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 Hardwick (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 Hardwick. 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 Hardwick ...
While it's still very early in our research, we found that:
- Hardwick was settled in 1737.
- It was incorporated in 1739.
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.
Hardwick 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 Hardwick. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hardwick:
- Worcester County (The home county of Hardwick)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hardwick, with the one closest to Hardwick listed first.
- Gilbertville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Gilbertville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Wheelwright
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Wheelwright is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelwright
- Greenwich Village ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwich Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich Village
- New Braintree
(4 miles [6.4 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
- Greenwich ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Greenwich is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich
- Barre Plains
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Barre Plains is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Plains
- South Barre
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- South Barre is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barre
- Dana ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dana is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Oakham
(7 miles [11.3 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
(7 miles [11.3 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
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Heald Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heald Village
- Mill Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mill Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- North Brookfield
(8 miles [12.9 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
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hardwick, with the one closest to Hardwick listed first.
- Smiths ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Smiths is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
- Millington ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Millington is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millington
- Cooleyville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cooleyville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooleyville
- New Salem
(12 miles [19.3 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
(12 miles [19.3 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
- Locks Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Locks Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locks Village
- Morse Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Morse Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Village
- Leverett
(16 miles [25.7 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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Moores Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moores Corner
- Wendell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wendell is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 881 people
- Orange
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Orange is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,581 people
- Wendell Depot
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Wendell Depot is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell Depot
- North Orange
(19 miles [30.6 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 Hardwick, with the one closest to Hardwick listed first.
- West Brimfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- West Brimfield is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brimfield
- Thorndike
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Thorndike is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorndike
- Tenneyville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Tenneyville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenneyville
- Palmer
(14 miles [22.5 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
- Three Rivers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Three Rivers is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Rivers
- 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
- Ludlow City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ludlow City is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow City
- North Wilbraham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- North Wilbraham is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wilbraham
- Monson
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- 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
(19 miles [30.6 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
- Wilbraham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wilbraham is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbraham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,670 people
- Hampshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hardwick, with the one closest to Hardwick listed first.
- Ware
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ware is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,897 people
- Enfield ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Enfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- Pelham
(10 miles [16.1 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
- Belchertown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Belchertown is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belchertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,103 people
- Bondsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
- West Pelham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- West Pelham is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pelham
- East Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- East Village is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
- South Amherst
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- South Amherst is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amherst
- Amherst Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Amherst Center is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Center
- Amherst
(16 miles [25.7 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
(17 miles [27.4 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
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- North Amherst is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Amherst
- Hadley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hadley is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,327 people
- Middlesex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hardwick, with the one closest to Hardwick listed first.
- Ashby
(29 miles [46.7 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
- South Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- South Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Village
- Shaker Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- Hartford County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hardwick, with the one closest to Hardwick listed first.
- Sherwood Manor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sherwood Manor is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood Manor
- Hazardville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hazardville is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazardville
- Tolland County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hardwick, with the one closest to Hardwick listed first.
- State Line
(22 miles [35.4 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)
- Stafford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Union
(25 miles [40.2 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
- 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
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Somers
(28 miles [45.1 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
- Somers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Somersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Windham County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hardwick, with the one closest to Hardwick listed first.
- Quinebaug
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fabyan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- East Woodstock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- West Woodstock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- West Woodstock is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Woodstock
- Woodstock
(28 miles [45.1 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
- Westford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Westford is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westford
- Woodstock Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- North Grosvenor Dale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- East Thompson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- East Thompson is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Thompson
- Grosvenor Dale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- South Woodstock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Thompson
(30 miles [48.3 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
- Woodstock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cheshire County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hardwick, with the one closest to Hardwick 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)
- Fitzwilliam
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Rindge
(29 miles [46.7 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
- Winchester
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Windham County (VT)
- South Vernon
(29 miles [46.7 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 Hardwick, see our County-by-County Page for Hardwick.
Cemeteries Near Hardwick ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hardwick.
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 Hardwick - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hardwick covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hardwick, with the one closest to Hardwick listed first.
- St. Aloysius Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- North Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Taylor Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- South Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hale Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Adams Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Miles Holden Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Taylor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Lee Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Lee Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jenkins Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (435 more) ...
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Aspen Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Old St. Williams Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Hardwick had a population of 750 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Hardwick had a population of 3,047 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hardwick, with the one closest to Hardwick listed first.
- Gilbertville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Gilbertville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Furnace
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Furnace is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace
- New Braintree
(4 miles [6.4 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
- Barre Plains
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Barre Plains is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Plains
- Ware
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ware is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,897 people
- Dana ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dana is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Nichewaug ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Nichewaug is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichewaug
- Greenwich
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Greenwich is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich
- Enfield ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Enfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- Oakham
(7 miles [11.3 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
(7 miles [11.3 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
- West Ware
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- West Ware is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ware
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- West Brookfield
(8 miles [12.9 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
- North Brookfield
(8 miles [12.9 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
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Coldbrook Springs is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldbrook Springs
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hardwick. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hardwick.
Newspapers Published in Hardwick ...
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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hardwick.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hardwick, 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 Hardwick.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Hardwick:
- 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 Hardwick, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Hardwick) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |