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 Byfield (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 Byfield. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Byfield is located in Essex 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 Essex County: Middlesex, Suffolk & Rockingham (NH).
Below are the counties that are near Byfield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Byfield:
- Essex County (The home county of Byfield)
- The following are listed by their distance from Byfield, with the one closest to Byfield listed first.
- Newbury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Newbury is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,175 people
- West Newbury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- West Newbury is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Newbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,781 people
- Georgetown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Georgetown is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,789 people
- Rocks Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rocks Village is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocks Village
- East Boxford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- East Boxford is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Boxford
- Rowley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rowley is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,393 people
- Groveland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Groveland is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,868 people
- Newbury Old Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Newbury Old Town is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbury Old Town
- Newburyport
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Newburyport is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburyport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,495 people
- Merrimac
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Merrimac is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,972 people
- Amesbury
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Amesbury is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amesbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,537 people
- Bradford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bradford is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Haverhill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Haverhill is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haverhill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64,098 people
- Middlesex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Byfield, with the one closest to Byfield listed first.
- North Reading
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- North Reading is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Reading
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,904 people
- West Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- West Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Village
- Montrose
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Montrose is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
- Reading
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Reading is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,535 people
- Tewksbury
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Tewksbury is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tewksbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,970 people
- Wakefield
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Wakefield is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakefield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27,051 people
- Wilmington
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Wilmington is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,287 people
- Dracut
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Dracut is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dracut
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31,423 people
- Ayres City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ayres City is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres City
- Lindenwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lindenwood is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindenwood
- Lowell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lowell is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110,904 people
- Mishawum ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mishawum is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mishawum
- North Billerica
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- North Billerica is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Billerica
- Norfolk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Byfield, with the one closest to Byfield listed first.
- Brookline Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village
- Brookline
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Brookline is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59,022 people
- Suffolk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Byfield, with the one closest to Byfield listed first.
- Franklin Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Franklin Park is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Park
- Revere
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Revere is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Revere
- Population from the 2020 Census: 52,375 people
- Chelsea
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Chelsea is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39,230 people
- Charlestown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Charlestown is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlestown
- Winthrop
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Winthrop is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,446 people
- East Boston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- East Boston is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Boston
- Point Shirley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Point Shirley is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Shirley
- Bay Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bay Village is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Village
- Boston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Boston is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 691,531 people
- Allston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Allston is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allston
- South Boston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- South Boston is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Boston
- Brighton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Brighton is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Hillsborough County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Byfield, with the one closest to Byfield listed first.
- Pelham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Hudson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Hudson is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,620 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hudson <1>
- Nashua
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Nashua is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89,167 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashua <1>
- Litchfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Massabesic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Massabesic is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massabesic
- East Merrimack
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- East Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Merrimack
- Merrimack
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Reeds Ferry
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- Manchester
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hollis Depot
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hollis Depot is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Depot
- South Merrimack
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- South Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Merrimack
- Merrimack County (NH)
- South Hooksett
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- South Hooksett is located in Merrimack County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hooksett
- Rockingham County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Byfield, with the one closest to Byfield listed first.
- South Hampton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Newton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Newton is located in Rockingham County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,934 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newton <1>
- South Seabrook
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- South Seabrook is located in Rockingham County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Seabrook
- Plaistow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Westville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Westville is located in Rockingham County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Fogg Corners
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Fogg Corners is located in Rockingham County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fogg Corners
- Seabrook
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- East Kingston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Hampton Falls
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Kensington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Monahan Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Monahan Corners is located in Rockingham County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monahan Corners
- Nason Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Nason Corners is located in Rockingham County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nason Corners
- Atkinson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Strafford County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Byfield, with the one closest to Byfield listed first.
- Glenmere Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Glenmere Village is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmere Village
- Durham
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Durham is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,441 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Durham <1>
- Lee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Lee is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,597 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lee <1>
- Madbury
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Madbury is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,879 people
- Dover
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Dover is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32,443 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dover <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Byfield, see our County-by-County Page for Byfield.
Cemeteries Near Byfield ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Byfield.
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 Byfield - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Byfield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Byfield, with the one closest to Byfield listed first.
- South Byfield Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Walnut Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Harmony Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Harmony Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Georgetown.
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #SAL.801 <3>
- Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Merrimack Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Riverview Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Riverview Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Groveland.
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #GRV.800 <3>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91517 <2>
- Rowley Burial Ground
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bridge Street Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Belleville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (448 more) ...
- Sawyer Hill Burying Ground
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Walnut Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Harmony Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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 Byfield had a population of 552 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Byfield, with the one closest to Byfield listed first.
- South Byfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- South Byfield is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Byfield
- Georgetown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Georgetown is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,789 people
- Knights Crossing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Knights Crossing is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights Crossing
- Newbury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Newbury is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,175 people
- West Newbury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- West Newbury is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Newbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,781 people
- South Georgetown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Georgetown is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Georgetown
- East Boxford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- East Boxford is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Boxford
- Rowley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rowley is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,393 people
- Groveland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Groveland is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,868 people
- South Groveland
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- South Groveland is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Groveland
- Merrimacport
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Merrimacport is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimacport
- Merrimac
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Merrimac is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,972 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Newburyport
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Newburyport is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburyport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,495 people
- Salisbury Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Salisbury Point is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury Point
- West Boxford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Boxford is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Boxford
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Byfield. See our List of 1890's Communities around Byfield.
Newspapers Published in Byfield ...
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 106 newspapers that have been published in the area around Byfield.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Byfield, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Byfield.
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 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 Byfield:
- Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Pages specific to Essex County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Middlesex County
- Norfolk County
- Suffolk County
- Hillsborough County
- Merrimack County
- Rockingham County
- Strafford 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 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 Byfield, 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- Byfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |