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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 Charlestown (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 Charlestown. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Charlestown is located in Suffolk County.

To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Suffolk County: Essex, Middlesex & Norfolk.

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

  • Suffolk County     (The home county of Charlestown)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • North Easton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
    • South Easton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
    • Easton Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Easton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,116 people
    • Furnace Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Furnace Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village
      • Furnace Village is located in Bristol County
    • East Mansfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Mansfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Norton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Raynham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Chartley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chartley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartley
      • Chartley is located in Bristol County
    • North Attleboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Attleboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Attleboro
      • North Attleboro is located in Bristol County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29,470 people
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Saugus
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Nahant
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • West Lynn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lynn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • East Lynn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Lynn. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lynn
      • East Lynn is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to East Lynn
      • From Charlestown to East Lynn
    • Swampscott
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lynnfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Clifton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clifton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clifton
      • From Charlestown to Clifton
    • Peabody
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Salem
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Marblehead
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marblehead have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marblehead
      • Marblehead is located in Essex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,551 people
    • West Town Landing
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Town Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Town Landing
      • West Town Landing is located in Essex County
    • Brigadoon Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brigadoon Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brigadoon Village
      • Brigadoon Village is located in Essex County
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Everett
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Wellington
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Somerville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Malden
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Medford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cambridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • West Medford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Medford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Medford
      • West Medford is located in Middlesex County
    • Huron Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huron Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron Village
      • Huron Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Melrose
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Wyoming
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wyoming. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
      • Wyoming is located in Middlesex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wyoming
      • From Charlestown to Wyoming
    • Arlington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Arlington Heights
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Heights
      • Arlington Heights is located in Middlesex County
    • Belmont
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Brookline Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookline Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village
      • Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County
    • Brookline
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Milton Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Village
      • Milton Village is located in Norfolk County
    • Montclair
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Norfolk Downs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Westbrook Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westbrook Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
      • Westbrook Village is located in Norfolk County
    • Milton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • West Quincy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Wollaston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Quincy
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Quincy Point
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Dedham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dedham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham
      • Dedham is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,345 people
    • Needham Heights
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Needham Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights
      • Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Hull
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hingham
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Accord
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Minot
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minot
      • Minot is located in Plymouth County
    • North Scituate
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Scituate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scituate
      • North Scituate is located in Plymouth County
    • Montello
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • North Abington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Rockland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Rockland is located in Plymouth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
    • Abington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Brockton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Greenbush
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenbush have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbush
      • Greenbush is located in Plymouth County
    • Norwell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • North Marshfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Marshfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Marshfield
      • North Marshfield is located in Plymouth County
  • Worcester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
    • Fayville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Cordaville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Southborough
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Southborough. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southborough
      • Southborough is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,200 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Southborough
      • From Charlestown to Southborough
    • Southville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Shaker Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
      • Shaker Village is located in Worcester County
    • Milford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bolton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Harvard
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Hopedale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hopedale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopedale
      • Hopedale is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,934 people
    • Berlin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
      • Berlin is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,731 people
    • Carterville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Northborough
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northborough have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northborough
      • Northborough is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,038 people
    • Seventh Day Adventist Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seventh Day Adventist Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seventh Day Adventist Village
      • Seventh Day Adventist Village is located in Worcester County
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • Pelham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pelham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
      • Pelham is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,306 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelham <3>
  • Rockingham County (NH)
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Charlestown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Charlestown.

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 Charlestown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Charlestown had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • East Cambridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Cambridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cambridge
    • East Cambridge is located in Middlesex County
  • Boston
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • East Boston
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Chelsea
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Cambridgeport
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cambridgeport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridgeport
    • Cambridgeport is located in Middlesex County
  • South Boston
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Wellington
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Everett
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • West Everett
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Everett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Everett
    • West Everett is located in Middlesex County
  • Winter Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winter Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winter Hill
    • Winter Hill is located in Middlesex County
  • Somerville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Oak Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Oak Grove is located in Middlesex County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Allston
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allston
      • Allston is located in Suffolk County
    • Edgeworth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgeworth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgeworth
      • Edgeworth is located in Middlesex County
    • Winthrop
      (3 miles [4.8 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 Charlestown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Charlestown.

Newspapers Published in Charlestown ...

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 165 newspapers that have been published in the area around Charlestown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Charlestown, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Charlestown.

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 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 Charlestown:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Charlestown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.

<5>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.
<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 Charlestown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>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- Charlestown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Charlestown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3780, Longitude: -71.0599    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025