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 Blandford (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 Blandford. 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 Blandford ...
While it's still very early in our research, we found that:
- Blandford was settled in 1735.
- It was incorporated in 1741.
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.
Blandford is located in Hampden 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 Hampden County: Hartford (CT), Litchfield (CT), Tolland (CT), Berkshire, Hampshire & Worcester.
Below are the counties that are near Blandford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Blandford:
- Hampden County (The home county of Blandford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blandford, with the one closest to Blandford listed first.
- Russell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Russell is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,787 people
- North Blandford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Blandford is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Blandford
- Woronoco
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Woronoco is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woronoco
- Montgomery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Montgomery is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 863 people
- Chester Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Chester Center is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Center
- Chester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Chester is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,365 people
- West Granville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- West Granville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Granville
- Hampton Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hampton Village is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton Village
- Granville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Granville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,606 people
- Tolland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Tolland is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Westfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Westfield is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,063 people
- North Chester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- North Chester is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chester
- Berkshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blandford, with the one closest to Blandford listed first.
- East Otis
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- East Otis is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Otis
- Otis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Otis is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,531 people
- North Otis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- North Otis is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Otis
- West Becket
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- West Becket is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Becket
- Sandisfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sandisfield is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandisfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 887 people
- Becket
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Becket is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becket
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,707 people
- South Sandisfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- South Sandisfield is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sandisfield
- Monterey
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Monterey is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 918 people
- Tyringham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Tyringham is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyringham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Washington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Washington is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
- New Marlborough
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- New Marlborough is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Marlborough
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,450 people
- Southfield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Southfield is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southfield
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blandford, with the one closest to Blandford listed first.
- West Hawley
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- West Hawley is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hawley
- Whately
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Whately is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whately
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,583 people
- Ashfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ashfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,720 people
- South Ashfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- South Ashfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ashfield
- Conway
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Conway is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,875 people
- Hawley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Hawley is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
- South Deerfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- South Deerfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Deerfield
- Sunderland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sunderland is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunderland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,634 people
- Leverett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Leverett is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leverett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,836 people
- Buckland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Buckland is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,851 people
- Shelburne Falls
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Shelburne Falls is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelburne Falls
- Deerfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Deerfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,049 people
- Hampshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blandford, with the one closest to Blandford listed first.
- Huntington
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Huntington is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,159 people
- Southampton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Southampton is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southampton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,162 people
- Westhampton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Westhampton is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westhampton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
- Middlefield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Middlefield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
- West Farms
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- West Farms is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Farms
- Worthington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Worthington is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,176 people
- Easthampton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Easthampton is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easthampton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,750 people
- Chesterfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Chesterfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,250 people
- West Chesterfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- West Chesterfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chesterfield
- Worthington Corners
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Worthington Corners is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthington Corners
- Bay State
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bay State is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay State
- Florence
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Florence is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Hartford County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blandford, with the one closest to Blandford listed first.
- East Hartland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Hartland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Hartland is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,113 people
- West Hartland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Hartland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Hartland is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- North Granby
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Rising Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rising Corner is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Corner
- Granby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Granby is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,558 people
- West Granby
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Salmon Brook
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Salmon Brook is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salmon Brook
- Granby
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Suffield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chatsworth Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Chatsworth Village is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatsworth Village
- Litchfield County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blandford, with the one closest to Blandford listed first.
- Colebrook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Colebrook is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,396 people
- North Colebrook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- North Colebrook is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Colebrook
- Hampsted
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hampsted is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampsted
- Riverton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Colebrook
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Barkhamsted
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Barkhamsted is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkhamsted
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,587 people
- Barkhamsted
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Grantville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Grantville is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
- Norfolk
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Norfolk is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norfolk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,622 people
- Norfolk
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Winchester
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Winchester is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,548 people
- Tolland County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blandford, with the one closest to Blandford listed first.
- Somersville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Somers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Somers is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,741 people
- Somers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ellington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ellington is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,652 people
- Ellington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Windermere
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Windermere is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windermere
- Columbia County (NY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blandford, with the one closest to Blandford listed first.
- Green River
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Green River is located in Columbia County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
- Austerlitz
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Canaan Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Canaan Center is located in Columbia County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canaan Center
- Copake Falls
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Blandford, see our County-by-County Page for Blandford.
Cemeteries Near Blandford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blandford.
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 Blandford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Blandford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Blandford, with the one closest to Blandford listed first.
- Old Burying Ground
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Warfield Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- North Blandford Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Blanford Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Thomas Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Center Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Clarks Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Montgomery Center Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Norwich Bridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Webster Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Tolland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (363 more) ...
- Center Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Northeast Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
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 Blandford had a population of 300 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Blandford had a population of 1,249 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Blandford, with the one closest to Blandford listed first.
- Russell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Russell is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,787 people
- North Blandford
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Blandford is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Blandford
- Huntington
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Huntington is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,159 people
- Montgomery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Montgomery is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 863 people
- West Granville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- West Granville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Granville
- Chester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Chester is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,365 people
- Littleville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Littleville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
- Chester Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Chester Center is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Center
- Tolland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Tolland is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Granville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Granville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,606 people
- Norwich
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Norwich is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwich
- Otis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Otis is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,531 people
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- North Chester
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- North Chester is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chester
- New Boston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- New Boston is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Boston
- Westfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Westfield is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,063 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Blandford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Blandford.
Newspapers Published in Blandford ...
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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blandford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blandford, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blandford.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Blandford:
- Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Pages specific to Hampden County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Berkshire County
- Franklin County
- Hampshire County
- Hartford County
- Litchfield County
- Tolland County
- Columbia County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
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 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.
|
| <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> | 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 Blandford, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Blandford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |