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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 Chilmark (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 Chilmark. 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 Chilmark ...

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

  • Chilmark was settled in 1671.
  • It was incorporated in 1714.

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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Chilmark is located in Dukes 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 Dukes County: Barnstable, Bristol, Nantucket & Plymouth.

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

  • Dukes County     (The home county of Chilmark)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chilmark, with the one closest to Chilmark listed first.
    • Menemsha
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Menemsha is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menemsha
    • Squibnocket
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Aquinnah
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • West Tisbury
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • North Tisbury
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Christian Town
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Christian Town is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Town
    • Gosnold
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Gosnold is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosnold
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • Tisbury
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Vineyard Haven
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Cuttyhunk
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Cuttyhunk is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuttyhunk
    • West Chop
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • West Chop is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chop
    • Edgartown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Katama
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Barnstable County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chilmark, with the one closest to Chilmark listed first.
    • Woods Hole
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Falmouth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Acapesket
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Teaticket
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Teaticket is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teaticket
    • West Falmouth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • West Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Falmouth
    • East Falmouth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Monomoscoy Island
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Monomoscoy Island is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monomoscoy Island
    • Seconsett Island
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Seconsett Island is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seconsett Island
    • Maushop Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Maushop Village is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maushop Village
    • Seabrook
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Seabrook is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seabrook
    • North Falmouth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • North Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Falmouth
    • Hatchville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • New Seabury
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • New Seabury is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Seabury
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chilmark, with the one closest to Chilmark listed first.
    • Nonquitt
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • South Dartmouth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • South Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dartmouth
    • Acoaxet
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Apponagansett
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bliss Corner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bliss Corner is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corner
    • Fairhaven
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Fairhaven is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,103 people
    • Westport Point
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Westport Point is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport Point
    • Dartmouth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dartmouth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33,926 people
    • Gidleys Corner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • New Bedford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • North Dartmouth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • North Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dartmouth
    • Acushnet Center
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Acushnet
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Acushnet is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,673 people
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chilmark, with the one closest to Chilmark listed first.
    • Mattapoisett
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Mattapoisett is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattapoisett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,427 people
    • Marion
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Briarwood Beach
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Onset
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Rochester
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Weweantic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Weweantic is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weweantic
    • East Wareham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
    • Onset Station
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Wareham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,778 people
    • Wareham Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Wareham Center is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham Center
    • West Wareham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • West Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wareham
  • Newport County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Chilmark ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chilmark.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Chilmark, with the one closest to Chilmark 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 Chilmark had a population of 425 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Chilmark had a population of 930 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Chilmark ...

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 92 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chilmark.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chilmark, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chilmark.

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 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 Chilmark:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Chilmark) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Chilmark, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.