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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 Somers (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 Somers. 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 Somers ...

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.

Somers has also been known as: Central Somers.

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

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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Somers is located in Tolland 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 Tolland County: Hartford, New London, Windham, Hampden (MA) & Worcester (MA).

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

  • Tolland County     (The home county of Somers)
  • Hartford County
  • Litchfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Somers, with the one closest to Somers listed first.
    • Hampsted
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Hampsted is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampsted
    • Barkhamsted
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Barkhamsted
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Barkhamsted is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkhamsted
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,587 people
    • Pine Meadow
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Puddle Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Puddle Town is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puddle Town
    • New Hartford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Browns Corner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Riverton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Nepaug
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • New Hartford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • New Hartford is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hartford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,639 people
    • Torrington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Torrington is located in Litchfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33,870 people
  • Middlesex County
  • New London County
  • Windham County
  • Franklin County (MA)
  • Hampden County (MA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Somers, with the one closest to Somers listed first.
    • Baptist Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Baptist Village is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baptist Village
    • Hampden
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Hampden is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,154 people
    • East Longmeadow
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • East Longmeadow is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Longmeadow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,093 people
    • State Line
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Longmeadow
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • South Factory Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • South Factory Village is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Factory Village
    • Wilbraham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Monson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Agawam
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • North Wilbraham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Springfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Indian Orchard
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Ludlow
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Ludlow is located in Hampden County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,101 people
  • Hampshire County (MA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Somers, with the one closest to Somers listed first.
    • Bondsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Bondsville is located in Hampshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
    • Granby
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Granby is located in Hampshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,262 people
    • South Hadley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Belchertown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Ware
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Easthampton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Tom
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Southampton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Southampton is located in Hampshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southampton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,162 people
    • Enfield ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • South Amherst
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • South Amherst is located in Hampshire County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amherst
    • Hadley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Bay State
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Northampton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Worcester County (MA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Somers, with the one closest to Somers listed first.
    • Fiskdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Old Sturbridge Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Old Sturbridge Village is located in Worcester County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Sturbridge Village
    • West Warren
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Sturbridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Sturbridge is located in Worcester County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturbridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,561 people
    • Warren
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Warren is located in Worcester County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,203 people
    • Globe Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Globe Village is located in Worcester County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe Village
    • Southbridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Brookfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Brookfield is located in Worcester County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,439 people
    • West Brookfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Charlton City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Gilbertville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Dudley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Dudley is located in Worcester County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,663 people
    • Charlton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Charlton is located in Worcester County (MA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,698 people

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

Cemeteries Near Somers ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Somers.

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

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

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

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Somers had a population of 420 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Somers ...

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 168 newspapers that have been published in the area around Somers.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Somers, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Somers.

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 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 Somers:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Somers) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MACRIS (for the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System). More information about the MHC and MACRIS can be found on their website: mhc-macris.net.

When visiting the MACRIS website, you might encounter their page requiring the 'Acceptance of Terms'. With your acceptance, you'll be transfered to the desired page.

<5>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 Somers, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.