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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 Pepperell (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 Pepperell. 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 Pepperell ...

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

  • Pepperell was settled in 1720.
  • It was incorporated in 1775.

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 hospitals 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.

Pepperell 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 Pepperell. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pepperell:

  • Middlesex County     (The home county of Pepperell)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pepperell, with the one closest to Pepperell listed first.
    • