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Home >> State of Connecticut >> Hartford County >> Canton Valley >> 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 Canton Valley (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 Canton Valley. 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 Canton Valley ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Canton Valley: Canton Vly. (or less commonly used: Canton Vally. or Canton Vlly.)

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

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 south 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.

Canton Valley is located in Hartford 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 Hartford County: Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, Tolland & Hampden (MA).

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

  • Hartford County     (The home county of Canton Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canton Valley, with the one closest to Canton Valley listed first.
    • Canton
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Canton Center
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Crowleys Corner
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Crowleys Corner is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowleys Corner
    • Canton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Canton is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,230 people
    • Collinsville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Weatogue
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • West Simsbury
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Avon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Avon is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,220 people
    • Avon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Old Avon Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Old Avon Village is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Avon Village
    • West Avon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • West Avon is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Avon
    • Alsop Corner
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Alsop Corner is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alsop Corner
  • Litchfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canton Valley, with the one closest to Canton Valley listed first.
    • Pine Meadow
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Puddle Town
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Puddle Town is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puddle Town
    • Browns Corner
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Browns Corner is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Corner
    • New Hartford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Nepaug
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Nepaug is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nepaug
    • New Hartford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • New Hartford is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hartford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,639 people
    • Barkhamsted
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Torrington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Torrington is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33,870 people
    • Barkhamsted
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Barkhamsted is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkhamsted
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,587 people
    • Pleasant Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hampsted
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Hampsted is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampsted
    • Harwinton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canton Valley, with the one closest to Canton Valley listed first.
    • Cromwell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Cromwell is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,772 people
    • Cromwell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Gildersleeve
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Gildersleeve is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gildersleeve
    • Middletown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Portland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Portland is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,213 people
    • Portland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Middlefield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Middlefield is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,350 people
    • Middlefield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Middletown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Middletown is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46,013 people
    • Cobalt
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Pocotopaug
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Pocotopaug is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Pocotopaug
    • Durham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • New Haven County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canton Valley, with the one closest to Canton Valley listed first.
    • Wolcott
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Wolcott is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolcott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,565 people
    • Wolcott
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Waterville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Waterville is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterville
    • Meriden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Waterbury
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Waterbury is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106,826 people
    • Waterbury
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Autumn HIll
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Autumn HIll is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Autumn HIll
    • Meriden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Meriden is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meriden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58,981 people
    • South Meriden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • South Meriden is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Meriden
    • Cheshire
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Cheshire is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheshire
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,806 people
    • Cheshire
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • West Cheshire
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • West Cheshire is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Cheshire
  • New London County
  • Tolland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canton Valley, with the one closest to Canton Valley listed first.
    • Vernon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Windermere
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Windermere is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windermere
    • Ellington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Rockville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Vernon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Vernon is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29,400 people
    • Bolton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Bolton is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,855 people
    • Bolton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Ellington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Ellington is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,652 people
    • Somersville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Gay City ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Gay City is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay City
    • Quarryville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Quarryville is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarryville
    • Somers
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Somers is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,741 people
  • Berkshire County (MA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canton Valley, with the one closest to Canton Valley listed first.
    • South Sandisfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • South Sandisfield is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sandisfield
    • Sandisfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Sandisfield is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandisfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 887 people
    • East Otis
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • East Otis is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Otis
    • Clayton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Clayton is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
    • Gomorrah
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Gomorrah is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomorrah
    • Southfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Southfield is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southfield
    • New Marlborough
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • New Marlborough is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Marlborough
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,450 people
    • Otis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Otis is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,531 people
    • Ashley Falls
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Ashley Falls is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley Falls
    • Mill River
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Mill River is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill River
    • Monterey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Monterey is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 918 people
    • Hartsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Hartsville is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
  • Hampden County (MA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canton Valley, with the one closest to Canton Valley listed first.
    • Granville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Granville is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,606 people
    • Southwick
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Southwick is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwick
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,715 people
    • West Granville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • West Granville is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Granville
    • Tolland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Tolland is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
    • Hosmer Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Hosmer Corner is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hosmer Corner
    • Feeding Hills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Feeding Hills is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Feeding Hills
    • Westfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Westfield is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41,063 people
    • Agawam
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Agawam is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agawam
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,467 people
    • Longmeadow
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Longmeadow is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longmeadow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,624 people
    • Blandford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Blandford is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,249 people
    • Merrick
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Merrick is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrick
    • West Springfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • West Springfield is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Springfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,397 people
  • Hampshire County (MA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canton Valley, with the one closest to Canton Valley listed first.
    • Huntington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Huntington is located in Hampshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,159 people
    • Southampton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Southampton is located in Hampshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southampton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,162 people

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

Cemeteries Near Canton Valley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Canton Valley.

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 Canton Valley - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Canton Street Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Southwest Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwest Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Southwest Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Collinsville.
    • The Southwest Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Canton Southwest Cemetery
  • Bushy Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Canton Center Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Cherry Brook Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • North Canton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • West Avon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Beth El Temple Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Ann Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Avon Center Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (477 more) ...
    • St. Marys Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Greenwood Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Unionville.
      • The Greenwood Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Lovely Street Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #103372 <2>
    • Pine Grove 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 Canton Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Canton Valley.

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

  • Canton
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Canton Center
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Collinsville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • West Avon
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • West Avon is located in Hartford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Avon
  • Avon
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Weatogue
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • West Simsbury
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • North Canton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • North Canton is located in Hartford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Canton
  • Pine Meadow
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Burlington
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Unionville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Simsbury
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • New Hartford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Nepaug
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Nepaug is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nepaug
    • Barkhamsted
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Canton Valley ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Canton Valley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Canton Valley, 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 Canton Valley.

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 Canton Valley:

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 Canton Valley, 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- Canton Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.