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 Bourne (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 Bourne. 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 Bourne ...
While it's still very early in our research, we found that:
- Bourne was settled in 1640.
- It was incorporated in 1884.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Bourne is located in Barnstable County.
To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Below are the counties that are near Bourne. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bourne:
- Barnstable County (The home county of Bourne)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bourne, with the one closest to Bourne listed first.
- Monument Beach
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monument Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument Beach
- Monument Beach is located in Barnstable County
- Buzzards Bay
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buzzards Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzards Bay
- Buzzards Bay is located in Barnstable County
- Pocasset
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocasset
- Pocasset is located in Barnstable County
- Sagamore
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Sandwich
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Sagamore Beach
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sagamore Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore Beach
- Sagamore Beach is located in Barnstable County
- Cataumet
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - North Falmouth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Falmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Falmouth
- North Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Forestdale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
- Forestdale is located in Barnstable County
- East Sandwich
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sandwich
- East Sandwich is located in Barnstable County
- Silver Beach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
- Silver Beach is located in Barnstable County
- Plowed Neck
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plowed Neck
- Plowed Neck is located in Barnstable County
- Mashpee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bristol County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bourne, with the one closest to Bourne listed first.
- Long Plain
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Plain
- Long Plain is located in Bristol County
- Acushnet Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet Center
- Acushnet Center is located in Bristol County
- Acushnet
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west) - Fairhaven
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest) - Clifford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west) - New Bedford
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bedford
- New Bedford is located in Bristol County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95,517 people
- East Freetown
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Freetown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Freetown
- East Freetown is located in Bristol County
- Bliss Corner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bliss Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corner
- Bliss Corner is located in Bristol County
- Braleys
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braleys
- Braleys is located in Bristol County
- Apponagansett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apponagansett
- Apponagansett is located in Bristol County
- South Dartmouth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Dartmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dartmouth
- South Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
- North Dartmouth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Dartmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dartmouth
- North Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
- Dartmouth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dukes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bourne, with the one closest to Bourne listed first.
- West Chop
(18 miles [29 km] to the south) - Oak Bluffs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bluffs
- Oak Bluffs is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,696 people
- Tisbury
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tisbury
- Tisbury is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,128 people
- Vineyard Haven
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyard Haven
- Vineyard Haven is located in Dukes County
- Gosnold
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest) - Christian Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christian Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Town
- Christian Town is located in Dukes County
- North Tisbury
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tisbury
- North Tisbury is located in Dukes County
- Edgartown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgartown
- Edgartown is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,383 people
- West Tisbury
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tisbury
- West Tisbury is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,927 people
- Cuttyhunk
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest) - Chilmark
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south) - Menemsha
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south) - Aquinnah
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquinnah
- Aquinnah is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
- Former name for Aquinnah:
- Gay Head
- Plymouth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bourne, with the one closest to Bourne listed first.
- Onset
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset
- Onset is located in Plymouth County
- White Island Shores
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Island Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Island Shores
- White Island Shores is located in Plymouth County
- East Wareham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Wareham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
- East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
- Wareham Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wareham Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham Center
- Wareham Center is located in Plymouth County
- Wareham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Weweantic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Briarwood Beach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
- Briarwood Beach is located in Plymouth County
- Marion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Marion is located in Plymouth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,189 people
- West Wareham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Wareham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wareham
- West Wareham is located in Plymouth County
- Cranberry Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cranberry Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry Village
- Cranberry Village is located in Plymouth County
- Pine Tree Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Tree Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Tree Village
- Pine Tree Village is located in Plymouth County
- South Carver
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Carver
- South Carver is located in Plymouth County
- Rochester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Rochester is located in Plymouth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,740 people
- Newport County (RI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bourne, with the one closest to Bourne listed first.
- Bliss Corners
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corners
- Bliss Corners is located in Newport County (RI)
- Adamsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Adamsville is located in Newport County (RI)
- Tiverton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bourne, see our County-by-County Page for Bourne.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bourne ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bourne.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bourne. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bourne and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bourne.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3> of Bourne.
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 Bourne:
- Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the Massachusetts Archives Division
- Pages specific to Barnstable County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bristol County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Dukes County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Plymouth County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Newport County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Bristol County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Cemeteries of Barnstable County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Cemeteries of Barnstable County
Cemeteries Near Bourne ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bourne.
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.
If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bourne covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bourne, with the one closest to Bourne listed first.
- Oakland Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakland Grove Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91370 <4>
- Gray Gables Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gray Gables Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gray Gables Cemetery
- Monument Neck Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Monument Neck Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1987519 <4>
- Old Bourne Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Bourne Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91372 <4>
- Monument Beach Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Monument Beach Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91233 <4>
- Long Neck Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Long Neck Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Long Neck Cemetery
- Sagamore Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sagamore Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1200274 <4>
- Indian Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Cemetery
- Cataumet Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cataumet Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90845 <4>
- Massachusetts National Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- To give a relative sense of its location, the Massachusetts National Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the northwest of Pocasset.
- The Massachusetts National Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bourne National Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Massachusetts National Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #109426 <4>
- Bay View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bay View Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90766 <4>
- Saddle & Pilgrim Graves
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Saddle & Pilgrim Graves have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Saddle & Pilgrim Graves
- Continue List (313 more) ...
- Cedarville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedarville Cemetery
- Agawam Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Agawam Cemetery
- Almshouse Burial Ground
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Almshouse Burial Ground. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
- The Almshouse Burial Ground has also been known as:
- Poor Farm Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Almshouse Burial Ground
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2576934 <4>
- Cedarville Cemetery
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.<6>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bourne had a population of 200 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bourne had a population of 19,743 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bourne, with the one closest to Bourne listed first.
- Monument Beach
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monument Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument Beach
- Monument Beach is located in Barnstable County
- Buzzards Bay
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buzzards Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzards Bay
- Buzzards Bay is located in Barnstable County
- Pocasset
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocasset
- Pocasset is located in Barnstable County
- Bournedale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bournedale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bournedale
- Bournedale is located in Barnstable County
- Onset
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset
- Onset is located in Plymouth County
- Sagamore
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - East Wareham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Wareham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
- East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
- Onset Station
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Onset Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset Station
- Onset Station is located in Plymouth County
- Cataumet
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Sandwich
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - North Falmouth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Falmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Falmouth
- North Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Forestdale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
- Forestdale is located in Barnstable County
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Wareham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Hatchville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hatchville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchville
- Hatchville is located in Barnstable County
- East Sandwich
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sandwich
- East Sandwich is located in Barnstable County
- Wareham
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bourne. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bourne.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Bourne: www.townofbourne.com/
The official website for Barnstable County: www.barnstablecounty.org/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <2> | If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database. |
| <3> | 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- Bourne) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bourne. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7412, Longitude: -70.5989 In this case, the coordinates for Bourne have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <6> | 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 Bourne, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |