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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 Exeter (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 Exeter. 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.

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

  • New London County     (The home county of Exeter)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
    • Lebanon
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Lebanon is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,112 people
    • Lebanon
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Liberty Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Liberty Hill is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
    • Gilman
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Colchester
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • North Franklin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Franklin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Franklin is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,914 people
    • Franklin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Williams Crossing
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Williams Crossing is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Crossing
    • Bozrah
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bozrah is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bozrah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,712 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bozrah <1>
    • North Westchester
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Salem
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Hartford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
    • Marlborough
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Terramuggus
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Terramuggus is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terramuggus
    • Marlborough
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Marlborough is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,303 people
    • Buckingham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Buckingham is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckingham
    • East Glastonbury
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Glastonbury
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Glastonbury is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glastonbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,426 people
    • Lydallville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lydallville is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydallville
    • Manchester Green
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Manchester Green is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester Green
    • Addison
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Addison is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
    • Manchester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Manchester is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57,362 people
    • Manchester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • South Glastonbury
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
    • Crowley Corner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Crowley Corner is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowley Corner
    • East Haddam
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • East Haddam is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Haddam
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,956 people
    • Moodus
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • East Hampton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • East Hampton is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hampton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,747 people
    • East Hampton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Lake Pocotopaug
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Lake Pocotopaug is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Pocotopaug
    • Johnsonville ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Johnsonville is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonville
      • Johnsonville has also been known as:
      • Johnsonville Village
    • Little Haddam
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Little Haddam is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Haddam
    • East Haddam
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Shailerville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Shailerville is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shailerville
    • Cobalt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Middle Haddam
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • New Haven County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
    • North Madison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • North Madison is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Madison
    • Madison
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Madison is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,924 people
    • Meriden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Meriden is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meriden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58,981 people
    • Meriden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Guilford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Guilford is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,043 people
    • Madison
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • East River
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • East River is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
    • South Meriden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • South Meriden is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Meriden
    • Wallingford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Wallingford is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallingford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,076 people
    • Yalesville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Tolland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
    • Amston
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Turnerville ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Turnerville is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnerville
    • Columbia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Columbia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Columbia is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,355 people
    • Hebron
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hebron
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Hebron is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,480 people
    • Conantville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Conantville is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conantville
    • Gilead
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Gilead is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
    • Andover
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Andover is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,228 people
    • Andover
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Coventry Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Coventry Lake is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry Lake
    • Coventry
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Windham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
    • South Windham
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Willimantic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Windham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Windham
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Windham is located in Windham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24,463 people
    • North Windham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Scotland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Scotland is located in Windham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,664 people
    • Scotland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Chaplin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Chaplin is located in Windham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaplin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,232 people
    • Canterbury
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Canterbury is located in Windham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canterbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,088 people
    • Chaplin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Westminster
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Westminster is located in Windham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
    • Hampton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Hampton is located in Windham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,841 people
  • Hampden County (MA)
    • State Line
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • State Line is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
  • Suffolk County (NY)
  • Kent County (RI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
    • Greene
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Greene is located in Kent County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene
    • Rice City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Rice City is located in Kent County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice City
    • Coventry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Coventry is located in Kent County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,931 people
  • Providence County (RI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
    • Foster
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Foster is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,747 people
    • Foster
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Foster is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
    • Simmons Corner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Simmons Corner is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmons Corner
  • Washington County (RI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
    • Moscow
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Moscow is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
    • Hopkinton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hopkinton is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkinton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,095 people
    • Hopkinton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hopkinton is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkinton
    • Canonchet
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Canonchet is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canonchet
    • Lewis City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Lewis City is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis City
    • Ashaway
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Ashaway is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashaway
    • Westerly
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Westerly is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westerly
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,328 people
    • Westerly
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Westerly is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westerly
    • Arcadia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Arcadia is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
    • Hope Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Hope Valley is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Valley
    • Avondale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Avondale is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
    • Alton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Alton is located in Washington County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton

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

Cemeteries Near Exeter ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Exeter.

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 Exeter - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Goshen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Liberty Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Exeter Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • New Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Trumbull Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Burying Ground
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Linwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Linwood Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Colchester.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #103446 <2>
  • Scott Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bozrah Rural Johnson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Andover Road Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (610 more) ...
    • Way Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Columbia Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Parker Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)

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

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

  • Lebanon
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Liberty Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Liberty Hill is located in New London County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
  • Colchester
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Turnerville ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Turnerville is located in Tolland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnerville
  • Columbia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • North Franklin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Hebron
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Fitchville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Fitchville is located in New London County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchville
  • Franklin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • South Windham
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Willimantic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • North Westchester
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Exeter ...

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 102 newspapers that have been published in the area around Exeter.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Exeter, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Exeter.

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 Exeter:

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 Exeter, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Exeter) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.