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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 Leicester (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 Leicester. 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 Leicester ...

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

  • Leicester was settled in 1713.
  • It was incorporated in 1714.

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.

Leicester is located in Worcester 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 Worcester County: Tolland (CT), Windham (CT), Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Cheshire (NH), Hillsborough (NH) & Providence (RI).

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

  • Worcester County     (The home county of Leicester)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leicester, with the one closest to Leicester listed first.
    • Cherry Valley
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
      • Cherry Valley is located in Worcester County
    • Upper Wire Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Upper Wire Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Wire Village
      • Upper Wire Village is located in Worcester County
    • Rochdale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Paxton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Lower Wire Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lower Wire Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Wire Village
      • Lower Wire Village is located in Worcester County
    • Spencer
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Quinsigamond Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quinsigamond Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinsigamond Village
      • Quinsigamond Village is located in Worcester County
    • Worcester
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • West Auburn
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Auburn
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Auburn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
      • Auburn is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,701 people
    • North Worcester
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • North Oxford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Oxford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oxford
      • North Oxford is located in Worcester County
    • Charlton Depot
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charlton Depot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton Depot
      • Charlton Depot is located in Worcester County
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leicester, with the one closest to Leicester listed first.
    • Smiths ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Smiths. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
      • Smiths is located in Franklin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Smiths
      • From Leicester to Smiths
    • Millington ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Millington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millington
      • Millington is located in Franklin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Millington
      • From Leicester to Millington
    • Cooleyville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • New Salem
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Salem have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
      • New Salem is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,034 people
    • Shutesbury
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Morse Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morse Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Village
      • Morse Village is located in Franklin County
  • Hampden County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leicester, with the one closest to Leicester listed first.
    • Brimfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brimfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
      • Brimfield is located in Hampden County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,679 people
    • Holland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • West Brimfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Brimfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brimfield
      • West Brimfield is located in Hampden County
    • Wales
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Tenneyville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Palmer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Thorndike
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thorndike have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorndike
      • Thorndike is located in Hampden County
    • Monson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Three Rivers
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • South Factory Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Factory Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Factory Village
      • South Factory Village is located in Hampden County
    • State Line
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for State Line. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
      • State Line is located in Hampden County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to State Line
      • From Leicester to State Line
    • North Wilbraham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Hampden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hampden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden
      • Hampden is located in Hampden County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,154 people
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leicester, with the one closest to Leicester listed first.
    • Ware
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Bondsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bondsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
      • Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
    • Enfield ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Enfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
      • Enfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Enfield
      • From Leicester to Enfield
    • Belchertown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belchertown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belchertown
      • Belchertown is located in Hampshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,103 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Belchertown
      • From Leicester to Belchertown
    • Pelham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • West Pelham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leicester, with the one closest to Leicester listed first.
    • Woodville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
      • Woodville is located in Middlesex County
    • Hopkinton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Marlborough Junction
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Marlborough
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Hayden Row
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hayden Row. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayden Row
      • Hayden Row is located in Middlesex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hayden Row
      • From Leicester to Hayden Row
    • Hudson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hudson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Hudson is located in Middlesex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,732 people
    • Ashland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Shaker Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
      • Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Holliston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Metcalf
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Shirley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Stow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Boxborough
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Norfolk County
  • Tolland County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leicester, with the one closest to Leicester listed first.
    • Union
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Union
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Union is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
    • Staffordville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • State Line
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for State Line. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
      • State Line is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to State Line
      • From Leicester to State Line
    • Stafford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stafford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford
      • Stafford is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stafford <3>
    • Stafford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stafford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford
      • Stafford is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,834 people
    • Stafford Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • East Willington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Willington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willington
      • Willington is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,838 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willington <3>
  • Windham County (CT)
  • Providence County (RI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leicester, with the one closest to Leicester listed first.
    • Harrisville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Pascoag
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • West Glocester
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Glendale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Nasonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Slatersville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Whipple
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Whipple. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whipple
      • Whipple is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Whipple
      • From Leicester to Whipple
    • Burrillville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burrillville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrillville
      • Burrillville is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,810 people
    • Branch Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Chepachet
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Union Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Village
      • Union Village is located in Providence County (RI)
    • Hamlet
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
      • Hamlet is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hamlet
      • From Leicester to Hamlet
    • North Smithfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Smithfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Smithfield
      • North Smithfield is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,576 people

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

Cemeteries Near Leicester ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Leicester.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Leicester, with the one closest to Leicester 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Leicester had a population of 1,000 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Leicester had a population of 11,272 people.

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

  • Cherry Valley
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
    • Cherry Valley is located in Worcester County
  • Jamesville ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jamesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
    • Jamesville is located in Worcester County
  • Rochdale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Paxton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • South Worcester
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Worcester have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Worcester
    • South Worcester is located in Worcester County
  • Spencer
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • South Spencer
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Spencer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Spencer
    • South Spencer is located in Worcester County
  • Texas
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Texas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas
    • Texas is located in Worcester County
  • West Auburn
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Auburn
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Auburn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
    • Auburn is located in Worcester County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,701 people
  • Quinsigamond Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quinsigamond Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinsigamond Village
    • Quinsigamond Village is located in Worcester County
  • Worcester
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Charlton Depot
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charlton Depot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton Depot
      • Charlton Depot is located in Worcester County
    • North Oxford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Oxford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oxford
      • North Oxford is located in Worcester County
    • North Worcester
      (6 miles [9.7 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 Leicester. See our List of 1890's Communities around Leicester.

Newspapers Published in Leicester ...

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 185 newspapers that have been published in the area around Leicester.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Leicester, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Leicester.

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 Leicester:

The official website for Leicester: www.ci.leicester.ma.us/

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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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.

<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 Leicester, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>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- Leicester) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Leicester. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2458, Longitude: -71.9081    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 09 Aug 2025