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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 Brookline (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 Brookline. 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 Brookline ...

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

  • Brookline was settled in 1638.
  • It was incorporated in 1705.

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.

Brookline is located in Norfolk 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 Norfolk County: Bristol, Middlesex, Plymouth, Suffolk, Worcester & Providence (RI).

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

  • Norfolk County     (The home county of Brookline)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brookline, with the one closest to Brookline listed first.
    • Brookline Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village
    • Westbrook Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Westbrook Village is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
    • Milton Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Milton Village is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Village
    • Dedham
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • East Milton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Milton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Montclair
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Norfolk Downs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wollaston
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Needham Heights
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights
    • Needham
      (6 miles [9.7 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
    • Ashcroft
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Ashcroft is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcroft
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brookline, with the one closest to Brookline listed first.
    • North Easton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
    • South Easton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
    • Easton Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Easton
      (20 miles [32.2 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
    • East Mansfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Furnace Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Furnace Village is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village
    • Mansfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Norton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Attleboro Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Attleboro Falls is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attleboro Falls
    • Raynham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • North Attleboro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • North Attleboro is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Attleboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29,470 people
    • Chartley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Chartley is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartley
  • Essex County
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brookline, with the one closest to Brookline listed first.
    • Cambridgeport
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Cambridgeport is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridgeport
    • Cambridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Chestnut Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Chestnut Hill is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
    • Huron Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Huron Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron Village
    • Somerville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Newton Centre
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Nonantum ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Nonantum is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nonantum
    • North Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • North Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Village
    • Eliot
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Newton Highlands
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Newton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Newtonville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Newtonville is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtonville
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brookline, with the one closest to Brookline listed first.
    • Hull
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Bayside
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Bayside is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside
    • Kenberma
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Kenberma is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenberma
    • West Hingham
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • West Hingham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hingham
    • Hingham
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Montello
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Accord
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • North Abington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Abington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Rockland
      (17 miles [27.4 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
    • Brockton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • North Scituate
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • North Scituate is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scituate
  • Suffolk County
  • Worcester County
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • Pelham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Pelham is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,306 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelham <1>
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Brookline ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brookline.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brookline, with the one closest to Brookline 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 Brookline had a population of 12,103 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Brookline had a population of 59,022 people.

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

  • Allston
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Allston is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allston
  • Jamaica Plain
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Roxbury
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Cambridgeport
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Cambridgeport is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridgeport
  • Cambridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Faneuil
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Faneuil is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faneuil
  • Brighton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Chestnut Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Chestnut Hill is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
  • Highland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Highland is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
  • Roslindale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Mount Hope
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Mount Hope is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
  • Clarendon Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Clarendon Hills is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarendon Hills
  • Continue List   (28 more) ...
    • Mount Bowdoin
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Bowdoin is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bowdoin
    • Dorchester
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fields Corner
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Fields Corner is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fields Corner

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Brookline ...

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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brookline.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 helpful 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 Brookline:

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 Brookline, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Brookline) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.