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 Leyden (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 Leyden. 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 Leyden ...
While it's still very early in our research, we found that:
- Leyden was settled in 1738.
- It was incorporated in 1809.
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.
Leyden is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Berkshire, Hampshire, Worcester, Cheshire (NH) & Windham (VT).
Below are the counties that are near Leyden. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Leyden:
- Franklin County (The home county of Leyden)
- The following are listed by their distance from Leyden, with the one closest to Leyden listed first.
- Colrain
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Colrain is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colrain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,669 people
- Elm Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Elm Grove is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Grove
- Bernardston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bernardston is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernardston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,089 people
- Foundry Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Foundry Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foundry Village
- Griswoldville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Griswoldville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswoldville
- Factory Village ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Factory Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factory Village
- Shattuckville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Shattuckville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shattuckville
- Mount Hermon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mount Hermon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hermon
- Greenfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Greenfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,241 people
- Gill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,473 people
- Turners Falls
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Turners Falls is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turners Falls
- Northfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Northfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,958 people
- Montague City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Montague City is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague City
- Berkshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Leyden, with the one closest to Leyden listed first.
- Drury
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Drury is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drury
- Florida
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Florida is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florida
- Population from the 2020 Census: 711 people
- Savoy Center
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Savoy Center is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savoy Center
- Savoy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Savoy is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savoy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 676 people
- Briggsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Briggsville is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggsville
- East Windsor
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- East Windsor is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Windsor
- North Adams
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- North Adams is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Adams
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,737 people
- Renfrew
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Renfrew is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renfrew
- Zylonite
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Zylonite is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zylonite
- Windsor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Windsor is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 860 people
- Adams
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Adams is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,955 people
- Arnoldville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Arnoldville is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnoldville
- Greylock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Greylock is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greylock
- Hampden County
- North Chester
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- North Chester is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chester
- Hampshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Leyden, with the one closest to Leyden listed first.
- North Hatfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- North Hatfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hatfield
- Goshen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Goshen is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,057 people
- Plainfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Plainfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 663 people
- North Amherst
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- North Amherst is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Amherst
- North Hadley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- North Hadley is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hadley
- Williamsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Williamsburg is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,462 people
- Cummington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cummington is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 873 people
- Swift River
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Swift River is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift River
- Hatfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hatfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,243 people
- Haydenville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Haydenville is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haydenville
- West Hatfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- West Hatfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hatfield
- Amherst Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Amherst Center is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Center
- Amherst
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Amherst is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,643 people
- Worcester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Leyden, with the one closest to Leyden listed first.
- Athol
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Athol is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,698 people
- Royalston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Royalston is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royalston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,278 people
- North Dana ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- North Dana is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dana
- Dana ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dana is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Petersham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Petersham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,237 people
- Phillipston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Phillipston is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,739 people
- Baldwinville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Baldwinville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwinville
- Brooks Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Brooks Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks Village
- Goulding Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Goulding Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goulding Village
- Waterville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Waterville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterville
- Greenwich Village ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwich Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich Village
- Winchendon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Winchendon is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchendon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,835 people
- Greenwich ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwich is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich
- Cheshire County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Leyden, with the one closest to Leyden listed first.
- Hinsdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ashuelot
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Winchester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Chesterfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Spofford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Richmond
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- West Swanzey
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Westmoreland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Swanzey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- East Swanzey is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Swanzey
- Swanzey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fitzwilliam Depot
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Fitzwilliam Depot is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzwilliam Depot
- Troy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Troy is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,117 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <1>
- Keene
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Keene is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
- Population from the 2020 Census: 22,699 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keene <1>
- Bennington County (VT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Leyden, with the one closest to Leyden listed first.
- Readsboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Readsboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Readsboro is located in Bennington County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 720 people
- Searsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Searsburg is located in Bennington County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Stamford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Stamford
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Stamford is located in Bennington County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stamford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
- Woodford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Woodford is located in Bennington County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 398 people
- Woodford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Woodford Hollow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Woodford Hollow is located in Bennington County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford Hollow
- Glastenbury
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Glastenbury is located in Bennington County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glastenbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7 people
- Pownal Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Pownal Center is located in Bennington County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pownal Center
- Pownal
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Pownal is located in Bennington County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pownal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,386 people
- Windham County (VT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Leyden, with the one closest to Leyden listed first.
- Guilford
(6 miles [9.7 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
- Vernon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Vernon is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,190 people
- Halifax
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Halifax is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halifax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Halifax
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Halifax is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halifax
- South Vernon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- South Vernon is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vernon
- Guilford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- West Halifax
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Fairview Village is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Village
- West Brattleboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ames Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Ames Hill is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames Hill
- Brattleboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Brattleboro is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brattleboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,257 people
- Brattleboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Jacksonville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Leyden, see our County-by-County Page for Leyden.
Cemeteries Near Leyden ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Leyden.
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 Leyden - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Leyden covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Leyden, with the one closest to Leyden listed first.
- South Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- East Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Beaver Meadow Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- West Leyden Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Billings Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Groll Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Baker Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- North River Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Chandler Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Brick School Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stark Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (425 more) ...
- Old Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Henry Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Leyden had a population of 112 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Leyden had a population of 719 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Leyden, with the one closest to Leyden listed first.
- West Leyden
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- West Leyden is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leyden
- Elm Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Elm Grove is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Grove
- East Shelburne
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- East Shelburne is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Shelburne
- Bernardston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bernardston is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernardston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,089 people
- Griswoldville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Griswoldville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswoldville
- Green River
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Green River is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
- Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Grove is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove
- Adamsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Adamsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Shattuckville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Shattuckville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shattuckville
- Guilford Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Guilford Center is located in Windham County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford Center
- Greenfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Greenfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,241 people
- Riverside
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Riverside is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Gill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,473 people
- Mount Hermon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mount Hermon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hermon
- Vernon
(7 miles [11.3 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 Leyden. See our List of 1890's Communities around Leyden.
Newspapers Published in Leyden ...
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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Leyden.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Leyden, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Leyden.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Leyden:
- Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Berkshire County
- Hampden County
- Hampshire County
- Worcester County
- Cheshire County
- Bennington County
- Windham County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
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> | 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 Leyden, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 drawn from Point A (ie- Leyden) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |