Kat shines a light on New Mexico history and genealogy, discussing her own ancestry adventures, along with primas and primos who love to talk about those who came before us. Having only learned about the rich and complicated Manito culture in 2011, Kat is on a mission to explore more and spread the word about our fascinating history and contributions.
Road Trip: Boggsville, Walsenburg, Raton, and Cimarron
Kat shares highlights of a recent genealogy trip that started in No Man's Land, Oklahoma Territory, and ended in Rayado.
Places mentioned: Boise City, OK, Boggsville, Rocky Ford, Bent's Fort(s), Walsenburg, Piedras Amarilla (aka YELLOWSTONE), Badito, Taos Trail, La Veta, Trinidad, Raton, Cimarron, Rayado, Springer
Join the Fray Angelico Chaves Chapter of the Genealogical Society of Hispanic America here. (https://facc-genealogy.weebly.com/)
Make sure to check out the Cimarron Heritage Center (https://chcmuseumok.com/)in Boise City, OK.
Email Kat at luminariapod@gmail.com.
10 Aug 2026
La Cebolla Valley w/Virginia Sanchez
Author Virginia Sanchez shares about her latest research on La Cebolla Valley near Mora, but as usual, her work covers such an array of interesting topics about our culture. We chat acequias, mills, traditional Hispano customs, and even have a productive tangent on digitized Catholic newspapers as a resource.
You can get any of Virginia's books and find her next speaking engagements at https://virginiasanchezbooks.com/ (https://virginiasanchezbooks.com/)
The Mora Valley of the Mills Tour (https://www.newmexicomagazine.org/event/4th-valley-of-the-mills-tour/21617/)takes place over Labor Day weekend every year - you can take guided tours of all three historic working mills in the Valley.
La Voz del Pueblo started in Santa Fe in 1888, and then moved to Las Vegas. Learn more in Spanish-Language Newspapers in New Mexico, 1834-1958 by A. Gabriel Melendez.
La Revista Catolica was a Catholic newspaper out of Las Vegas, and digitized copies are available through Regis University (https://lumen.regis.edu/search~S3?/XN%3Aregis+jesuitica+collection+revista+catolica&searchscope=3&SORT=D/XN%3Aregis+jesuitica+collection+revista+catolica&searchscope=3&SORT=D&extended=0&SUBKEY=N%3Aregis+jesuitica+collection+revista+catolica/1%2C8%2C8%2CB/frameset&FF=XN%3Aregis+jesuitica+collection+revista+catolica&searchscope=3&SORT=D&1%2C1%2C).
The Archdiocese of Denver has a fabulous archive of Catholic newspapers from Denver, Pueblo, and other Colorado communities - many of which are digitized. https://archden.org/archives (https://archden.org/archives)
Want to share your family history on the podcast? I anonymize living people to protect identities. Email luminariapod@gmail.com.
7 Aug 2026
Colfax County War w/Corey Recko
Corey Recko, author of The Colfax County War: Violence and Corruption in Territorial New Mexico, joined me to explain what led to the violence in northeastern New Mexico in the late 19th century. We chatted land grants, the Santa Fe Ring, and frontier justice.
Places mentioned: Cimarron, Springer, Rayado, Taos, Las Animas County and Boggsville, Colorado
Names mentioned: Sanchez, Gonzales, Bent, Martinez
Check out this book and Corey's other works at www.coreyrecko.com (www.coreyrecko.com).
Corey also mentioned David Caffey's book When Cimarron Meant Wild (https://www.oupress.com/9780806192390/when-cimarron-meant-wild/), which I found in audiobook form on Hoopla using my library card.
Learn more about the mining town of Morley here (https://www.santafetrailranch.com/images/pdfs/Morley_The_Town_That_Was.pdf).
Guadalupe Miranda did indeed skedaddle in 1845, and sold his share of the Miranda-Beaubien land grant to Lucien Maxwell in 1858.
Do you want to talk about your family history on the podcast? I anonymize living folks to protect privacy. You can reach out to me at luminariapod@gmail.com.
Who has been a guest on Luminaria: New Mexico Genealogy and History
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Jose Jaramillo
Ron Sandoval
Sylvia Brandl
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