RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Dukes County >> Katama >> 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 Katama (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 Katama. 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.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Katama is located in Dukes 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 Dukes County: Barnstable, Bristol, Nantucket & Plymouth.

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

  • Dukes County     (The home county of Katama)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Katama, with the one closest to Katama listed first.
    • Edgartown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Oak Bluffs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Tisbury
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Vineyard Haven
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • West Tisbury
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • West Chop
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Chop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chop
      • West Chop is located in Dukes County
    • North Tisbury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Christian Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christian Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Town
      • Christian Town is located in Dukes County
    • Chilmark
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chilmark have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilmark
      • Chilmark is located in Dukes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
    • Menemsha
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Menemsha have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menemsha
      • Menemsha is located in Dukes County
    • Squibnocket
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Squibnocket. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squibnocket
      • Squibnocket is located in Dukes County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Squibnocket
      • From Katama to Squibnocket
    • Aquinnah
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Barnstable County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Katama, with the one closest to Katama listed first.
    • Acapesket
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Falmouth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Maushop Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maushop Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maushop Village
      • Maushop Village is located in Barnstable County
    • Monomoscoy Island
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monomoscoy Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monomoscoy Island
      • Monomoscoy Island is located in Barnstable County
    • New Seabury
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Seabury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Seabury
      • New Seabury is located in Barnstable County
    • Seconsett Island
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seconsett Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seconsett Island
      • Seconsett Island is located in Barnstable County
    • Teaticket
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Teaticket have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teaticket
      • Teaticket is located in Barnstable County
    • Woods Hole
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • East Falmouth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Popponesset Island
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Popponesset Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popponesset Island
      • Popponesset Island is located in Barnstable County
    • Popponesset
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Popponesset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popponesset
      • Popponesset is located in Barnstable County
    • Seabrook
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seabrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seabrook
      • Seabrook is located in Barnstable County
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Katama, with the one closest to Katama listed first.
    • Nonquitt
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • South Dartmouth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Dartmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dartmouth
      • South Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
    • Apponagansett
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bliss Corner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bliss Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corner
      • Bliss Corner is located in Bristol County
    • Fairhaven
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairhaven have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
      • Fairhaven is located in Bristol County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,103 people
    • New Bedford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Acushnet Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Acushnet
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Acushnet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet
      • Acushnet is located in Bristol County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,673 people
    • Dartmouth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dartmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dartmouth
      • Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33,926 people
    • North Dartmouth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Dartmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dartmouth
      • North Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
  • Nantucket County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Katama, with the one closest to Katama listed first.
    • Nantucket
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Pocomo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Siasconset
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Siasconset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siasconset
      • Siasconset is located in Nantucket County
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Katama, with the one closest to Katama listed first.
    • Marion
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mattapoisett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mattapoisett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattapoisett
      • Mattapoisett is located in Plymouth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,427 people
    • Onset
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • East Wareham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Wareham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
      • East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
    • Briarwood Beach
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Weweantic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weweantic have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weweantic
      • Weweantic is located in Plymouth County
    • Wareham Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wareham Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham Center
      • Wareham Center is located in Plymouth County
    • Wareham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wareham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham
      • Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,778 people
    • Rochester
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Katama ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Katama.

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 Katama covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Katama, with the one closest to Katama listed first.

  • Town Hill Burying Ground
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Town Hill Burying Ground
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Town Hill Burying Ground have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Westside Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Westside Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Westside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Westside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sacred Heart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Chop Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Chop Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Chop Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South End Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South End Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South End Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tisbury Village Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tisbury Village Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tisbury Village Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Tisbury Village Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Lambert's Cove Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Christiantown Memorial Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Christiantown Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Christiantown Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (111 more) ...

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Katama had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Edgartown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Oak Bluffs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Vineyard Highlands
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vineyard Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyard Highlands
    • Vineyard Highlands is located in Dukes County
  • Vineyard Haven
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • West Tisbury
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • West Chop
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Chop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chop
    • West Chop is located in Dukes County
  • North Tisbury
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Chilmark
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chilmark have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilmark
    • Chilmark is located in Dukes County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
  • Squibnocket
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Squibnocket. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squibnocket
    • Squibnocket is located in Dukes County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Squibnocket
    • From Katama to Squibnocket
  • Falmouth Heights
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falmouth Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth Heights
    • Falmouth Heights is located in Barnstable County
  • Teaticket
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Teaticket have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teaticket
    • Teaticket is located in Barnstable County
  • Falmouth
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Aquinnah
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • East Falmouth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • West Falmouth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Falmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Falmouth
      • West Falmouth is located in Barnstable County

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

Newspapers Published in Katama ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Katama.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Katama, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Katama.

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 websites either 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 Katama:

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

The official website for Dukes County: www.dukescounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<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>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- Katama) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Katama. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3581, Longitude: -70.5095       In this case, the coordinates for Katama have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Katama, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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