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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 Arlington (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 Arlington. 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.

A Few Details for Arlington ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • Arlington was settled in 1630.
  • It was incorporated in 1807.

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 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.

Arlington is located in Middlesex County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Middlesex County: Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Worcester & Hillsborough (NH).

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

  • Middlesex County     (The home county of Arlington)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.
    • West Medford
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • West Medford is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Medford
    • Belmont
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Arlington Heights
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Arlington Heights is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Heights
    • Medford
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Winchester
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Huron Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Huron Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron Village
    • Waverley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Waverley is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverley
    • East Lexington
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • East Lexington is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
    • Edgeworth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Edgeworth is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgeworth
    • Wellington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Cambridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Somerville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Watertown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.
    • North Easton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
    • South Easton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
    • Easton Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Easton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,116 people
    • Mansfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • East Mansfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Furnace Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Furnace Village is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village
    • Norton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Essex County
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.
    • Brookline
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Brookline Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village
    • Westbrook Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Westbrook Village is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
    • Wellesley Farms
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Wellesley Farms is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Farms
    • Babson Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Babson Park is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park
    • Needham Heights
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights
    • Needham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Needham is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,537 people
    • Wellesley Hills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Wellesley Hills is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Hills
    • Wellesley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Dedham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Milton Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Milton Village is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Village
    • Montclair
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ashcroft
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Ashcroft is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcroft
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington listed first.
    • Hull
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bayside
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bayside is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside
    • Kenberma
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Kenberma is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenberma
    • Hingham
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • West Hingham
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • West Hingham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hingham
    • Accord
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Montello
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • North Abington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Brockton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Abington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Minot
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Minot is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minot
    • North Scituate
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • North Scituate is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scituate
    • Rockland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Rockland is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
  • Suffolk County
  • Worcester County
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
  • Rockingham County (NH)
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Arlington ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Arlington.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Arlington, with the one closest to Arlington 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Arlington had a population of 5,629 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Arlington had a population of 45,169 people.

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

  • Brattle
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Brattle is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brattle
  • Belmont
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • North Cambridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • North Cambridge is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cambridge
  • Medford Hillside
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Medford Hillside is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford Hillside
  • West Medford
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • West Medford is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Medford
  • Arlington Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Arlington Heights is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Heights
  • Waverley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Waverley is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverley
  • West Somerville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • West Somerville is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Somerville
  • Medford
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Winchester
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • East Lexington
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • East Lexington is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
  • Watertown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (25 more) ...
    • East Watertown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • East Watertown is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Watertown
    • Cambridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Somerville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Arlington ...

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 169 newspapers that have been published in the area around Arlington.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Arlington. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Arlington and those printed in the larger area surrounding Arlington.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<5> of Arlington.

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 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 Arlington:

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>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.

<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 Arlington, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Arlington) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.