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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 Brockton (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 Brockton. 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 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.

Brockton is located in Plymouth 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 Plymouth County: Barnstable, Bristol & Norfolk.

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

  • Plymouth County     (The home county of Brockton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brockton, with the one closest to Brockton listed first.
    • Montello
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Whitman
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Whitman is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,295 people
    • Abington
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • North Abington
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cochesett
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • West Bridgewater
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • West Bridgewater is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bridgewater
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,310 people
    • East Bridgewater
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Elmwood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Elmwood is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
    • Rockland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Rockland is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
    • Bridgewater
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Hanson
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Paper Mill Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Paper Mill Village is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brockton, with the one closest to Brockton listed first.
    • South Easton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
    • North Easton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
    • Easton Center
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Easton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,116 people
    • Furnace Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Furnace Village is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village
    • Raynham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • East Mansfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Mansfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Raynham Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Raynham Center is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynham Center
    • Norton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • East Taunton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Taunton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Essex County
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brockton, with the one closest to Brockton listed first.
    • Chestnut Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Chestnut Hill is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
    • Newton Highlands
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton Upper Falls
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Newton Upper Falls is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Upper Falls
    • Cambridgeport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Cambridgeport is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridgeport
    • Eliot
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton Centre
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • South Sherborn
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • South Sherborn is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sherborn
    • Cambridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Newton Lower Falls
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Newton Lower Falls is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Lower Falls
    • Newton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Newtonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Newtonville is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtonville
    • Waban
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Norfolk County
  • Suffolk County
  • Worcester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brockton, with the one closest to Brockton listed first.
    • South Milford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • East Blackstone
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Milford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Millerville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Hopedale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Hopedale is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopedale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,934 people
    • White City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • White City is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Blackstone
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Blackstone is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackstone
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,209 people
    • Mendon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Cordaville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fayville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Millville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Millville is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,236 people
    • Southville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Bristol County (RI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brockton, with the one closest to Brockton listed first.
    • Barrington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Warren
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Warren is located in Bristol County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,469 people
    • Warren
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Annawomscutt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Barrington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Barrington is located in Bristol County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,015 people
    • Coggeshall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bristol
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bristol is located in Bristol County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,866 people
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Brockton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brockton.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brockton, with the one closest to Brockton 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Brockton had a population of 27,294 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Brockton had a population of 95,770 people.

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

  • Campello
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Campello is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campello
  • Montello
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • South Easton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • South Easton is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
  • Avon
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Matfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Matfield is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matfield
  • Brookville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • North Easton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • North Easton is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
  • Easton Station
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Easton Station is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton Station
  • Eastondale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Eastondale is located in Bristol County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastondale
  • Cochesett
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • West Bridgewater
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • West Bridgewater is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bridgewater
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,310 people
  • Westdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Westdale is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westdale
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • East Bridgewater
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitman
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Whitman is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,295 people
    • Abington
      (4 miles [6.4 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 Brockton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brockton.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Brockton ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brockton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Brockton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Brockton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Brockton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4> of Brockton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Brockton:

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>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 Brockton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Brockton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.