RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Norfolk County >> Holbrook >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Massachusetts

The Commemorative Quarter for Massachusetts





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 Holbrook (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 Holbrook. 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 Holbrook ...

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

  • Holbrook was settled in 1710.
  • It was incorporated in 1872.

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 and 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.

Holbrook is located in Norfolk County.

To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Norfolk County: Bristol, Middlesex, Plymouth, Suffolk, Worcester & Providence (RI).

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

  • Norfolk County     (The home county of Holbrook)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holbrook, with the one closest to Holbrook listed first.
    • Brookville
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brookville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
      • Brookville is located in Norfolk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brookville
      • From Holbrook to Brookville
    • Randolph
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Randolph have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
      • Randolph is located in Norfolk County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 34,362 people
    • Avon
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Avon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
      • Avon is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,557 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Avon
      • From Holbrook to Avon
    • South Weymouth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • North Stoughton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Braintree
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Weymouth
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Stoughton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Quincy Point
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • East Weymouth
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Weymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Weymouth
      • East Weymouth is located in Norfolk County
    • Ponkapoag
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ponkapoag. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponkapoag
      • Ponkapoag is located in Norfolk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ponkapoag
      • From Holbrook to Ponkapoag
    • Canton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holbrook, with the one closest to Holbrook listed first.
    • North Easton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
    • South Easton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
    • Easton Center
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Easton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,116 people
    • Furnace Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Furnace Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village
      • Furnace Village is located in Bristol County
    • East Mansfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Mansfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Raynham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Norton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Raynham Center
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raynham Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynham Center
      • Raynham Center is located in Bristol County
    • East Taunton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Chartley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chartley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartley
      • Chartley is located in Bristol County
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holbrook, with the one closest to Holbrook listed first.
    • Nahant
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Lynn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Saugus
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • West Lynn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • East Lynn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Lynn. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lynn
      • East Lynn is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to East Lynn
      • From Holbrook to East Lynn
    • Swampscott
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Clifton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clifton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clifton
      • From Holbrook to Clifton
    • Marblehead
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marblehead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marblehead
      • Marblehead is located in Essex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,551 people
    • Peabody
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Salem
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • West Town Landing
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Town Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Town Landing
      • West Town Landing is located in Essex County
    • Lynnfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holbrook, with the one closest to Holbrook listed first.
    • Chestnut Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
      • Chestnut Hill is located in Middlesex County
    • Eliot
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton Centre
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton Highlands
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton Upper Falls
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newton Upper Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Upper Falls
      • Newton Upper Falls is located in Middlesex County
    • Cambridge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Somerville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Newton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Newtonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newtonville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtonville
      • Newtonville is located in Middlesex County
    • Waban
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Everett
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Huron Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huron Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron Village
      • Huron Village is located in Middlesex County
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holbrook, with the one closest to Holbrook listed first.
    • Montello
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • North Abington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Abington
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Rockland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Rockland is located in Plymouth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
    • Brockton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Accord
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Whitman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitman
      • Whitman is located in Plymouth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,295 people
    • Hingham
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • East Bridgewater
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Hanson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Cochesett
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cochesett. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochesett
      • Cochesett is located in Plymouth County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cochesett
      • From Holbrook to Cochesett
    • South Hanover
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Suffolk County
  • Worcester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holbrook, with the one closest to Holbrook listed first.
    • South Milford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Milford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Millerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Cordaville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • East Blackstone
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Fayville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Hopedale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hopedale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopedale
      • Hopedale is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,934 people
    • White City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
      • White City is located in Worcester County
    • Blackstone
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackstone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackstone
      • Blackstone is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,209 people
    • Mendon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Southborough
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Southborough. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southborough
      • Southborough is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,200 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Southborough
      • From Holbrook to Southborough
    • Southville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Providence County (RI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holbrook, with the one closest to Holbrook listed first.
    • Burnt Swamp Corner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Arnold Mills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Cumberland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumberland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
      • Cumberland is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,207 people
    • Cumberland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumberland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
      • Cumberland is located in Providence County (RI)
    • Darlington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Valley Falls
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Albion
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Berkeley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Central Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cumberland Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lonsdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lonsdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lonsdale
      • Lonsdale is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lonsdale
      • From Holbrook to Lonsdale
    • Hamlet
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hamlet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
      • Hamlet is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hamlet
      • From Holbrook to Hamlet

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

Cemeteries Near Holbrook ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Holbrook.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Holbrook, with the one closest to Holbrook 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Holbrook had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Holbrook had a population of 11,014 people.

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

  • Brookville
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brookville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
    • Brookville is located in Norfolk County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Brookville
    • From Holbrook to Brookville
  • Randolph
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Randolph have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
    • Randolph is located in Norfolk County
    • Estimated population in 2019: 34,362 people
  • Avon
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Avon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
    • Avon is located in Norfolk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,557 people
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Avon
    • From Holbrook to Avon
  • Montello
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • North Abington
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • South Weymouth
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • South Braintree
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Braintree have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Braintree
    • South Braintree is located in Norfolk County
  • North Stoughton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Abington
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hatherly
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hatherly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatherly
    • Hatherly is located in Plymouth County
  • Braintree
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Stoughton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Brockton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Rockland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Rockland is located in Plymouth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
    • Weymouth
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Holbrook ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Holbrook.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Holbrook. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Holbrook and those printed in the larger area surrounding Holbrook.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<6> of Holbrook.

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 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 Holbrook:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Holbrook. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Norfolk County: www.norfolkcounty.org/

The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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>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.
<5>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 Holbrook, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Holbrook) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Holbrook. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1548, Longitude: -71.0086    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025