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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 Chelmsford (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 Chelmsford. 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 Chelmsford ...

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

  • Chelmsford was settled in 1633.
  • It was incorporated in 1655.

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 and hospitals 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.

Chelmsford is located in Middlesex 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 Middlesex County: Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Worcester & Hillsborough (NH).

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

  • Middlesex County     (The home county of Chelmsford)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chelmsford, with the one closest to Chelmsford listed first.
    • North Chelmsford
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Princeton Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton Village
      • Princeton Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Middlesex Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlesex Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex Village
      • Middlesex Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Ayres City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ayres City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres City
      • Ayres City is located in Middlesex County
    • Lowell
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Westford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • North Billerica
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Carlisle Station
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Collinsville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Dracut
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Carlisle
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Billerica
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chelmsford, with the one closest to Chelmsford listed first.
    • Haggetts
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Haggetts. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haggetts
      • Haggetts is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Haggetts
      • From Chelmsford to Haggetts
    • Lowell Junction
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Andover
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Lawrence
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Shawsheen Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shawsheen Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawsheen Village
      • Shawsheen Village is located in Essex County
    • Methuen
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Methuen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Methuen
      • Methuen is located in Essex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50,910 people
    • North Andover
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Andover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Andover
      • North Andover is located in Essex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,460 people
    • Tozier Corner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lynnfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Ayers Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ayers Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers Village
      • Ayers Village is located in Essex County
    • Brigadoon Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Middleton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chelmsford, with the one closest to Chelmsford listed first.
    • Wellesley Hills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellesley Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Hills
      • Wellesley Hills is located in Norfolk County
    • Babson Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Babson Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park
      • Babson Park is located in Norfolk County
    • Wellesley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellesley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley
      • Wellesley is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,684 people
    • Needham Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Needham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Needham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
      • Needham is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,537 people
    • Brookline Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Westbrook Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Charles River Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Dover
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dover. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
      • Dover is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,119 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dover
      • From Chelmsford to Dover
    • Dedham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Milton Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
  • Suffolk County
  • Worcester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chelmsford, with the one closest to Chelmsford listed first.
    • Shaker Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Harvard
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Still River
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bolton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lancaster
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • North Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Village
      • North Village is located in Worcester County
    • Seventh Day Adventist Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Lunenburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • South Lancaster
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Berlin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Clinton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chelmsford, with the one closest to Chelmsford listed first.
    • Pelham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Hudson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Hollis Depot
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Nashua
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hollis
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis
      • Hollis is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,123 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollis <3>
    • South Merrimack
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Litchfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Brookline
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • East Merrimack
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Merrimack have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Merrimack
      • East Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
    • Merrimack
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Reeds Ferry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • East Milford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Merrimack County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chelmsford, with the one closest to Chelmsford listed first.
    • South Hooksett
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Hooksett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hooksett
      • South Hooksett is located in Merrimack County (NH)
    • Martin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
      • Martin is located in Merrimack County (NH)
  • Rockingham County (NH)

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

Cemeteries Near Chelmsford ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chelmsford.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Chelmsford, with the one closest to Chelmsford 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, Chelmsford had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Chelmsford had a population of 35,528 people.

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

  • West Chelmsford
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Chelmsford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chelmsford
    • West Chelmsford is located in Middlesex County
  • South Chelmsford
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Chelmsford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Chelmsford
    • South Chelmsford is located in Middlesex County
  • North Chelmsford
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Middlesex Village
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlesex Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex Village
    • Middlesex Village is located in Middlesex County
  • Westford
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Bleachery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bleachery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bleachery
    • Bleachery is located in Middlesex County
  • Lowell
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Westford Station
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westford Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westford Station
    • Westford Station is located in Middlesex County
  • Carlisle Station
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • North Billerica
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Graniteville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graniteville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
    • Graniteville is located in Middlesex County
  • East Littleton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Carlisle
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Riverside
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Middlesex County
    • Billerica
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Chelmsford ...

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 120 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chelmsford.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Chelmsford. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Chelmsford and those printed in the larger area surrounding Chelmsford.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<7> of Chelmsford.

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 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 Chelmsford:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Chelmsford. 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 Chelmsford, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Chelmsford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Chelmsford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6008, Longitude: -71.3680    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025