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 Fairlawn (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 Fairlawn. 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 Fairlawn ...
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.
Another variation: Fair Lawn.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Fairlawn. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Fairlawn.
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.
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 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.
Fairlawn 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 Fairlawn. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fairlawn:
- Worcester County (The home county of Fairlawn)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairlawn, with the one closest to Fairlawn listed first.
- Lakeview
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Lakeview is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Shrewsbury
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shrewsbury is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shrewsbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38,910 people
- North Grafton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- North Grafton is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Grafton
- Worcester
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Worcester is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worcester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184,570 people
- North Worcester
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Worcester is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Worcester
- Quinsigamond Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Quinsigamond Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinsigamond Village
- Boylston Center
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Boylston Center is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boylston Center
- Northborough
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Northborough is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northborough
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,038 people
- Millbury
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Millbury is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,973 people
- Grafton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Grafton is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grafton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,082 people
- West Boylston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- West Boylston is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Boylston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,039 people
- Saundersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Saundersville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saundersville
- Bristol County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairlawn, with the one closest to Fairlawn listed first.
- North Attleboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- 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
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Attleboro Falls is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attleboro Falls
- Franklin County
- Smiths ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Smiths is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
- Hampden County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairlawn, with the one closest to Fairlawn listed first.
- Brimfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Brimfield is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,679 people
- Holland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Holland is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,469 people
- West Brimfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- West Brimfield is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brimfield
- Wales
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Wales is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,862 people
- Tenneyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Tenneyville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenneyville
- Thorndike
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Thorndike is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorndike
- Hampshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairlawn, with the one closest to Fairlawn listed first.
- Ware
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Ware is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,897 people
- Enfield ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Enfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- Middlesex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairlawn, with the one closest to Fairlawn listed first.
- Woodville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Woodville is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Marlborough Junction
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Marlborough Junction is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough Junction
- Hopkinton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Hopkinton is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkinton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,624 people
- Marlborough
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Marlborough is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39,290 people
- Hayden Row
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Hayden Row is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayden Row
- Hudson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hudson is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,732 people
- Ashland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Ashland is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,887 people
- East Holliston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- East Holliston is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Holliston
- Framingham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Framingham is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Framingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 73,892 people
- Holliston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Holliston is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holliston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,880 people
- Metcalf
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Metcalf is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalf
- Stow
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stow is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,178 people
- Norfolk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairlawn, with the one closest to Fairlawn listed first.
- Bellingham
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Bellingham is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,336 people
- Medway
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Medway is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,443 people
- Millis
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Millis is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,519 people
- Franklin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,711 people
- Rockville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rockville is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Acorn Terrace
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Acorn Terrace is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn Terrace
- Dover
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Dover is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,119 people
- Medfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Medfield is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,011 people
- Wellesley Hills
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Wellesley Hills is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Hills
- Norfolk
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Norfolk is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norfolk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,938 people
- Babson Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Babson Park is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park
- Charles River Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Suffolk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairlawn, with the one closest to Fairlawn listed first.
- Highland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Highland is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- West Roxbury
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- West Roxbury is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Roxbury
- Brighton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Brighton is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Readville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Readville is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readville
- Stonybrook Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Stonybrook Village is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonybrook Village
- Tolland County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairlawn, with the one closest to Fairlawn listed first.
- Union
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Union is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
- Union
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Windham County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairlawn, with the one closest to Fairlawn listed first.
- East Thompson
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- East Thompson is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Thompson
- Fabyan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Quinebaug
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- North Grosvenor Dale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Thompson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Thompson is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,371 people
- Grosvenor Dale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Thompson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- East Woodstock
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mechanicsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Mechanicsville is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- West Thompson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- West Thompson is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Thompson
- South Woodstock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Woodstock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Woodstock is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,834 people
- Providence County (RI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairlawn, with the one closest to Fairlawn listed first.
- Slatersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Slatersville is located in Providence County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slatersville
- Glendale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Glendale is located in Providence County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Harrisville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Harrisville is located in Providence County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisville
- Nasonville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Nasonville is located in Providence County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nasonville
- Whipple
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Whipple is located in Providence County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whipple
- Branch Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Branch Village is located in Providence County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch Village
- Pascoag
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Pascoag is located in Providence County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pascoag
- Hamlet
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hamlet is located in Providence County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
- Union Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Union Village is located in Providence County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Village
- Woonsocket
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Woonsocket is located in Providence County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woonsocket
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,545 people
- North Smithfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- North Smithfield is located in Providence County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Smithfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,576 people
- North Smithfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- North Smithfield is located in Providence County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Smithfield
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fairlawn, see our County-by-County Page for Fairlawn.
Cemeteries Near Fairlawn ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fairlawn.
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 Fairlawn - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fairlawn covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fairlawn, with the one closest to Fairlawn listed first.
- Notre Dame du Lac Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Notre Dame du Lac Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Notre Dame du Lac Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Worcester.
- The Notre Dame du Lac Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2387115 <2>
- Mountain View Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rural Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rural Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Worcester.
- The Rural Cemetery has also been known as:
- Worcester Rural Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91530 <2>
- B'nai B'rith Lodge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Old Swedish Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Notre Dame Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (514 more) ...
- New Swedish Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Dwinell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Brigade Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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>
While we didn't find Fairlawn in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fairlawn.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Fairlawn, with the one closest to Fairlawn listed first.
- Bloomingdale
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bloomingdale is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
- Lakeview
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Lakeview is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Shrewsbury
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shrewsbury is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shrewsbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38,910 people
- Worcester
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Worcester is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worcester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184,570 people
- North Grafton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- North Grafton is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Grafton
- Greendale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Greendale is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
- South Worcester
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Worcester is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Worcester
- Quinsigamond Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Quinsigamond Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinsigamond Village
- Summit
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Summit is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- North Worcester
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Worcester is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Worcester
- Grafton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Grafton is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grafton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,082 people
- Northborough
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Northborough is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northborough
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,038 people
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Boylston Center
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Boylston Center is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boylston Center
- Jamesville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jamesville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
- Wilkinsonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Wilkinsonville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkinsonville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fairlawn. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fairlawn.
Newspapers Published in Fairlawn ...
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 221 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fairlawn.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fairlawn, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fairlawn.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Fairlawn:
- Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Pages specific to Worcester County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bristol County
- Franklin County
- Hampden County
- Hampshire County
- Middlesex County
- Norfolk County
- Suffolk County
- Tolland County
- Windham County
- Providence 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 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. |
| <3> | 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.
|
| <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 Fairlawn, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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 from Point A (ie- Fairlawn) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |