Chromo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chromo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chromo
      • Chromo is located in Archuleta County (CO)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chromo <1>
    • Trujillo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trujillo
      • Trujillo is located in Archuleta County (CO)
    • Juanita ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juanita
      • Juanita is located in Archuleta County (CO)
  • Conejos County (CO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Creek, with the one closest to Willow Creek listed first.
    • Cumbres
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumbres
      • Cumbres is located in Conejos County (CO)
    • Osier
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osier
      • Osier is located in Conejos County (CO)

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

Newspapers Published in Willow Creek ...

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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willow Creek.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willow Creek, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Willow Creek.

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 helpful 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 Willow Creek:

Cemeteries Near Willow Creek ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willow Creek.

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

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

  • Chama Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chama Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chama Cemetery
  • Rutheron Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Gomez Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gomez Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gomez Cemetery
  • Martinez Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Martinez Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Martinez Cemetery
  • Wirt Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wirt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wirt Cemetery
  • Fox Creek Cemetery
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fox Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fox Creek Cemetery
  • San Miguel Cemetery
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the San Miguel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Miguel Cemetery
  • Cedar Grove Cemetery
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Grove 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 in 1895, Willow Creek had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Chama
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chama
    • Chama is located in Rio Arriba County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 976 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chama <1>
  • Lobato ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobato
    • Lobato is located in Rio Arriba County
  • Monero
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monero
    • Monero is located in Rio Arriba County
  • Amargo
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amargo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amargo
    • Amargo is located in Rio Arriba County
  • Tierra Amarilla ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tierra Amarilla have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tierra Amarilla
    • Tierra Amarilla is located in Rio Arriba County
  • Cumbres
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumbres
    • Cumbres is located in Conejos County (CO)
  • Chromo
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chromo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chromo
    • Chromo is located in Archuleta County (CO)
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chromo <1>
  • Dulce
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Toltec
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toltec have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toltec
    • Toltec is located in Rio Arriba County
  • Navajo
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navajo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navajo
    • Navajo is located in Rio Arriba County
  • Sublette
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sublette
    • Sublette is located in Rio Arriba County
  • Big Horn
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Horn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Horn
    • Big Horn is located in Rio Arriba County
  • Juanita ‑ Historic
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juanita
    • Juanita is located in Archuleta County (CO)

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

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

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Willow Creek) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Willow Creek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.8895, Longitude: -106.6509       In this case, the coordinates for Willow Creek have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Willow Creek, 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