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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 East Lyme (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 East Lyme. 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 East Lyme ...

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 East Lyme: E. Lyme

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 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 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.

East Lyme is located in New London 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 London County: Hartford, Middlesex, Tolland, Windham, Kent (RI) & Washington (RI).

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

  • New London County     (The home county of East Lyme)
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Lyme, with the one closest to East Lyme listed first.
    • East Lyme
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Niantic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • South Lyme
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Waterford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Waterford is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,865 people
    • Old Lyme
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Old Lyme is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Lyme
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,280 people
    • Waterford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Chesterfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Chesterfield is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
    • Pleasure Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Pleasure Beach is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasure Beach
    • Old Lyme
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • New London
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Lyme
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lyme is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyme
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,304 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyme <1>
    • Lyme
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lyme is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyme
    • Hamburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Hamburg is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
  • Hartford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Lyme, with the one closest to East Lyme listed first.
    • Marlborough
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Marlborough
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Marlborough is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,303 people
    • Terramuggus
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Terramuggus is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terramuggus
    • Taylor Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Taylor Town is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Town
    • East Glastonbury
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Glastonbury
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Glastonbury is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glastonbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,426 people
    • South Glastonbury
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Buckingham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Buckingham is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckingham
    • Addison
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Addison is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
    • Glastonbury Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Glastonbury Center is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glastonbury Center
    • Rocky Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Rocky Hill is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,037 people
    • Rocky Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Lyme, with the one closest to East Lyme listed first.
    • Fenwick
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Fenwick is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenwick
    • Old Saybrook
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Old Saybrook is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Saybrook
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,028 people
    • Old Saybrook
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Crowley Corner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Crowley Corner is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowley Corner
    • Saybrook Manor
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Saybrook Manor is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook Manor
    • Centerbrook
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Essex
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Essex is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essex
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,634 people
    • Essex
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Plum Bank Beach
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Plum Bank Beach is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Bank Beach
    • Deep River
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Ivoryton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Chester
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Deep River
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Deep River is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,419 people
  • New Haven County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Lyme, with the one closest to East Lyme listed first.
    • Madison
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Madison
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Madison is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,924 people
    • East River
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • East River is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
    • North Madison
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • North Madison is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Madison
    • Guilford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Guilford is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,043 people
    • Guilford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • North Branford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • North Branford is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Branford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,066 people
    • North Branford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Stony Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Stony Creek is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
    • Northford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Pine Orchard
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Pine Orchard is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Orchard
    • Branford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Branford is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,736 people
    • Branford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Tolland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Lyme, with the one closest to East Lyme listed first.
    • Amston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Turnerville ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Turnerville is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnerville
    • Hebron
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Hebron is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,480 people
    • Hebron
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Columbia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Columbia is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,355 people
    • Columbia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Gilead
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Gilead is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
    • Conantville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Conantville is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conantville
    • Andover
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Andover is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,228 people
    • Andover
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Gay City ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Gay City is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay City
    • Mansfield Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Mansfield City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Mansfield City is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield City
  • Windham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Lyme, with the one closest to East Lyme listed first.
    • South Windham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Willimantic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Windham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Windham is located in Windham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,463 people
    • Windham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Scotland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Scotland is located in Windham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,664 people
    • Scotland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Canterbury
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Canterbury is located in Windham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canterbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,088 people
    • Westminster
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Westminster is located in Windham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
    • North Windham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Canterbury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Plainfield Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Plainfield Village is located in Windham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield Village
    • Plainfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Ekonk
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Ekonk is located in Windham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekonk
  • Suffolk County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Lyme, with the one closest to East Lyme listed first.
    • Fishers Island
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Orient Point
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Orient Point is located in Suffolk County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Point
    • Orient
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • East Marion
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Dering Harbor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Dering Harbor is located in Suffolk County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dering Harbor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11 people
    • Greenport
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Shelter Island Heights
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Shelter Island Heights is located in Suffolk County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelter Island Heights
    • Shelter Island
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Westmoreland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Westmoreland is located in Suffolk County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmoreland
    • Southold
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • North Haven
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • North Haven is located in Suffolk County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Haven
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 894 people
    • Northwest Harbor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Northwest Harbor is located in Suffolk County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest Harbor
    • Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Springs is located in Suffolk County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springs
  • Washington County (RI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Lyme, with the one closest to East Lyme listed first.
    • Avondale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Avondale is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
    • Westerly
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Westerly is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westerly
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,328 people
    • Westerly
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Westerly is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westerly
    • Ashaway
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Ashaway is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashaway
    • Langworthy Corner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Langworthy Corner is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langworthy Corner
    • Hopkinton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Hopkinton is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkinton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,095 people
    • Hopkinton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Hopkinton is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkinton
    • Weekapaug
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Weekapaug is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weekapaug
    • Bradford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Bradford is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
    • Burdickville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Burdickville is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdickville
    • Alton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Alton is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
    • Canonchet
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Canonchet is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canonchet
    • Moscow
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Moscow is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow

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

Cemeteries Near East Lyme ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of East Lyme.

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 East Lyme - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Stone Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • East Lyme Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Champion Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Union Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Whistletown Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Gillett Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Waite Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Jordan Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Congregation Ohave Sholem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Lakes Pond Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Chesterfield Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Duck River Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (460 more) ...
    • Griswold Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Grove Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cedar Grove Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of New London.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #103253 <2>
    • St. Mary Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Mary Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Mary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of New London.
      • The St. Mary Cemetery has also been known as:
      • St. Marys Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #103670 <2>

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 East Lyme in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of East Lyme.

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

  • East Lyme
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Crescent Beach
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Crescent Beach is located in New London County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Beach
  • Niantic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • South Lyme
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Black Hall
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Black Hall is located in New London County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Hall
  • Waterford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Chesterfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Chesterfield is located in New London County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
  • New London
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • North Lyme
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • North Lyme is located in New London County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lyme
  • Lyme
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lyme is located in New London County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyme
  • Hamburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Hamburg is located in New London County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
  • Quaker Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Saybrook Point
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Saybrook Point is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook Point
    • Fenwick
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Fenwick is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenwick
    • Groton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Groton is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,872 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Groton <1>

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

Newspapers Published in East Lyme ...

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 86 newspapers that have been published in the area around East Lyme.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of East Lyme, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for East Lyme.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 East Lyme:

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 East Lyme, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- East Lyme) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.