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 Furnace (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 Furnace. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Furnace 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 Furnace. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Furnace:
- Worcester County (The home county of Furnace)
- The following are listed by their distance from Furnace, with the one closest to Furnace listed first.
- Wheelwright
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Wheelwright is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelwright
- New Braintree
(2 miles [3.2 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
- Hardwick
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hardwick is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,047 people
- Barre Plains
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Barre Plains is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Plains
- Gilbertville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gilbertville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- South Barre
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Barre is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barre
- Oakham
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Oakham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,950 people
- Barre
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- 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 northeast)
- Heald Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heald Village
- Mill Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mill Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- Greenwich Village ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwich Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich Village
- Greenwich ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Greenwich is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Furnace, with the one closest to Furnace listed first.
- Smiths ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Smiths is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
- Millington ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Millington is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millington
- Cooleyville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cooleyville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooleyville
- New Salem
(13 miles [20.9 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
- Shutesbury
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Shutesbury is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shutesbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,753 people
- Morse Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Morse Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Village
- Locks Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Locks Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locks Village
- Leverett
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Leverett is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leverett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,836 people
- Moores Corner
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Moores Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moores Corner
- Orange
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Orange is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,581 people
- Wendell
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Wendell is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 881 people
- North Orange
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- North Orange is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orange
- Hampden County
- The following are listed by their distance from Furnace, with the one closest to Furnace listed first.
- West Brimfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Brimfield is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brimfield
- Thorndike
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Thorndike is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorndike
- Brimfield
(15 miles [24.1 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
- Palmer
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Palmer is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,174 people
- Tenneyville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Tenneyville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenneyville
- Three Rivers
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Three Rivers is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Rivers
- Monson
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Monson is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,750 people
- Holland
(19 miles [30.6 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
- Wales
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Wales is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,862 people
- 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
- North Wilbraham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- North Wilbraham is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wilbraham
- Ludlow
(20 miles [32.2 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
- Hampshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Furnace, with the one closest to Furnace listed first.
- Ware
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ware is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,897 people
- Enfield ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Enfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- Pelham
(12 miles [19.3 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
- Bondsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
- Belchertown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Belchertown is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belchertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,103 people
- West Pelham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- West Pelham is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pelham
- East Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- East Village is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
- South Amherst
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- South Amherst is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amherst
- Amherst Center
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Amherst Center is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Center
- Amherst
(18 miles [29 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
- Granby
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Granby is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,262 people
- North Amherst
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- North Amherst is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Amherst
- Middlesex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Furnace, with the one closest to Furnace listed first.
- South Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- South Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Village
- Ashby
(28 miles [45.1 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
- Shaker Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- 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
- Shirley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shirley is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,554 people
- Hudson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hudson is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,732 people
- Hartford County (CT)
- Sherwood Manor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sherwood Manor is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood Manor
- Tolland County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Furnace, with the one closest to Furnace listed first.
- State Line
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- State Line is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
- Staffordville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Union
(24 miles [38.6 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
- Union
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Stafford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Stafford
(26 miles [41.8 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 Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Somers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Somers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Somers is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,741 people
- Crystal Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Crystal Lake is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
- Somersville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Windham County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Furnace, with the one closest to Furnace listed first.
- Quinebaug
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fabyan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- East Woodstock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- West Woodstock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- West Woodstock is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Woodstock
- Woodstock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Woodstock is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,834 people
- Woodstock Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- North Grosvenor Dale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Thompson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Thompson is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,371 people
- South Woodstock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Westford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Westford is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westford
- East Thompson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- East Thompson is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Thompson
- Grosvenor Dale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cheshire County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Furnace, with the one closest to Furnace listed first.
- Fitzwilliam Depot
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Fitzwilliam Depot is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzwilliam Depot
- Richmond
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rindge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- West Rindge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- West Rindge is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rindge
- Fitzwilliam
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Windham County (VT)
- South Vernon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- South Vernon is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vernon
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Furnace, see our County-by-County Page for Furnace.
Cemeteries Near Furnace ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Furnace.
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 Furnace - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Furnace covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Furnace, with the one closest to Furnace listed first.
- North Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- St. Aloysius Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- South Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Taylor Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Hale Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Adams Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- West Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lee Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lee Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jenkins Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Miles Holden Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (451 more) ...
- Taylor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cotter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Furnace had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Furnace, with the one closest to Furnace listed first.
- New Braintree
(2 miles [3.2 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
- Hardwick
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hardwick is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,047 people
- Gilbertville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gilbertville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Barre Plains
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Barre Plains is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Plains
- Oakham
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Oakham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,950 people
- Nichewaug ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Nichewaug is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichewaug
- North Brookfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- North Brookfield is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Brookfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,789 people
- Coldbrook Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coldbrook Springs is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldbrook Springs
- Smithville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Smithville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville
- Barre
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Barre is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,574 people
- Ware
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ware is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,897 people
- West Brookfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- West Brookfield is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brookfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,713 people
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Dana ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dana is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Enfield ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Enfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- West Rutland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- West Rutland is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rutland
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Furnace. See our List of 1890's Communities around Furnace.
Newspapers Published in Furnace ...
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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Furnace.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Furnace, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Furnace.
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 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 Furnace:
- Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Pages specific to Worcester County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Hampden County
- Hampshire County
- Middlesex County
- Hartford County
- Tolland County
- Windham County
- Cheshire 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> | 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. |
| <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 Furnace, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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 from Point A (ie- Furnace) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |