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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 Rockland (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 Rockland. 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 Rockland ...

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.

Another variation: Rock Land.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Rockland. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rockland.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Rockland is located in New Haven County.

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

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

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

  • New Haven County     (The home county of Rockland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • North Madison
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • North Madison is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Madison
    • Guilford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Guilford is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,043 people
    • Madison
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Madison is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,924 people
    • North Branford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • North Branford is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Branford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,066 people
    • Northford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • East River
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • East River is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
    • Guilford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • North Branford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Clintonville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Clintonville is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville
    • Wallingford
      (8 miles [12.9 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
    • Madison
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Totoket
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Totoket is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Totoket
    • Quinnipiac ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Quinnipiac is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnipiac
  • Fairfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Shelton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Oronoque
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Oronoque is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oronoque
    • Huntington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Huntington is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
    • Shelton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Shelton is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40,957 people
    • White Hills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • White Hills is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hills
    • East Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • East Village is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
    • Stevenson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Nichols
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Nichols is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
    • Stratford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Stratford is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51,660 people
    • Stratford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Monroe
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Monroe is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,328 people
    • Monroe
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Riverside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Hartford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • East Berlin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Berlin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Berlin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Berlin is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,390 people
    • Kensington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Rocky Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Rocky Hill is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,037 people
    • Taylor Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Taylor Town is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Town
    • Milldale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Plantsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Rocky Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • South Glastonbury
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Marlborough
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Marlborough is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,303 people
    • Marion
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Southington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Southington is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,829 people
  • Litchfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Greystone
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Greystone is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greystone
    • Terryville Station
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Terryville Station is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terryville Station
    • Oakville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pequabuck
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Terryville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Plymouth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Plymouth is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,552 people
    • Plymouth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Watertown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Watertown is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watertown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,517 people
    • Watertown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Thomaston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Thomaston is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomaston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,505 people
    • Thomaston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Northfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hotchkissville ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Hotchkissville is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hotchkissville
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Durham
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Durham is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,137 people
    • Little City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Little City is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little City
    • Killingworth
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Killingworth is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killingworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,340 people
    • Durham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Killingworth
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Haddam
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Haddam is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddam
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,150 people
    • Ponset
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Ponset is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponset
    • Middlefield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Middlefield is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,350 people
    • Middlefield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Higganum
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Arnolds
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Arnolds is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnolds
    • Haddam
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Chester
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Chester is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,175 people
  • New London County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Hadlyme
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Hamburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Hamburg is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
    • Westchester
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Westchester is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westchester
    • Lyme
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • 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
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Lyme is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyme
    • Sterling City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Sterling City is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling City
    • North Westchester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Old Lyme
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Old Lyme
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Old Lyme is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Lyme
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,280 people
    • Salem
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Salem is located in New London County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,083 people
    • Salem
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Colchester
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • South Lyme
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Tolland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Amston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hebron
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hebron is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,480 people
    • Gilead
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Gilead is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
    • Hebron
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Turnerville ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Turnerville is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnerville
    • Gay City ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Gay City is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay City
    • Andover
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Andover is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,228 people
    • Andover
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bolton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bolton is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,855 people
    • Columbia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Columbia is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,355 people
    • Bolton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Columbia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Coventry Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Coventry Lake is located in Tolland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry Lake
  • Suffolk County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • East Marion
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Greenport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Orient
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Southold
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Peconic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Dering Harbor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Dering Harbor is located in Suffolk County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dering Harbor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11 people
    • Orient Point
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Orient Point is located in Suffolk County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Point
    • Shelter Island Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Shelter Island Heights is located in Suffolk County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelter Island Heights
    • Shelter Island
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Westmoreland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Westmoreland is located in Suffolk County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmoreland
    • Cutchogue
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Luce Landing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Luce Landing is located in Suffolk County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luce Landing
    • Mattituck
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Rockland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rockland.

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

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

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

  • Emmanuel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Stone House Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Bluff Head Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Summer Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Pine Orchard Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • West Side Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Lane District Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Little City Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Parker Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Burr District Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Ponset Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Ponset Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (503 more) ...
    • Nut Plains Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Evergreen Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Southwest 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.<2>

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

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

  • North Madison
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • North Madison is located in New Haven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Madison
  • North Guilford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • North Guilford is located in New Haven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Guilford
  • Durham Center
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Durham Center is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham Center
  • Durham
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Killingworth
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Middlefield
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Higganum
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • East Wallingford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • East Wallingford is located in New Haven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wallingford
  • Northford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • North Branford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Guilford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • East River
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • East River is located in New Haven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Arnolds
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Arnolds is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnolds
    • Haddam
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Clintonville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Clintonville is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville

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

Newspapers Published in Rockland ...

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 68 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockland.

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

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 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 Rockland:

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>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 Rockland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Rockland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.