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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 Norwell (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 Norwell. 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 Norwell ...

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

  • Norwell was settled in 1634.
  • It was incorporated in 1849.

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.

Norwell is located in Plymouth 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 Plymouth County: Barnstable, Bristol & Norfolk.

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

  • Plymouth County     (The home county of Norwell)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norwell, with the one closest to Norwell listed first.
    • North Marshfield
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • North Marshfield is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Marshfield
    • Marshfield Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Marshfield Hills is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshfield Hills
    • Greenbush
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Greenbush is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbush
    • North Scituate
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • North Scituate is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scituate
    • Hanover
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Scituate
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Scituate is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scituate
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,047 people
    • Curtis Crossing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • North Pembroke
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • North Pembroke is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pembroke
    • Accord
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Humarock
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Humarock is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humarock
    • Minot
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Minot is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minot
    • South Hanover
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Barnstable County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norwell, with the one closest to Norwell listed first.
    • Sagamore Beach
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Sagamore Beach is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore Beach
    • Bourne
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Bourne is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,743 people
    • Buzzards Bay
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Buzzards Bay is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzards Bay
    • Sagamore
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Sagamore is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norwell, with the one closest to Norwell listed first.
    • South Easton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
    • Easton Center
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Easton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,116 people
    • North Easton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
    • Furnace Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Furnace Village is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village
    • Raynham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • East Mansfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Raynham Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Raynham Center is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynham Center
    • East Taunton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mansfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Taunton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Norton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norwell, with the one closest to Norwell listed first.
    • Nahant
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Clifton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • East Lynn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lynn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Swampscott
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Cliftondale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Marblehead
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Marblehead is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marblehead
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,551 people
    • Pleasant Hills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Pleasant Hills is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hills
    • Saugus
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • West Lynn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • West Town Landing
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • West Town Landing is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Town Landing
    • Salem
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norwell, with the one closest to Norwell listed first.
    • Cambridgeport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Cambridgeport is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridgeport
    • Everett
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cambridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Chestnut Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Chestnut Hill is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
    • Somerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Wellington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Edgeworth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Edgeworth is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgeworth
    • Huron Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Huron Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron Village
    • Malden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Medford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton Centre
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Newton Highlands
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Norfolk County
  • Suffolk County

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

Cemeteries Near Norwell ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Norwell.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Norwell, with the one closest to Norwell 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Norwell had a population of 1,592 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Norwell had a population of 11,171 people.

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

  • North Marshfield
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • North Marshfield is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Marshfield
  • Marshfield Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Marshfield Hills is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshfield Hills
  • Greenbush
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenbush is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbush
  • Hanover
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Beechwood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Scituate Center
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Scituate Center is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scituate Center
  • Egypt
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Egypt is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
  • North Scituate
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • North Scituate is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scituate
  • North Hanover
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • North Hanover is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hanover
  • Curtis Crossing
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • North Pembroke
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • North Pembroke is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pembroke
  • Marshfield Center
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Marshfield Center is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshfield Center
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Sea View
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Sea View is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sea View
    • Scituate
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Scituate is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scituate
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,047 people
    • South Hingham
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • South Hingham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hingham

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

Newspapers Published in Norwell ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Norwell.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Norwell, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<1>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Norwell.

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 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 Norwell:

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Norwell) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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>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.
<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 Norwell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.