RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Connecticut >> New Haven County >> Beacon Falls >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Beacon Falls (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 Beacon Falls. 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 doctors and 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.

Beacon Falls is located in New Haven County.

To see how the shape of Connecticut's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of New Haven County: Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield & Middlesex.

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

  • New Haven County     (The home county of Beacon Falls)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beacon Falls, with the one closest to Beacon Falls listed first.
    • Beacon Falls
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Pine Bridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Pine Bridge is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Bridge
    • Bethany
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Bethany is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,513 people
    • Bethany
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Borough of Naugatuck
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Borough of Naugatuck is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borough of Naugatuck
      • Estimated population in 2014: 31,659 people
    • Naugatuck
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Naugatuck is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naugatuck
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 30,905 people
    • Naugatuck
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Seymour
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Oxford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Davidsons Corner
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Davidsons Corner is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidsons Corner
    • Union City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Union City is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
    • Seymour
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Seymour is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,326 people
    • Oxford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Oxford is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,250 people
  • Fairfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beacon Falls, with the one closest to Beacon Falls listed first.
    • Stevenson
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Shelton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • East Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • East Village is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
    • White Hills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • White Hills is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hills
    • Riverside
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Huntington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Huntington is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
    • Monroe
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Shelton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Shelton is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40,957 people
    • Botsford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Monroe
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Monroe is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,328 people
    • Sandy Hook
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Newtown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Newtown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Newtown is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
  • Hartford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beacon Falls, with the one closest to Beacon Falls listed first.
    • Marion
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Milldale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Plantsville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Southington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Southington is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,829 people
    • Southington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bloomfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bristol
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Bristol is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 59,734 people
    • Bristol
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • East Bristol
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • East Bristol is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bristol
    • Berlin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Berlin is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,390 people
    • Plainville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Plainville is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,486 people
    • Plainville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Berlin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Litchfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beacon Falls, with the one closest to Beacon Falls listed first.
    • Oakville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Woodbury
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Russian Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Russian Village is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russian Village
    • Woodbury
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Woodbury is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,453 people
    • Greystone
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Greystone is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greystone
    • Watertown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Watertown is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,517 people
    • Watertown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Hotchkissville ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hotchkissville is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hotchkissville
    • Roxbury
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Roxbury is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,150 people
    • Plymouth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Plymouth is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,552 people
    • Bethlehem
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bethlehem is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,385 people
    • Bethlehem
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Roxbury
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beacon Falls, with the one closest to Beacon Falls listed first.
    • Middlefield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Middlefield is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,350 people
    • Middlefield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Durham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Durham is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,137 people
    • Durham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Middletown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Middletown is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46,013 people
    • Middletown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Little City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Little City is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little City
    • Cromwell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Cromwell is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,772 people
    • Cromwell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Portland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Gildersleeve
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Gildersleeve is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gildersleeve
    • Killingworth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Killingworth is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killingworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,340 people
    • Haddam
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Haddam is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddam
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,150 people
  • Dutchess County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beacon Falls, with the one closest to Beacon Falls listed first.
    • Dogtail Corners
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Dogtail Corners is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtail Corners
    • Pawling
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Pawling is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawling
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,248 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pawling <1>
  • Putnam County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beacon Falls, with the one closest to Beacon Falls listed first.
    • Deforest Corners
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Deforest Corners is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deforest Corners
    • Putnam Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Putnam Lake is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam Lake
    • Peach Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Peach Lake is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Lake
    • Brewster Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Brewster Hill is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster Hill
    • Patterson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Towners
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Towners is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towners
    • Brewster
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Dykemans
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Dykemans is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dykemans
  • Westchester County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beacon Falls, with the one closest to Beacon Falls listed first.
    • Lewisboro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Twin Lakes Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Twin Lakes Village is located in Westchester County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes Village
    • Boutonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Boutonville is located in Westchester County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boutonville
    • Scotts Corners
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Scotts Corners is located in Westchester County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corners

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

Cemeteries Near Beacon Falls ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Beacon Falls.

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 Beacon Falls - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Pine Bridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Naugatuck.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #103375 <2>
  • St. James Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. James Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. James Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Naugatuck.
    • The St. James Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. James Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #103634 <2>
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Union Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Northwest Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Old Bethany Burying Ground
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Pine Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Salem Bridge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • St. Augustine Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (480 more) ...
    • Sperry Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Carrington Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Guntown Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 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.<3>

While we didn't find Beacon Falls in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Beacon Falls.

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

  • Beacon Falls
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Seymour
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Bethany
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Naugatuck
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Naugatuck is located in New Haven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naugatuck
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 30,905 people
  • Oxford
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Union City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Union City is located in New Haven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
  • Prospect
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Southford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Southford is located in New Haven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southford
  • Quaker Farms
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Quaker Farms is located in New Haven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Farms
  • Ansonia
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Stevenson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Derby
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Derby is located in New Haven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,257 people
    • Former name for Derby:
    • Birmingham
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Derby <1>
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Mount Carmel
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Mount Carmel is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
    • Mount Carmel Center
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Mount Carmel Center is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel Center
    • Brooksvale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Brooksvale is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksvale

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

Newspapers Published in Beacon Falls ...

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 223 newspapers that have been published in the area around Beacon Falls.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Beacon Falls, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Beacon Falls.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Beacon Falls:

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>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 Beacon Falls, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Beacon Falls) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.