RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Connecticut >> Fairfield County >> Newtown >> 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 Newtown (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 Newtown. 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 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.

Newtown is located in Fairfield 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 Fairfield County: Litchfield, New Haven, Dutchess (NY), Putnam (NY) & Westchester (NY).

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

  • Fairfield County     (The home county of Newtown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Newtown, with the one closest to Newtown listed first.
    • Sandy Hook
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Newtown
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Newtown is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
    • Botsford
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Riverside
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hawleyville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dodgingtown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Dodgingtown is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgingtown
    • Hattertown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Hattertown is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hattertown
    • Stevenson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Upper Stepney
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Upper Stepney is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Stepney
    • Monroe
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Monroe is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,328 people
    • Bethel
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Bethel is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,941 people
    • Bethel
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hartford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Newtown, with the one closest to Newtown listed first.
    • Bloomfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Marion
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Milldale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Plantsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Southington
      (25 miles [40.2 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
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Bristol
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bristol is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 59,734 people
    • Bristol
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • East Bristol
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • East Bristol is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bristol
    • Plainville
      (29 miles [46.7 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
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Whigville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Whigville is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whigville
  • Litchfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Newtown, with the one closest to Newtown listed first.
    • Russian Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Russian Village is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russian Village
    • Bridgewater
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Bridgewater is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgewater
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,632 people
    • Bridgewater
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Roxbury
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Roxbury is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,150 people
    • Roxbury
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Woodbury
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Candlewood Lake Club
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Candlewood Lake Club is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Candlewood Lake Club
    • Chimney Point
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Chimney Point is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimney Point
    • Roxbury Station
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Roxbury Station is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury Station
    • Lanesville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lanesville is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesville
    • Hotchkissville ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Hotchkissville is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hotchkissville
    • Woodbury
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Woodbury is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,453 people
  • New Haven County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Newtown, with the one closest to Newtown listed first.
    • South Britain
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bowers Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Bowers Hill is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowers Hill
    • Heritage Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Heritage Village is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
    • Southbury
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Southbury is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,496 people
    • Southbury
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Oxford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Oxford is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,250 people
    • Southford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Southford is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southford
    • Oxford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Seymour
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Seymour is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,326 people
    • Ansonia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Ansonia is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansonia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,525 people
    • Derby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Derby is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,257 people
    • Derby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
  • Dutchess County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Newtown, with the one closest to Newtown listed first.
    • Pawling
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Dogtail Corners
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Dogtail Corners is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtail Corners
    • West Pawling
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • West Pawling is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pawling
    • Poughquag
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Haven
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Green Haven is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Haven
    • Beekman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Beekman is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beekman
    • Stormville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Clove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Clove is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clove
    • Dover Plains
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Sylvan Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Sylvan Lake is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan Lake
    • Shenandoah
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Shenandoah is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shenandoah
    • East Fishkill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • East Fishkill is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Fishkill
  • Putnam County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Newtown, with the one closest to Newtown listed first.
    • Deforest Corners
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Deforest Corners is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deforest Corners
    • Putnam Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Putnam Lake is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam Lake
    • Peach Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Peach Lake is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Lake
    • Brewster Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Brewster Hill is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster Hill
    • Brewster
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Dykemans
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Dykemans is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dykemans
    • Towners
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Towners is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towners
    • Patterson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Crafts
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Crafts is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crafts
    • Lake Carmel
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Lake Carmel is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Carmel
    • Mahopac
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Farmers Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Farmers Mills is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers Mills
  • Westchester County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Newtown, with the one closest to Newtown listed first.
    • Twin Lakes Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Twin Lakes Village is located in Westchester County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes Village
    • Lewisboro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Boutonville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Boutonville is located in Westchester County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boutonville
    • Cross River
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Pound Ridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Scotts Corners
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Scotts Corners is located in Westchester County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corners
    • Somers
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Goldens Bridge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Heritage Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Heritage Hills is located in Westchester County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Hills
    • Bedford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Lincolndale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Shenorock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Newtown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Newtown.

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

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

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

  • Newtown Village Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Morgan Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Berkshire Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Berkshire Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Newtown.
    • The Berkshire Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Berkshire Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1970724 <2>
  • St. Roses Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Taunton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Huntingtown Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Walker Farm Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Elmwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Bradley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Lands End Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lands End Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Lands End Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the northwest of Newtown.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #103436 <2>
  • Stephey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • First Congregational Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (450 more) ...
    • Center Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • St. Marys Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Marys Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Marys Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Bethel.
    • Lonetown Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Newtown had a population of 650 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Newtown had a population of 27,832 people.

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

  • Sandy Hook
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Botsford
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Riverside
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Hawleyville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Stevenson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • South Britain
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Bethel
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Redding Ridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Stepney
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Stepney is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stepney
  • Monroe
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Southbury
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Brookfield Center
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Brookfield Center is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield Center
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Redding
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Quaker Farms
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Quaker Farms is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Farms
    • West Redding
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Newtown ...

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 122 newspapers that have been published in the area around Newtown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Newtown, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Newtown.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Newtown:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Newtown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Newtown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.