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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 Dedham (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 Dedham. 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 Dedham ...

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

  • Dedham was settled in 1635.
  • It was incorporated in 1636.

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 doctors and 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.

Dedham is located in Norfolk County and is the County Seat.

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 Norfolk County: Bristol, Middlesex, Plymouth, Suffolk, Worcester & Providence (RI).

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

  • Norfolk County     (The home county of Dedham)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dedham, with the one closest to Dedham listed first.
    • Ashcroft
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Ashcroft is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcroft
    • Readville Manor
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Westbrook Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Westbrook Village is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
    • Norwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Westwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Westwood is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,384 people
    • Needham Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights
    • Needham
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Needham is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,537 people
    • Ponkapoag
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Charles River Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Milton Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Milton Village is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Village
    • Milton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Canton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Dover
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dedham, with the one closest to Dedham listed first.
    • North Easton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
    • Easton Center
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Easton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,116 people
    • Mansfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • South Easton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
    • East Mansfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Furnace Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Furnace Village is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village
    • Norton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • North Attleboro
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • North Attleboro is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Attleboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29,470 people
    • Attleboro Falls
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Attleboro Falls is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attleboro Falls
    • Chartley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Chartley is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartley
    • Raynham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Attleboro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Essex County
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dedham, with the one closest to Dedham listed first.
    • Newton Highlands
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Eliot
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton Upper Falls
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Newton Upper Falls is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Upper Falls
    • Chestnut Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Chestnut Hill is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
    • Newton Centre
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Newton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Waban
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Newtonville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Newtonville is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtonville
    • Newton Lower Falls
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Newton Lower Falls is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Lower Falls
    • Cambridgeport
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Cambridgeport is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridgeport
    • Nonantum ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Nonantum is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nonantum
    • North Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • North Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Village
    • Auburndale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dedham, with the one closest to Dedham listed first.
    • Montello
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hull
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • West Hingham
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • West Hingham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hingham
    • Brockton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • North Abington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Hingham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Abington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Accord
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Bayside
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Bayside is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside
    • Kenberma
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Kenberma is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenberma
    • Rockland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Rockland is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
    • Cochesett
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitman
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Whitman is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,295 people
  • Suffolk County
  • Worcester County
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Dedham ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dedham.

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

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

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

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Dedham had a population of 2,500 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Dedham had a population of 25,345 people.

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

  • Endicott
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Endicott is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Endicott
  • Islington
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Islington is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Islington
  • Ashcroft
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Ashcroft is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcroft
  • Ellis
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Ellis is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
  • Highland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Highland is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
  • West Roxbury
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Norwood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Blue Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Blue Hills is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Hills
  • Clarendon Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Clarendon Hills is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarendon Hills
  • Mount Hope
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Hope is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
  • Roslindale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Ponkapoag
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (29 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Dedham ...

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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dedham.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Dedham. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Dedham and those printed in the larger area surrounding Dedham.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4> of Dedham.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Dedham:

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 Dedham, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dedham) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.