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 Mashpee (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 Mashpee. 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 Mashpee ...

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

Mashpee was settled in 1660.
It was incorporated in 1870.

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 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.

Mashpee is located in Barnstable County.

To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

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

Barnstable County (The home county of Mashpee)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mashpee, with the one closest to Mashpee listed first.
- Mashpee Neck
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  - Mashpee Neck is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mashpee Neck
- Marstons Mills
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  - Marstons Mills is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marstons Mills
- Forestdale
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  - Forestdale is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
- Cotuit
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  - Cotuit is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotuit
- Popponesset Island
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  - Popponesset Island is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popponesset Island
- Seabrook
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  - Seabrook is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seabrook
- Hatchville
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  - Hatchville is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchville
- Osterville
  (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  - Osterville is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osterville
- Maushop Village
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  - Maushop Village is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maushop Village
- Monomoscoy Island
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  - Monomoscoy Island is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monomoscoy Island
- New Seabury
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  - New Seabury is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Seabury
- Popponesset
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  - Popponesset is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popponesset
- Seconsett Island
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  - Seconsett Island is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seconsett Island
Bristol County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mashpee, with the one closest to Mashpee listed first.
- Fairhaven
  (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  - Fairhaven is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 16,103 people
- Acushnet Center
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  - Acushnet Center is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet Center
- Acushnet
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  - Acushnet is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 10,673 people
- Long Plain
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  - Long Plain is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Plain
- Acushnet Station ‑ Historic
  (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  - Acushnet Station is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet Station
- Bliss Corner
  (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  - Bliss Corner is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corner
- New Bedford
  (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  - New Bedford is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bedford
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 95,517 people
- Apponagansett
  (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  - Apponagansett is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apponagansett
- Clifford
  (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  - Clifford is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
- Nonquitt
  (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  - Nonquitt is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nonquitt
- South Dartmouth
  (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  - South Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dartmouth
- Braleys
  (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  - Braleys is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braleys
- Dartmouth
  (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  - Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dartmouth
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 33,926 people
Dukes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mashpee, with the one closest to Mashpee listed first.
- Oak Bluffs
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  - Oak Bluffs is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bluffs
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 4,696 people
- West Chop
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  - West Chop is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chop
- Tisbury
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  - Tisbury is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tisbury
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 4,128 people
- Vineyard Haven
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  - Vineyard Haven is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyard Haven
- Edgartown
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  - Edgartown is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgartown
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 4,383 people
- Christian Town
  (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  - Christian Town is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Town
- North Tisbury
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  - North Tisbury is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tisbury
- Katama
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  - Katama is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katama
- Gosnold
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  - Gosnold is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosnold
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
- West Tisbury
  (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  - West Tisbury is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tisbury
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 2,927 people
- Chilmark
  (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  - Chilmark is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilmark
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
- Menemsha
  (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  - Menemsha is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menemsha
- Squibnocket
  (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  - Squibnocket is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squibnocket
Plymouth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mashpee, with the one closest to Mashpee listed first.
- Onset
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  - Onset is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset
- East Wareham
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  - East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
- Onset Station
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  - Onset Station is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset Station
- White Island Shores
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  - White Island Shores is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Island Shores
- Briarwood Beach
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  - Briarwood Beach is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
- Wareham
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  - Wareham is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 22,778 people
- Weweantic
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  - Weweantic is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weweantic
- Marion
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  - Marion is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 5,189 people
- Wareham Center
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  - Wareham Center is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham Center
- West Wareham
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  - West Wareham is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wareham
- Mattapoisett
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  - Mattapoisett is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattapoisett
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 6,427 people
- Cranberry Village
  (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  - Cranberry Village is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry Village
- Pine Tree Village
  (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  - Pine Tree Village is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Tree Village

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

Cemeteries Near Mashpee ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mashpee.

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

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

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

Attaquin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attaquin Cemetery
- The Attaquin Cemetery has also been known as:
- Attaquin Burial Ground
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #MAS.801 <1>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2129622 <2>
Coombs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coombs Cemetery
- The Coombs Cemetery has also been known as:
- Avant - Coombs Burial Ground
- Coombs Burial Ground
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #MAS.802 <1>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2498867 <2>
Goodspeed Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodspeed Cemetery
- The Goodspeed Cemetery has also been known as:
- Wakeby Cemetery
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #SDW.815 <1>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91026 <2>
Great Neck Woods Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Neck Woods Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2248339 <2>
Mosswood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosswood Cemetery
- The Mosswood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Cotuit Cemetery
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #BRN.806 <1>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91238 <2>
Boardley Road Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boardley Road Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91426 <2>
Percival Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percival Cemetery
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #SDW.821 <1>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2135022 <2>
Forestdale Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Forestdale Cemetery is located in Forestdale.
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #SDW.800 <1>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1992531 <2>
Marstons Mills Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marstons Mills Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Marstons Mills Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Marstons Mills.
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #BRN.813 <1>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1019448 <2>
Tobey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tobey Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91779 <2>
East End Burying Ground
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East End Burying Ground
- The East End Burying Ground has also been known as:
- East End Meetinghouse Cemetery
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #FAL.806 <1>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2281806 <2>
Bay View Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View Cemetery
- The Bay View Cemetery has also been known as:
- Waquoit Cemetery
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #FAL.807 <1>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91817 <2>
Continue List (208 more) ...
- Hillside Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside Cemetery
  - Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #BRN.814 <1>
  - Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91097 <2>
- Massachusetts National Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massachusetts National Cemetery
  - To give a relative sense of its location, the Massachusetts National Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southeast of Pocasset.
  - The Massachusetts National Cemetery has also been known as:
  - Bourne National Cemetery
  - Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #109426 <2>
- St. Anthonys Cemetery
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Anthonys Cemetery
  - To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Anthonys Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in East Falmouth.
  - The St. Anthonys Cemetery has also been known as:
  - St. Anthonys Catholic Cemetery
  - Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #174183 <2>

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 Mashpee had a population of 300 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Mashpee had a population of 14,266 people.

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

Forestdale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Forestdale is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
Marstons Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Marstons Mills is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marstons Mills
Hatchville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hatchville is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchville
Wianno
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Wianno is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wianno
Osterville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Osterville is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osterville
East Falmouth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Falmouth
Centerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Centerville is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
West Barnstable
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Barnstable is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Barnstable
East Sandwich
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- East Sandwich is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sandwich
Craigville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Craigville is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
Sandwich
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sandwich is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandwich
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,151 people
Pocasset
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Pocasset is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocasset
Continue List (15 more) ...
- Cataumet
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  - Cataumet is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cataumet
- North Falmouth
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  - North Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Falmouth
- West Falmouth
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  - West Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Falmouth

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Mashpee ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mashpee.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Mashpee. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Mashpee and those printed in the larger area surrounding Mashpee.
An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> of Mashpee.

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 Mashpee:

Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the Massachusetts Archives Division

Pages specific to Barnstable County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails

Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bristol County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Dukes County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Plymouth County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails

Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Cemeteries of Barnstable County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Cemeteries of Barnstable County

Footnotes ...

<1>	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.
<2>	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.
<3>	Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Mashpee) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>	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 Mashpee, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.