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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 Natick (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 Natick. 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 Natick ...

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

  • Natick was settled in 1718.
  • It was incorporated in 1781.

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 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.

Natick is located in Middlesex 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 Middlesex County: Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Worcester & Hillsborough (NH).

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

  • Middlesex County     (The home county of Natick)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Natick, with the one closest to Natick listed first.
    • Mansfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • East Mansfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • North Easton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
    • North Attleboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • North Attleboro is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Attleboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29,470 people
    • Attleboro Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Attleboro Falls is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attleboro Falls
    • Easton Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Easton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,116 people
    • Furnace Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Furnace Village is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village
    • South Easton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
    • Attleboro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Chartley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Chartley is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartley
    • Norton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Attleborough City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Attleborough City is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attleborough City
  • Essex County
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Natick, with the one closest to Natick listed first.
    • Wellesley Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Wellesley Hills is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Hills
    • Babson Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Babson Park is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park
    • Charles River Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Wellesley Farms
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Wellesley Farms is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Farms
    • Wellesley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Dover
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Needham Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights
    • Needham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Needham is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,537 people
    • Medfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Medfield is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,011 people
    • Westwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Westwood is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,384 people
    • Millis
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Millis is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,519 people
    • Dedham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Norwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Natick, with the one closest to Natick listed first.
    • Brockton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Montello
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hull
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • West Hingham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • West Hingham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hingham
    • North Abington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bayside
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Bayside is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside
    • Hingham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Abington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Accord
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Kenberma
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Kenberma is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenberma
    • Cochesett
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Rockland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Rockland is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
    • West Bridgewater
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • West Bridgewater is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bridgewater
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,310 people
  • Suffolk County
  • Worcester County
  • Windham County (CT)
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Natick ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Natick.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Natick, with the one closest to Natick 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Natick had a population of 7,493 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Natick had a population of 35,766 people.

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

  • North Natick
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • South Natick
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • South Natick is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Natick
  • Cochituate
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Sherborn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Wellesley Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Wellesley Hills is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Hills
  • Saxonville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Framingham
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Whitneys
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Whitneys is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitneys
  • South Sherborn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • South Sherborn is located in Middlesex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sherborn
  • Dover
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Charles River Village
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Wellesley Farms
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Wellesley Farms is located in Norfolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Farms
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Needham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Needham is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,537 people
    • Newton Lower Falls
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Newton Lower Falls is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Lower Falls
    • Tower Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Natick ...

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 93 newspapers that have been published in the area around Natick.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Natick. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Natick and those printed in the larger area surrounding Natick.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4> of Natick.

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 either offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Natick:

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>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 Natick, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Natick) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.