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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 Hanover (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 Hanover. 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 Hanover ...

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

  • Hanover was settled in 1649.
  • It was incorporated in 1727.

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 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 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.

Hanover is located in Plymouth 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 Plymouth County: Barnstable, Bristol & Norfolk.

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

  • Plymouth County     (The home county of Hanover)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hanover, with the one closest to Hanover listed first.
    • South Hanover
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Curtis Crossing
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • North Pembroke
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • North Pembroke is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pembroke
    • North Marshfield
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • North Marshfield is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Marshfield
    • Norwell
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Oldham Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Oldham Village is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldham Village
    • Pembroke
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hanson
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Accord
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bryantville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Bryantville is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryantville
    • Rockland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Rockland is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
    • Abington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Barnstable County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hanover, with the one closest to Hanover listed first.
    • Sagamore Beach
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Sagamore Beach is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore Beach
    • Bourne
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bourne is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,743 people
    • Buzzards Bay
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Buzzards Bay is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzards Bay
    • Sagamore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Sagamore is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore
    • Monument Beach
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Monument Beach is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument Beach
    • Sandwich
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hanover, with the one closest to Hanover listed first.
    • North Easton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
    • South Easton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
    • Easton Center
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Easton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,116 people
    • Furnace Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Furnace Village is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village
    • Raynham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Raynham Center
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Raynham Center is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynham Center
    • East Taunton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • East Mansfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Taunton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Norton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Mansfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hanover, with the one closest to Hanover listed first.
    • Nahant
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Cliftondale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • East Lynn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Lynn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Swampscott
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Clifton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Pleasant Hills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant Hills is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hills
    • Saugus
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • West Lynn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Marblehead
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Marblehead is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marblehead
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,551 people
    • Salem
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • West Town Landing
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • West Town Landing is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Town Landing
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hanover, with the one closest to Hanover listed first.
    • Cambridgeport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Cambridgeport is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridgeport
    • Cambridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Chestnut Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Chestnut Hill is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
    • Everett
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Somerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Eliot
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Huron Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Huron Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron Village
    • Newton Centre
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton Highlands
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton Upper Falls
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Newton Upper Falls is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Upper Falls
    • Wellington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Edgeworth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Edgeworth is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgeworth
  • Norfolk County
  • Suffolk County
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Hanover ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hanover.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hanover, with the one closest to Hanover 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 Hanover had a population of 1,778 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Hanover had a population of 14,624 people.

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

  • South Hanover
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Curtis Crossing
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • North Pembroke
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • North Pembroke is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pembroke
  • North Hanover
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • North Hanover is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hanover
  • West Hanover
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • West Hanover is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hanover
  • Hanson
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pembroke
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • North Marshfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • North Marshfield is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Marshfield
  • Norwell
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Bryantville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Bryantville is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryantville
  • East Pembroke
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • East Pembroke is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Pembroke
  • Rockland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Rockland is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Whitman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Whitman is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,295 people
    • North Hanson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • North Hanson is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hanson
    • South Hanson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • South Hanson is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hanson

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

Newspapers Published in Hanover ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hanover.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hanover, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<1>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hanover.

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 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 Hanover:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Hanover) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Hanover, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.