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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 Onset (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 Onset. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

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

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

  • Plymouth County     (The home county of Onset)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onset, with the one closest to Onset listed first.
    • East Wareham
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Wareham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
      • East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
    • Wareham Center
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wareham Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham Center
      • Wareham Center is located in Plymouth County
    • Wareham
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wareham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham
      • Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,778 people
    • Weweantic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weweantic have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weweantic
      • Weweantic is located in Plymouth County
    • White Island Shores
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Island Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Island Shores
      • White Island Shores is located in Plymouth County
    • Briarwood Beach
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Pine Tree Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Tree Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Tree Village
      • Pine Tree Village is located in Plymouth County
    • West Wareham
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Wareham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wareham
      • West Wareham is located in Plymouth County
    • Marion
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cranberry Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cranberry Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry Village
      • Cranberry Village is located in Plymouth County
    • South Carver
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Rochester
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Barnstable County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onset, with the one closest to Onset listed first.
    • Buzzards Bay
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buzzards Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzards Bay
      • Buzzards Bay is located in Barnstable County
    • Monument Beach
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monument Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument Beach
      • Monument Beach is located in Barnstable County
    • Bourne
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bourne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourne
      • Bourne is located in Barnstable County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,743 people
    • Pocasset
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cataumet
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cataumet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cataumet
      • Cataumet is located in Barnstable County
    • Sagamore
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sagamore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore
      • Sagamore is located in Barnstable County
    • Sagamore Beach
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sagamore Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore Beach
      • Sagamore Beach is located in Barnstable County
    • North Falmouth
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Falmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Falmouth
      • North Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
    • Silver Beach
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
      • Silver Beach is located in Barnstable County
    • Sandwich
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandwich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandwich
      • Sandwich is located in Barnstable County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,151 people
    • Forestdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • West Falmouth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Falmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Falmouth
      • West Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onset, with the one closest to Onset listed first.
    • Long Plain
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Acushnet Center
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Acushnet
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Acushnet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet
      • Acushnet is located in Bristol County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,673 people
    • Fairhaven
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairhaven have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
      • Fairhaven is located in Bristol County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,103 people
    • Clifford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clifford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
      • Clifford is located in Bristol County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clifford
      • From Onset to Clifford
    • New Bedford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Braleys
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • East Freetown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Bliss Corner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bliss Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corner
      • Bliss Corner is located in Bristol County
    • North Dartmouth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Dartmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dartmouth
      • North Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
    • South Dartmouth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Dartmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dartmouth
      • South Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
    • Apponagansett
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Dukes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onset, with the one closest to Onset listed first.
    • West Chop
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Chop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chop
      • West Chop is located in Dukes County
    • Gosnold
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gosnold have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosnold
      • Gosnold is located in Dukes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • Oak Bluffs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Tisbury
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Vineyard Haven
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Christian Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christian Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Town
      • Christian Town is located in Dukes County
    • North Tisbury
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Edgartown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • West Tisbury
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Cuttyhunk
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuttyhunk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuttyhunk
      • Cuttyhunk is located in Dukes County
    • Chilmark
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chilmark have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilmark
      • Chilmark is located in Dukes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
    • Katama
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Katama. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katama
      • Katama is located in Dukes County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Katama
      • From Onset to Katama
  • Bristol County (RI)
  • Newport County (RI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onset, with the one closest to Onset listed first.
    • Bliss Corners
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Adamsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Tiverton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tiverton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiverton
      • Tiverton is located in Newport County (RI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,569 people
    • Tiverton Four Corners
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Tiverton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tiverton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiverton
      • Tiverton is located in Newport County (RI)
    • Little Compton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Compton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Compton
      • Little Compton is located in Newport County (RI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,462 people

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

Cemeteries Near Onset ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Onset.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Onset, with the one closest to Onset 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 Onset had a population of 400 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • East Wareham
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Wareham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
    • East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
  • Onset Station
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Onset Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset Station
    • Onset Station is located in Plymouth County
  • Monument Beach
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monument Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument Beach
    • Monument Beach is located in Barnstable County
  • Buzzards Bay
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buzzards Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzards Bay
    • Buzzards Bay is located in Barnstable County
  • Bourne
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bourne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourne
    • Bourne is located in Barnstable County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,743 people
  • Wareham
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wareham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham
    • Wareham is located in Plymouth County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,778 people
  • Pocasset
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • South Wareham
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Wareham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wareham
    • South Wareham is located in Plymouth County
  • Cataumet
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cataumet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cataumet
    • Cataumet is located in Barnstable County
  • Bournedale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bournedale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bournedale
    • Bournedale is located in Barnstable County
  • Marion
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • West Wareham
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Wareham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wareham
    • West Wareham is located in Plymouth County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Tremont
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tremont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tremont
      • Tremont is located in Plymouth County
    • North Falmouth
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Falmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Falmouth
      • North Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
    • Sagamore
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sagamore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore
      • Sagamore 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 Onset. See our List of 1890's Communities around Onset.

Newspapers Published in Onset ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Onset.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Onset, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Onset.

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 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 Onset:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Onset. 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>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.

<4>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Onset) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Onset. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7431, Longitude: -70.6608    
<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 Onset, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025