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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 Hingham (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 Hingham. 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 Hingham ...

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

  • Hingham was settled in 1633.
  • It was incorporated in 1635.

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.

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

  • Plymouth County     (The home county of Hingham)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hingham, with the one closest to Hingham listed first.
    • West Hingham
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • West Hingham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hingham
    • Kenberma
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Kenberma is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenberma
    • Bayside
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Bayside is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside
    • Hull
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Accord
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • North Scituate
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • North Scituate is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scituate
    • Minot
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Minot is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minot
    • Rockland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Rockland is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
    • Norwell
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Scituate
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Scituate is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scituate
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,047 people
    • North Abington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Greenbush
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Greenbush is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbush
    • Abington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hingham, with the one closest to Hingham listed first.
    • North Easton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
    • South Easton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
    • Easton Center
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Easton
      (17 miles [27.4 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
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Furnace Village is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village
    • East Mansfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mansfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Raynham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Raynham Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Raynham Center is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynham Center
    • Norton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • East Taunton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Taunton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Chartley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Chartley is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartley
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hingham, with the one closest to Hingham listed first.
    • Nahant
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • East Lynn
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Lynn
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Swampscott
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Cliftondale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Clifton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Saugus
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • West Lynn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Pleasant Hills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Pleasant Hills is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hills
    • Marblehead
      (17 miles [27.4 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
    • West Town Landing
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • West Town Landing is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Town Landing
    • Peabody
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Salem
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hingham, with the one closest to Hingham listed first.
    • Cambridgeport
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Cambridgeport is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridgeport
    • Cambridge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Everett
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Somerville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Chestnut Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Chestnut Hill is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
    • Edgeworth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Edgeworth is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgeworth
    • Huron Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Huron Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron Village
    • Malden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Wellington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Medford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton Centre
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Arlington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Eliot
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Norfolk County
  • Suffolk County
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Hingham ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hingham.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hingham, with the one closest to Hingham 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Hingham had a population of 1,800 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Hingham had a population of 24,720 people.

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

  • West Hingham
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • West Hingham is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hingham
  • Hingham Center
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Hingham Center is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hingham Center
  • Weymouth Heights
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • East Weymouth
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • East Weymouth is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Weymouth
  • North Cohasset
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Kenberma
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Kenberma is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenberma
  • North Weymouth
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • North Weymouth is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Weymouth
  • Weymouth
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • South Hingham
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • South Hingham is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hingham
  • East Braintree
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • East Braintree is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Braintree
  • Hull
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Pemberton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Pemberton is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Beechwood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cohasset
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Cohasset is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cohasset
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,529 people
    • Bayside
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Bayside is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Hingham ...

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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hingham.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Hingham. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Hingham and those printed in the larger area surrounding Hingham.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4> of Hingham.

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 Hingham:

Footnotes ...

<1>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.

<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>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 Hingham, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Hingham) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.