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 Old Harbor (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 Old Harbor. 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.

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 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.

Old Harbor is located in Barnstable County.

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

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

• Barnstable County     (The home county of Old Harbor)
  • The following are listed by their distance from Old Harbor, with the one closest to Old Harbor listed first.
  • Chatham
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
    • Chatham is located in Barnstable County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,994 people
  • South Chatham
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Chatham
    • South Chatham is located in Barnstable County
  • West Chatham
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chatham
    • West Chatham is located in Barnstable County
  • Harwich Port
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwich Port
    • Harwich Port is located in Barnstable County
  • South Harwich
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Harwich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Harwich
    • South Harwich is located in Barnstable County
  • Chatham Port
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chatham Port. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham Port
    • Chatham Port is located in Barnstable County
  • East Harwich
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Harwich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Harwich
    • East Harwich is located in Barnstable County
  • North Chatham
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chatham
    • North Chatham is located in Barnstable County
  • Harwich
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harwich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwich
    • Harwich is located in Barnstable County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,144 people
  • Dennis Port
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dennis Port have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Port
    • Dennis Port is located in Barnstable County
  • West Harwich
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Harwich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Harwich
    • West Harwich is located in Barnstable County
  • North Harwich
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for North Harwich. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Harwich
    • North Harwich is located in Barnstable County
  • South Dennis
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Dennis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dennis
    • South Dennis is located in Barnstable County
• Dukes County
  • Edgartown
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgartown
    • Edgartown is located in Dukes County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,383 people
• Nantucket County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Old Harbor, with the one closest to Old Harbor listed first.
  • Pocomo
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocomo
    • Pocomo is located in Nantucket County
  • Nantucket
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantucket
    • Nantucket is located in Nantucket County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,376 people
  • Siasconset
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Siasconset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siasconset
    • Siasconset is located in Nantucket County

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

Cemeteries Near Old Harbor ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Old Harbor.

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 Old Harbor covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

• Bassett Family Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bassett Family Cemetery
  • The Bassett Family Cemetery has also been known as:
  • Bassett Burial Plot
  • Bassett Family Burial Ground
  • Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #CHA.813 <3>
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2202649 <4>
• Seamens Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seamens Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2490744 <4>
• Chief Squanto Memorial Marker
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chief Squanto Memorial Marker
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Chief Squanto Memorial Marker. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
  • To give a relative sense of its location, the Chief Squanto Memorial Marker is located in Chatham.
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2165355 <4>
• Chatham Old Burying Ground
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chatham Old Burying Ground
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chatham Old Burying Ground have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Old North / South Cemeteries
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old North / South Cemeteries
• Old Queen Anne Cemetery North
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Queen Anne Cemetery North
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Queen Anne Cemetery North have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Old Queen Anne Cemetery South
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Queen Anne Cemetery South
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Queen Anne Cemetery South have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
• Seaside Cemetery
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seaside Cemetery
  • Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #CHA.809 <3>
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91697 <4>
• Peoples Cemetery
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peoples Cemetery
  • Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #CHA.807 <3>
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91424 <4>
• Union Cemetery
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
  • Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #CHA.812 <3>
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91797 <4>
• Evergreen Cemetery
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
  • Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #HRW.802 <3>
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90952 <4>
• Harding Ryder Gravesite
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harding Ryder Gravesite
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2438781 <4>
• Continue List   (97 more) ...
  • Island Pond Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Island Pond Cemetery
    • Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #HRW.809 <3>
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91136 <4>
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    • Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #HRW.813 <3>
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91265 <4>
  • Holy Trinity Memorial Wall
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Trinity Memorial Wall
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2334912 <4>

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.<5>

While we didn't find Old Harbor in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Old Harbor.

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

• South Chatham
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Chatham
  • South Chatham is located in Barnstable County
• Chatham
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
  • Chatham is located in Barnstable County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,994 people
• West Chatham
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chatham
  • West Chatham is located in Barnstable County
• South Harwich
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Harwich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Harwich
  • South Harwich is located in Barnstable County
• Harwich Port
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwich Port
  • Harwich Port is located in Barnstable County
• East Harwich
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Harwich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Harwich
  • East Harwich is located in Barnstable County
• North Chatham
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chatham
  • North Chatham is located in Barnstable County
• Chatham Port
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chatham Port. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham Port
  • Chatham Port is located in Barnstable County
• Harwich
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harwich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwich
  • Harwich is located in Barnstable County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,144 people
• West Harwich
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Harwich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Harwich
  • West Harwich is located in Barnstable County
• Dennis Port
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dennis Port have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Port
  • Dennis Port is located in Barnstable County
• Pleasant Lake
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
  • Pleasant Lake is located in Barnstable County
• Continue List   (13 more) ...
  • North Harwich
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for North Harwich. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Harwich
    • North Harwich is located in Barnstable County
  • South Brewster
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Brewster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Brewster
    • South Brewster is located in Barnstable County
  • South Orleans
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Orleans
    • South Orleans is located in Barnstable County

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

Newspapers Published in Old Harbor ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Old Harbor.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Old Harbor, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Old Harbor.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Old Harbor:

• 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
  • Dukes County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Nantucket County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
  • Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of 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

Off-the-Road Links ...

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

The official website for Barnstable County: www.barnstablecounty.org/

The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/