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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 Canton (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 Canton. 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 Canton ...

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

  • Canton was settled in 1630.
  • It was incorporated in 1797.

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.

Canton 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 Canton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Canton:

  • Norfolk County     (The home county of Canton)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canton, with the one closest to Canton listed first.
    • North Easton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
    • Easton Center
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Easton
      (8 miles [12.9 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
    • South Easton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
    • East Mansfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Furnace Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Furnace Village is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village
    • Mansfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Norton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Raynham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Chartley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Chartley is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartley
    • Attleboro Falls
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Attleboro Falls is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attleboro Falls
    • North Attleboro
      (15 miles [24.1 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
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canton, with the one closest to Canton listed first.
    • Cliftondale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Pleasant Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant Hills is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hills
    • Nahant
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Saugus
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • West Lynn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lynn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • East Lynn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Swampscott
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Lynnfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Clifton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Marblehead
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Marblehead is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marblehead
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,551 people
    • Peabody
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canton, with the one closest to Canton listed first.
    • Chestnut Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Chestnut Hill is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
    • Eliot
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Newton Highlands
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Newton Upper Falls
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Newton Upper Falls is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Upper Falls
    • South Sherborn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • South Sherborn is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sherborn
    • Newton Centre
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Newton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Waban
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Sherborn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Cambridgeport
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Cambridgeport is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridgeport
    • Natick
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton Lower Falls
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Newton Lower Falls is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Lower Falls
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canton, with the one closest to Canton listed first.
    • Montello
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Brockton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Abington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • North Abington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Rockland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Rockland is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
    • Cochesett
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • West Bridgewater
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Whitman is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,295 people
    • Accord
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • West Hingham
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • West Hingham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hingham
    • Elmwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Elmwood is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
  • Suffolk County
  • Worcester County
  • Bristol County (RI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canton, with the one closest to Canton listed first.
    • Annawomscutt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Barrington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Barrington is located in Bristol County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,015 people
    • Barrington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Warren
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Warren is located in Bristol County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,469 people
    • Warren
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Canton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Canton.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Canton, with the one closest to Canton 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 in 1895, Canton had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Canton had a population of 24,029 people.

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

  • Springdale
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Springdale is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
  • Canton Junction
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Canton Junction is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton Junction
  • East Sharon
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • East Sharon is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharon
  • Sharon
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • West Stoughton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • West Stoughton is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Stoughton
  • Ponkapoag
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Stoughton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • North Stoughton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Norwood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Winslows
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Winslows is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winslows
  • East Walpole
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Sharon Heights
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Sharon Heights is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon Heights
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Ellis
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Ellis is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
    • Dedham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Avon
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Canton ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Canton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Canton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Canton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Canton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4> of Canton.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Canton:

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