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

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

  • Fairfield County     (The home county of Shady Rest)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shady Rest, with the one closest to Shady Rest listed first.
    • Sandy Hook
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Riverside
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Newtown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Newtown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Newtown is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
    • Hawleyville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Botsford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Brookfield Center
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Brookfield Center is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield Center
    • Stevenson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Dodgingtown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dodgingtown is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgingtown
    • Brookfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Brookfield is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,900 people
    • Hattertown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Hattertown is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hattertown
    • East Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • East Village is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
    • Brookfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Hartford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shady Rest, with the one closest to Shady Rest listed first.
    • Bloomfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Marion
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Milldale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Plantsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Southington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Bristol
      (23 miles [37 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
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Southington
      (23 miles [37 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
    • East Bristol
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • East Bristol is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bristol
    • Burlington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Burlington is located in Hartford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,748 people
    • Plainville
      (26 miles [41.8 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
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Whigville
      (26 miles [41.8 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 Shady Rest, with the one closest to Shady Rest listed first.
    • Russian Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Russian Village is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russian Village
    • Bridgewater
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Bridgewater is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgewater
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,632 people
    • Roxbury Station
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Roxbury Station is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury Station
    • Roxbury
      (7 miles [11.3 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
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Woodbury
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Bridgewater
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hotchkissville ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Hotchkissville is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hotchkissville
    • Woodbury
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodbury is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,453 people
    • Lanesville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lanesville is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesville
    • Candlewood Lake Club
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Candlewood Lake Club is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Candlewood Lake Club
    • Chimney Point
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Chimney Point is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimney Point
    • New Milford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shady Rest, with the one closest to Shady Rest listed first.
    • Middlefield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Middlefield is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,350 people
    • Middlefield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Durham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Durham is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,137 people
    • Durham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • New Haven County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shady Rest, with the one closest to Shady Rest listed first.
    • South Britain
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Southbury
      (2 miles [3.2 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
    • Heritage Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Heritage Village is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
    • Southbury
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Southford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Southford is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southford
    • Bowers Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bowers Hill is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowers Hill
    • Oxford
      (7 miles [11.3 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
    • Oxford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Middlebury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Middlebury is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlebury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,829 people
    • Middlebury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Pine Bridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Pine Bridge is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Bridge
    • Seymour
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Seymour is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,326 people
    • Beacon Falls
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Beacon Falls is located in New Haven County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beacon Falls
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,230 people
  • Dutchess County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shady Rest, with the one closest to Shady Rest listed first.
    • Pawling
      (18 miles [29 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
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Dogtail Corners is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtail Corners
    • West Pawling
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • West Pawling is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pawling
    • Poughquag
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Haven
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Green Haven is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Haven
    • Beekman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Beekman is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beekman
    • Clove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Clove is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clove
    • Dover Plains
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Stormville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • North Clove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • North Clove is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Clove
    • Sylvan Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Sylvan Lake is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan Lake
    • Camby
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Camby is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camby
    • East Fishkill
      (27 miles [43.5 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 Shady Rest, with the one closest to Shady Rest listed first.
    • 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
    • Deforest Corners
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Deforest Corners is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deforest Corners
    • Peach Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Peach Lake is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Lake
    • Brewster Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Brewster Hill is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster Hill
    • Brewster
      (17 miles [27.4 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
    • Patterson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Towners
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Towners is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towners
    • 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
    • Crafts
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Crafts is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crafts
    • 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
    • Mahopac
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Mahopac Mines
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Mahopac Mines is located in Putnam County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahopac Mines
  • Westchester County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shady Rest, with the one closest to Shady Rest listed first.
    • Twin Lakes Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Twin Lakes Village is located in Westchester County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes Village
    • Lewisboro
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Boutonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Boutonville is located in Westchester County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boutonville
    • Cross River
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Pound Ridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Scotts Corners
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Scotts Corners is located in Westchester County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corners
    • Somers
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Goldens Bridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Heritage Hills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Heritage Hills is located in Westchester County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Hills
    • Lincolndale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Bedford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Shenorock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Granite Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Shady Rest ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shady Rest.

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 Shady Rest - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Roses Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Pierce Hollow Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Newtown Village Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Berkshire Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • 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>
  • Pine Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Lands End Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • 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>
  • Taunton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Middleground Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Stiles Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Bradley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Morgan Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Huntingtown Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (470 more) ...
    • Walker Farm Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Hillside Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Brookside Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)

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>

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

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

  • South Britain
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Sandy Hook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Riverside
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Newtown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Southbury
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Hawleyville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Botsford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Southford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Southford is located in New Haven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southford
  • Brookfield Center
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Brookfield Center is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield Center
  • Stevenson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Quaker Farms
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Quaker Farms is located in New Haven County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Farms
  • Roxbury
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Roxbury Station
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Roxbury Station is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury Station
    • North Woodbury ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • North Woodbury is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Woodbury
    • Woodbury
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Shady Rest ...

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 105 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shady Rest.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Shady Rest:

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shady Rest) 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 Shady Rest, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.