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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 Holden (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 Holden. 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 Holden ...

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

  • Holden was settled in 1723.
  • It was incorporated in 1741.

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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

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

  • Worcester County     (The home county of Holden)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
    • Millington ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Smiths ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • New Salem
      (26 miles [41.8 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
    • Morse Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Morse Village is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Village
    • Tully
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cooleyville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • North Orange
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Orange
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Shutesbury
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Wendell Depot
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wendell Depot is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell Depot
    • Wendell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wendell is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 881 people
    • Locks Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Locks Village is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locks Village
  • Hampden County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
    • Brimfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Brimfield is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,679 people
    • West Brimfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • West Brimfield is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brimfield
    • Holland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Tenneyville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Thorndike
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Thorndike is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorndike
    • Wales
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Palmer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Monson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Three Rivers
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • South Factory Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
    • Ware
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Enfield ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Bondsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
    • Belchertown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Pelham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
    • Hudson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Hudson is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,732 people
    • Marlborough Junction
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Marlborough
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Shaker Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
    • Shirley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodville is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Devens
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Stow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Boxborough
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hopkinton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Lower Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Lower Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Village
    • Ayer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hayden Row
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
    • Bellingham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Medway
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Millis
      (28 miles [45.1 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
    • Wellesley Hills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Wellesley Hills is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Hills
    • Franklin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rockville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Babson Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Babson Park is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park
    • Dover
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Medfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Medfield is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,011 people
    • Wellesley Farms
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Wellesley Farms is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Farms
    • Wellesley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Acorn Terrace
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Tolland County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden listed first.
    • Union
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Union is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
    • Union
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Windham County (CT)
  • Cheshire County (NH)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Holden ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Holden.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Holden, with the one closest to Holden 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 Holden had a population of 2,475 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Holden had a population of 19,259 people.

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

  • Dawson
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Quinapoxet
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Quinapoxet is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinapoxet
  • Jefferson
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jefferson is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
  • North Woods
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • North Woods is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Woods
  • North Worcester
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Summit
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Summit is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
  • Paxton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Greendale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Greendale is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
  • Brooks
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • West Boylston
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • West Boylston is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Boylston
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,039 people
  • Oakdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Muschopauge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Muschopauge is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muschopauge
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Holden ...

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 197 newspapers that have been published in the area around Holden.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Holden, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Holden.

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 Holden:

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 Holden, 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- Holden) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.