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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 Holland (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 Holland. 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 Holland ...

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

  • Holland was settled in 1725.
  • It was incorporated in 1835.

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 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.

Holland is located in Hampden 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 Hampden County: Hartford (CT), Litchfield (CT), Tolland (CT), Berkshire, Hampshire & Worcester.

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

  • Hampden County     (The home county of Holland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holland, with the one closest to Holland listed first.
    • Wales
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Brimfield
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Brimfield is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,679 people
    • Monson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • South Factory Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • State Line
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Tenneyville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • West Brimfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • West Brimfield is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brimfield
    • Palmer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Thorndike
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Thorndike is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorndike
    • Three Rivers
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hampden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Hampden is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,154 people
    • North Wilbraham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Franklin County
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holland, with the one closest to Holland listed first.
    • Ware
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Bondsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
    • Belchertown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Enfield ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Granby
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Granby is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,262 people
    • Pelham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • South Amherst
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • South Amherst is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amherst
    • South Hadley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • West Pelham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • East Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • East Village is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
    • Mount Tom
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Amherst Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Amherst Center is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Center
  • Worcester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holland, with the one closest to Holland listed first.
    • Fiskdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Old Sturbridge Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Globe Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Globe Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe Village
    • Sturbridge
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Sturbridge is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturbridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,561 people
    • Southbridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Brookfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Brookfield is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,439 people
    • Warren
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Warren is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,203 people
    • West Warren
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Charlton City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Charlton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Charlton is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,698 people
    • Dudley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Dudley is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,663 people
    • Charlton Depot
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Charlton Depot is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton Depot
  • Hartford County (CT)
  • New London County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Holland, with the one closest to Holland listed first.
    • Liberty Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Williams Crossing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Hanover
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Lebanon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • North Franklin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Franklin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Franklin is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,914 people
    • Lebanon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Lebanon is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,112 people
    • Sprague
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Sprague is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprague
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,851 people
  • Tolland County (CT)
  • Windham County (CT)
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Holland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Holland.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Holland, with the one closest to Holland 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 Holland had a population of 48 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Holland had a population of 2,469 people.

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

  • Mashapaug
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Mashapaug is located in Tolland County (CT)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mashapaug
  • East Brimfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • East Brimfield is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brimfield
  • Wales
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Brimfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Brimfield is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,679 people
  • Fiskdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Union
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Globe Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Globe Village is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe Village
  • Sturbridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sturbridge is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturbridge
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,561 people
  • Staffordville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Southbridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Sandersdale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sandersdale is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandersdale
  • South Monson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • South Monson is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Monson
  • Continue List   (21 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Holland ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Holland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Holland, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Holland.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Holland:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Holland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Holland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.