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 Dana Center (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 Dana Center. 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.
Name Variations for Dana Center ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Dana Center: Dana Ctr. (or less commonly used: Dana Cen., Dana Cent. or Dana Cntr.)
You might see Dana Centre instead of Dana Center.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Dana Center is located in Worcester 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 Worcester County: Tolland (CT), Windham (CT), Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Cheshire (NH), Hillsborough (NH) & Providence (RI).
Below are the counties that are near Dana Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dana Center:
- Worcester County (The home county of Dana Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana Center, with the one closest to Dana Center listed first.
- Dana ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Dana is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- North Dana ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Dana is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dana
- Greenwich Village ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Greenwich Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich Village
- Petersham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Petersham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,237 people
- Hardwick
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hardwick is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,047 people
- Greenwich ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Greenwich is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich
- Barre
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Barre is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,574 people
- Heald Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Heald Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heald Village
- Mill Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mill Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- Barre Plains
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Barre Plains is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Plains
- Wheelwright
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wheelwright is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelwright
- South Barre
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- South Barre is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barre
- Gilbertville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Gilbertville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana Center, with the one closest to Dana Center listed first.
- Millington ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Millington is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millington
- New Salem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Salem is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,034 people
- Smiths ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Smiths is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
- Cooleyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cooleyville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooleyville
- Shutesbury
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Shutesbury is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shutesbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,753 people
- Morse Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Morse Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Village
- Locks Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Locks Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locks Village
- Orange
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Orange is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,581 people
- Wendell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wendell is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 881 people
- Wendell Depot
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wendell Depot is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell Depot
- Moores Corner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Moores Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moores Corner
- North Orange
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- North Orange is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orange
- Leverett
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Leverett is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leverett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,836 people
- Hampden County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana Center, with the one closest to Dana Center listed first.
- Thorndike
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Thorndike is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorndike
- West Brimfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- West Brimfield is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brimfield
- Palmer
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Palmer is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,174 people
- Three Rivers
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Three Rivers is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Rivers
- Tenneyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Tenneyville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenneyville
- Ludlow City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ludlow City is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow City
- Brimfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Brimfield is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,679 people
- North Wilbraham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- North Wilbraham is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wilbraham
- Monson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Monson is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,750 people
- Ludlow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ludlow is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,101 people
- Indian Orchard
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Indian Orchard is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Orchard
- Wilbraham
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Wilbraham is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbraham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,670 people
- Holland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Holland is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,469 people
- Hampshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana Center, with the one closest to Dana Center listed first.
- Enfield ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Enfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- Pelham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Pelham is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,305 people
- Ware
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Ware is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,897 people
- Belchertown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Belchertown is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belchertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,103 people
- West Pelham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- West Pelham is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pelham
- East Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- East Village is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
- Bondsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
- Amherst Center
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Amherst Center is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Center
- Amherst
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Amherst is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,643 people
- North Amherst
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- North Amherst is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Amherst
- South Amherst
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- South Amherst is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amherst
- Granby
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Granby is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,262 people
- North Hadley
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- North Hadley is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hadley
- Middlesex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana Center, with the one closest to Dana Center listed first.
- South Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- South Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Village
- Ashby
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ashby is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,204 people
- Old City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Old City is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
- Shaker Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- Shirley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Shirley is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,554 people
- West Townsend
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- West Townsend is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Townsend
- Tolland County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana Center, with the one closest to Dana Center listed first.
- State Line
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- State Line is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
- Staffordville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Union
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Stafford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Stafford is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,834 people
- Stafford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Union
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Union is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
- Windham County (CT)
- Quinebaug
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cheshire County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana Center, with the one closest to Dana Center listed first.
- Fitzwilliam Depot
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Fitzwilliam Depot is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzwilliam Depot
- Richmond
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Fitzwilliam
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- West Rindge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- West Rindge is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rindge
- Winchester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rindge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ashuelot
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jaffrey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Troy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Troy is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,117 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <1>
- Hinsdale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- East Swanzey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- East Swanzey is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Swanzey
- Hillsborough County (NH)
- New Ipswich
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Windham County (VT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dana Center, with the one closest to Dana Center listed first.
- South Vernon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- South Vernon is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vernon
- Vernon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,190 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dana Center, see our County-by-County Page for Dana Center.
Cemeteries Near Dana Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dana Center.
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 Dana Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dana Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dana Center, with the one closest to Dana Center listed first.
- Taylor Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Miles Holden Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Nichewaug Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jenkins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Coolidge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Lee Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lee Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- West Street Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Buckminster Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lincoln Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Ledgeville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- East Street Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (413 more) ...
- Northwest Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- North Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Adams Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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 Dana Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dana Center.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dana Center, with the one closest to Dana Center listed first.
- Nichewaug ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Nichewaug is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichewaug
- Dana ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Dana is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- North Dana ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Dana is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dana
- Petersham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Petersham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,237 people
- Hardwick
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hardwick is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,047 people
- Millington ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Millington is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millington
- Furnace
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Furnace is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace
- Barre Plains
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Barre Plains is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Plains
- Barre
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Barre is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,574 people
- Greenwich
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Greenwich is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich
- South Athol
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- South Athol is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Athol
- Gilbertville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Gilbertville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- New Salem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Salem is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,034 people
- New Braintree
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- New Braintree is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Braintree
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,020 people
- Smithville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Smithville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dana Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dana Center.
Newspapers Published in Dana Center ...
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 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dana Center.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dana Center, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dana Center.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Dana Center:
- Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Pages specific to Worcester County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Hampden County
- Hampshire County
- Middlesex County
- Tolland County
- Windham County
- Cheshire County
- Hillsborough County
- Windham County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Dana Center, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Dana Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |