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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 Harvard (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 Harvard. 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 Harvard ...

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

  • Harvard was settled in 1704.
  • It was incorporated in 1732.

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 hospitals 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.

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

  • Worcester County     (The home county of Harvard)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harvard, with the one closest to Harvard listed first.
    • Shaker Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Shaker Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
    • Still River
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bolton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Lancaster
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • North Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • North Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Village
    • Seventh Day Adventist Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • South Lancaster
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lunenburg Station
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Lunenburg Station is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunenburg Station
    • Clinton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Berlin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Carterville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Pratts Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Boylston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Boylston is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boylston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,728 people
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harvard, with the one closest to Harvard listed first.
    • Haggetts
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lowell Junction
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Andover
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • West Andover
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • West Andover is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Andover
    • Lawrence
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Shawsheen Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Shawsheen Village is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawsheen Village
    • Methuen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Methuen is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Methuen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50,910 people
    • North Andover
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • North Andover is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Andover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,460 people
    • Lynnfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Tozier Corner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Ayers Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Ayers Village is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers Village
    • Brigadoon Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Brigadoon Village is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brigadoon Village
    • Cliftondale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harvard, with the one closest to Harvard listed first.
    • Boxborough
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Devens
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Shaker Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
    • Ayer
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Littleton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Littleton is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,253 people
    • Shirley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Centre Village ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Centre Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre Village
    • Stow
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • New Town ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • New Town is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
    • Littleton Common
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lower Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lower Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Village
    • Acton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Acton is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,503 people
    • East Littleton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harvard, with the one closest to Harvard listed first.
    • Wellesley Farms
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Wellesley Farms is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Farms
    • Wellesley Hills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Wellesley Hills is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Hills
    • Wellesley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Babson Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Babson Park is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park
    • Needham Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights
    • Charles River Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Dover
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Needham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Needham is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,537 people
    • Medfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Medfield is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,011 people
    • Millis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Millis is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,519 people
    • Westbrook Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Westbrook Village is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
    • Brookline Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village
    • Brookline
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Suffolk County
  • Cheshire County (NH)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
  • Rockingham County (NH)

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

Cemeteries Near Harvard ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harvard.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Harvard, with the one closest to Harvard 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 in 1895, Harvard had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Harvard had a population of 6,618 people.

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

  • Harvard Station
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Harvard Station is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard Station
  • Still River
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Boxborough
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Bolton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Littleton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Littleton is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,253 people
  • Ayer
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Shirley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • North Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • North Village is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Village
  • Lancaster
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Stow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • West Acton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • West Acton is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Acton
  • South Lancaster
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Harvard ...

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 145 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harvard.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Harvard. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Harvard and those printed in the larger area surrounding Harvard.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<5> of Harvard.

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 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 Harvard:

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