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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 Gardner (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 Gardner. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Gardner 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 Gardner. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gardner:

  • Worcester County     (The home county of Gardner)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gardner, with the one closest to Gardner listed first.
    • Olde English Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Olde English Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olde English Village
    • South Gardner
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • East Templeton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • East Templeton is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Templeton
    • South Ashburnham
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Templeton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Templeton is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Templeton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,134 people
    • Baldwinville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Westminster
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ashburnham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Brooks Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Brooks Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks Village
    • Blackburn Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Blackburn Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn Village
    • Lane Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Lane Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane Village
    • Hubbardston Station
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Goulding Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Goulding Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goulding Village
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gardner, with the one closest to Gardner listed first.
    • Tully
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • North Orange
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Orange
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Millington ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mayo Corners
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Morse Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Morse Village is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Village
    • New Salem
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • New Salem is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,034 people
    • Warwick
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Wendell Depot
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Wendell Depot is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell Depot
    • Cooleyville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Erving
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Wendell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Wendell is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 881 people
    • Locks Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Locks Village is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locks Village
  • Hampden County
    • West Brimfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • West Brimfield is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brimfield
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gardner, with the one closest to Gardner listed first.
    • Enfield ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Pelham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Ware
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • West Pelham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Belchertown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • East Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • East Village is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
    • North Amherst
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Amherst Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Amherst Center is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Center
    • Amherst
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bondsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
    • South Amherst
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • South Amherst is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amherst
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gardner, with the one closest to Gardner listed first.
    • South Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • South Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Village
    • Ashby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Old City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Old City is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
    • West Townsend
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • West Townsend is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Townsend
    • Townsend
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Shaker Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
    • Shirley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Townsend Harbor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • West Groton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • West Groton is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Groton
    • Devens
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Ayer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Paper Mill Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Paper Mill Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village
    • Groton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Cheshire County (NH)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
  • Windham County (VT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gardner, with the one closest to Gardner listed first.
    • South Vernon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Vernon
      (29 miles [46.7 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 Gardner, see our County-by-County Page for Gardner.

Cemeteries Near Gardner ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gardner.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gardner, with the one closest to Gardner 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Gardner had a population of 8,424 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Gardner had a population of 20,585 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Gardner ...

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 86 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gardner.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Gardner. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Gardner and those printed in the larger area surrounding Gardner.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<5> of Gardner.

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 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 Gardner:

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