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 Leeds (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 Leeds. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Leeds is located in Hampshire 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 Hampshire County : Berkshire , Franklin , Hampden & Worcester .
Below are the counties that are near Leeds. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Leeds:
Hampshire County (The home county of Leeds)
The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
Haydenville (Less than 2 miles to the north)
Haydenville is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haydenville Florence (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Florence is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence Bay State (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Bay State is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay State West Hatfield (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
West Hatfield is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hatfield Williamsburg (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
Williamsburg is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg Population from the 2020 Census: 2,462 people
West Farms (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
West Farms is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Farms Northampton (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
Northampton is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northampton Population from the 2020 Census: 28,362 people
Hadley (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
Hadley is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadley Population from the 2020 Census: 5,327 people
Hatfield (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
Hatfield is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatfield Population from the 2020 Census: 3,243 people
North Hatfield (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
North Hatfield is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hatfield Easthampton (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Easthampton is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easthampton Population from the 2020 Census: 15,750 people
Westhampton (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
Westhampton is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westhampton Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
Mount Tom (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
Mount Tom is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tom Berkshire County
The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
East Windsor (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
East Windsor is located in Berkshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Windsor Peru (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
Peru is located in Berkshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru Population from the 2020 Census: 833 people
Becket (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
Becket is located in Berkshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becket Population from the 2020 Census: 1,707 people
Windsor (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Windsor is located in Berkshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor Population from the 2020 Census: 860 people
East Otis (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
East Otis is located in Berkshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Otis Washington (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
Washington is located in Berkshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
Savoy (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
Savoy is located in Berkshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savoy Population from the 2020 Census: 676 people
Otis (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
Otis is located in Berkshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis Population from the 2020 Census: 1,531 people
Hinsdale (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
Hinsdale is located in Berkshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinsdale Population from the 2020 Census: 1,902 people
North Otis (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
North Otis is located in Berkshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Otis West Becket (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
West Becket is located in Berkshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Becket Savoy Center (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
Savoy Center is located in Berkshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savoy Center Former name for Savoy Center:
Savoy Centre(Er) Dalton (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
Dalton is located in Berkshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton Population from the 2020 Census: 6,479 people
Franklin County
The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
Whately (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
Whately is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whately Population from the 2020 Census: 1,583 people
South Deerfield (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
South Deerfield is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Deerfield Conway (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
Conway is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway Population from the 2020 Census: 1,875 people
Sunderland (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
Sunderland is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunderland Population from the 2020 Census: 3,634 people
South Ashfield (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
South Ashfield is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ashfield Ashfield (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
Ashfield is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashfield Population from the 2020 Census: 1,720 people
Leverett (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
Leverett is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leverett Population from the 2020 Census: 1,836 people
Deerfield (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
Deerfield is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield Population from the 2020 Census: 5,049 people
Montague (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
Montague is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague Population from the 2020 Census: 8,203 people
Moores Corner (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
Moores Corner is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moores Corner East Deerfield (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
East Deerfield is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Deerfield Lake Pleasant (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
Lake Pleasant is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Pleasant Locks Village (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
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 Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
Holyoke (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
Holyoke is located in Hampden County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke Population from the 2020 Census: 39,921 people
Montgomery (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
Montgomery is located in Hampden County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Population from the 2020 Census: 863 people
North Chester (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
North Chester is located in Hampden County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chester Hampton Village (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
Hampton Village is located in Hampden County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton Village Chester Center (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
Chester Center is located in Hampden County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Center Former name for Chester Center:
Chester Centre Aldenville (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
Aldenville is located in Hampden County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldenville Ludlow City (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
Ludlow City is located in Hampden County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow City Russell (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
Russell is located in Hampden County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Population from the 2020 Census: 1,787 people
Chicopee (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
Chicopee is located in Hampden County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicopee Population from the 2020 Census: 54,825 people
Woronoco (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
Woronoco is located in Hampden County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woronoco Westfield (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
Westfield is located in Hampden County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield Population from the 2020 Census: 41,063 people
Chester (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
Chester is located in Hampden County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Population from the 2020 Census: 1,365 people
Blandford (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
Blandford is located in Hampden County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandford Population from the 2020 Census: 1,249 people
Worcester County
The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
Greenwich ‑ Historic(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
Greenwich was located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich Greenwich Village ‑ Historic(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
Greenwich Village was located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich Village North Dana ‑ Historic(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
North Dana was located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dana Dana ‑ Historic(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
Dana was located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana Gilbertville (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
Gilbertville is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville Hardwick (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
Hardwick is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardwick Population from the 2020 Census: 3,047 people
