RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Middlesex County >> North Reading >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Massachusetts

The Commemorative Quarter for Massachusetts





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 North Reading (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 North Reading. 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.

Name Variations for North Reading ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for North Reading: N. Reading

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

A Few Details for North Reading ...

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

  • North Reading was settled in 1651.
  • It was incorporated in 1853.

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 and doctors 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.

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

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

  • Middlesex County     (The home county of North Reading)
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Reading, with the one closest to North Reading listed first.
    • West Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Village
      • West Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Reading
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reading have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
      • Reading is located in Middlesex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,535 people
    • Montrose
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Montrose. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
      • Montrose is located in Middlesex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Montrose
      • From North Reading to Montrose
    • Wakefield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Wilmington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Stoneham
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Mishawum ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Walnut Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Montvale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Montvale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montvale
      • Montvale is located in Middlesex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Montvale
      • From North Reading to Montvale
    • Burlington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burlington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
      • Burlington is located in Middlesex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,432 people
    • Winnmere
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Woburn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Reading, with the one closest to North Reading listed first.
    • Lynnfield
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Brigadoon Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brigadoon Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brigadoon Village
      • Brigadoon Village is located in Essex County
    • Middleton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Howe
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Howe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
      • Howe is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Howe
      • From North Reading to Howe
    • Hathorne
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hathorne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hathorne
      • Hathorne is located in Essex County
    • Lowell Junction
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Andover
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Danvers
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Boxford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boxford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxford
      • Boxford is located in Essex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,331 people
    • Topsfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Shawsheen Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shawsheen Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawsheen Village
      • Shawsheen Village is located in Essex County
    • Haggetts
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Haggetts. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haggetts
      • Haggetts is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Haggetts
      • From North Reading to Haggetts
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Reading, with the one closest to North Reading listed first.
    • Brookline Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookline Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village
      • Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County
    • Brookline
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Westbrook Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westbrook Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
      • Westbrook Village is located in Norfolk County
    • Needham Heights
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Needham Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights
      • Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County
    • Milton Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Village
      • Milton Village is located in Norfolk County
    • Montclair
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Needham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Needham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
      • Needham is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,537 people
    • Norfolk Downs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Wollaston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Babson Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Babson Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park
      • Babson Park is located in Norfolk County
    • Wellesley Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellesley Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Hills
      • Wellesley Hills is located in Norfolk County
    • Milton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Reading, with the one closest to North Reading listed first.
    • Hull
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hingham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Minot
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minot
      • Minot is located in Plymouth County
    • North Scituate
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Scituate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scituate
      • North Scituate is located in Plymouth County
    • Accord
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Suffolk County
  • Worcester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Reading, with the one closest to North Reading listed first.
    • Shaker Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • 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 Worcester County
    • Harvard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Bolton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Still River
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Fayville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Southborough
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Southborough. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southborough
      • Southborough is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,200 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Southborough
      • From North Reading to Southborough
    • Cordaville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Seventh Day Adventist Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seventh Day Adventist Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seventh Day Adventist Village
      • Seventh Day Adventist Village is located in Worcester County
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Reading, with the one closest to North Reading listed first.
    • Pelham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pelham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
      • Pelham is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,306 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelham <3>
    • Hudson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Nashua
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Hollis Depot
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Litchfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • East Merrimack
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Merrimack have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Merrimack
      • East Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
    • Hollis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis
      • Hollis is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,123 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollis <3>
    • South Merrimack
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Merrimack
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Reeds Ferry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Rockingham County (NH)

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

Cemeteries Near North Reading ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of North Reading.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from North Reading, with the one closest to North Reading 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 North Reading had a population of 516 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, North Reading had a population of 15,904 people.

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

  • Lynnfield
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Reading Highlands
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reading Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading Highlands
    • Reading Highlands is located in Middlesex County
  • Reading
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reading have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
    • Reading is located in Middlesex County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,535 people
  • Middleton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Montrose
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Montrose. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
    • Montrose is located in Middlesex County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Montrose
    • From North Reading to Montrose
  • West Peabody
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Peabody have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Peabody
    • West Peabody is located in Essex County
  • Howe
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Howe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
    • Howe is located in Essex County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Howe
    • From North Reading to Howe
  • Boxford Station
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boxford Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxford Station
    • Boxford Station is located in Essex County
  • Wilmington Junction
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilmington Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington Junction
    • Wilmington Junction is located in Middlesex County
  • North Wilmington
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Wilmington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wilmington
    • North Wilmington is located in Middlesex County
  • Wilmington
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • South Wilmington
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Wilmington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wilmington
    • South Wilmington is located in Middlesex County
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Farm Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farm Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farm Hill
      • Farm Hill is located in Middlesex County
    • Wakefield Junction
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wakefield Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakefield Junction
      • Wakefield Junction is located in Middlesex County
    • Wakefield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in North Reading ...

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 178 newspapers that have been published in the area around North Reading.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of North Reading, 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 North Reading.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 North Reading:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for North Reading. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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 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.

<5>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.
<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 North Reading, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- North Reading) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in North Reading. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5760, Longitude: -71.0780    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025