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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 Colonial Acres (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 Colonial Acres. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Colonial Acres is located in Barnstable County.

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

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

  • Barnstable County     (The home county of Colonial Acres)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colonial Acres, with the one closest to Colonial Acres listed first.
    • West Yarmouth
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • West Yarmouth is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yarmouth
    • Hyannis
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Hyannis is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyannis
    • Bass River
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Bass River is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bass River
    • Hyannis Port
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hyannis Port is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyannis Port
    • South Yarmouth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • South Yarmouth is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yarmouth
    • Cummaquid ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Cummaquid is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummaquid
    • Yarmouth Port
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Yarmouth Port is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth Port
    • Yarmouth Station
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Yarmouth Station is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth Station
    • West Hyannisport
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • West Hyannisport is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hyannisport
    • Barnstable
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Barnstable is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnstable
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 45,193 people
      • Barnstable has also been known as:
      • Barnstable Village
    • Cobbs Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Cobbs Village is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobbs Village
    • Centerville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Centerville is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
    • Craigville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Craigville is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
  • Dukes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colonial Acres, with the one closest to Colonial Acres listed first.
    • Oak Bluffs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Oak Bluffs is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bluffs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,696 people
    • West Chop
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • West Chop is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chop
    • Edgartown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Edgartown is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgartown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,383 people
    • Tisbury
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Tisbury is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tisbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,128 people
    • Vineyard Haven
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Vineyard Haven is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyard Haven
    • Katama
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Katama is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katama
    • Christian Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Christian Town is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Town
    • North Tisbury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • North Tisbury is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tisbury
    • West Tisbury
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • West Tisbury is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tisbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,927 people
    • Gosnold
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Gosnold is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosnold
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
  • Nantucket County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colonial Acres, with the one closest to Colonial Acres listed first.
    • Pocomo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Pocomo is located in Nantucket County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocomo
    • Nantucket
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Nantucket is located in Nantucket County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantucket
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,376 people
    • Siasconset
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Siasconset is located in Nantucket County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siasconset
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Colonial Acres, with the one closest to Colonial Acres listed first.
    • Onset
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Onset is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset
    • White Island Shores
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • White Island Shores is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Island Shores
    • East Wareham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
    • Onset Station
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Onset Station is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset Station
    • Manomet
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Manomet is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manomet
    • White Horse Beach
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • White Horse Beach is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Horse Beach
    • Briarwood Beach
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Briarwood Beach is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
    • Wareham Center
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Wareham Center is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham Center
    • Wareham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,778 people
    • Weweantic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Weweantic is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weweantic
    • Marion
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Marion is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,189 people
    • Chiltonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Chiltonville is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiltonville
    • Cranberry Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Cranberry Village is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry Village

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

Cemeteries Near Colonial Acres ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Colonial Acres.

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 Colonial Acres - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Colonial Acres, with the one closest to Colonial Acres 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>

While we didn't find Colonial Acres in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Colonial Acres.

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

  • West Yarmouth
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • West Yarmouth is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yarmouth
  • Hyannis
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Hyannis is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyannis
  • Hyannis Port
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hyannis Port is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyannis Port
  • Yarmouth Station
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Yarmouth Station is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth Station
  • South Yarmouth
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • South Yarmouth is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yarmouth
  • Yarmouth Port
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Yarmouth Port is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth Port
  • West Dennis
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • West Dennis is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Dennis
  • Barnstable
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Barnstable is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnstable
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 45,193 people
    • Barnstable has also been known as:
    • Barnstable Village
  • Yarmouth
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Yarmouth is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,166 people
  • Centerville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Centerville is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Craigville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Craigville is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
  • South Dennis
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • South Dennis is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dennis
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Osterville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Osterville is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osterville
    • Dennis Port
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Dennis Port is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Port
    • Dennis
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Dennis is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,890 people

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

Newspapers Published in Colonial Acres ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Colonial Acres.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Colonial Acres, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Colonial Acres.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Colonial Acres:

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 Colonial Acres, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Colonial Acres) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.