West Warren (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
West Warren is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Warren Petersham (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
Petersham is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersham Population from the 2020 Census: 1,237 people
Warren (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
Warren is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren Population from the 2020 Census: 5,203 people
Wheelwright (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
Wheelwright is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelwright New Braintree (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
New Braintree is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Braintree Population from the 2020 Census: 1,020 people
West Brookfield (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
West Brookfield is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brookfield Population from the 2020 Census: 3,713 people
Athol (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Athol is located in Worcester County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol Population from the 2020 Census: 11,698 people
Hartford County (CT)
The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
Rising Corner (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
Rising Corner is located in Hartford County (CT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Corner Sherwood Manor (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
Sherwood Manor is located in Hartford County (CT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood Manor Enfield (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
North Granby (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
Suffield Depot (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
Suffield Depot is located in Hartford County (CT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suffield Depot Suffield (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
Suffield is located in Hartford County (CT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suffield Population from the 2020 Census: 15,812 people
Suffield (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
Thompsonville (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
Thompsonville is located in Hartford County (CT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville West Suffield (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
Hazardville (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
Hazardville is located in Hartford County (CT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazardville East Hartland (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
Enfield (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
Enfield is located in Hartford County (CT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield Population from the 2020 Census: 43,559 people
Granby (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
Granby is located in Hartford County (CT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby Population from the 2020 Census: 11,558 people
Litchfield County (CT)
Hampsted (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
Hampsted is located in Litchfield County (CT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampsted Tolland County (CT)
The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
Somersville (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
Somers (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Somers is located in Tolland County (CT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somers Population from the 2020 Census: 10,741 people
Somers (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
State Line (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
State Line is located in Tolland County (CT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line Windham County (VT)
The following are listed by their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
South Vernon (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
South Vernon is located in Windham County (VT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vernon Halifax (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
Halifax is located in Windham County (VT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halifax Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
Halifax (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
Halifax is located in Windham County (VT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halifax Vernon (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
Vernon is located in Windham County (VT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon Population from the 2020 Census: 2,190 people
Guilford (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Guilford is located in Windham County (VT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford Population from the 2020 Census: 2,102 people
West Halifax (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Whitingham (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Whitingham is located in Windham County (VT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitingham Population from the 2020 Census: 1,271 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Leeds, see our County-by-County Page for Leeds .
Cemeteries Near Leeds ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Leeds.
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 Leeds - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Leeds covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
Park Street Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the east)
Spring Grove Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the east)
St. Mary Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
Hebrew Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
West Farms Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Holy Trinity Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
Old Village Hill Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Village Hill Cemetery The Old Village Hill Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Williamsburg . The Old Village Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
Williamsburg Center Cemetery Williamsburg Center Old Cemetery Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #WLM.801 <2>
Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1963904 <3>
Village Hill Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
Bridge Street Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
St. Brigids Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Old Hadley Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
Continue List (369 more) ...
Bofat Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
Main Street Cemetery (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
Brookside Cemetery (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
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 in 1895, Leeds had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Leeds, with the one closest to Leeds listed first.
Florence (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Florence is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence Haydenville (Less than 2 miles to the north)
Haydenville is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haydenville Bay State (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Bay State is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay State West Farms (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
West Farms is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Farms Northampton (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
Northampton is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northampton Population from the 2020 Census: 28,362 people
Williamsburg (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
Williamsburg is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg Population from the 2020 Census: 2,462 people
West Hatfield (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
West Hatfield is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hatfield Loudville (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Loudville is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loudville Westhampton (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
Westhampton is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westhampton Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
Easthampton (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Easthampton is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easthampton Population from the 2020 Census: 15,750 people
Hadley (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
Hadley is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadley Population from the 2020 Census: 5,327 people
Hatfield (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
Hatfield is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatfield Population from the 2020 Census: 3,243 people
Continue List (17 more) ...
North Hatfield (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
North Hatfield is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hatfield Mount Tom (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
Mount Tom is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tom North Hadley (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
North Hadley is also located in Hampshire County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hadley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Leeds. See our List of 1890's Communities around Leeds .
Newspapers Published in Leeds ...
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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Leeds.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Leeds, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<5> Extended Newspaper List for Leeds.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Leeds:
Websites specific to Massachusetts Pages specific to Hampshire County Genealogy information for nearby counties
Berkshire County Franklin County Hampden County Worcester County Hartford County Litchfield County Tolland County Windham County Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Leeds. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page .
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. 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 . 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 . 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 Leeds, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. 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- Leeds) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.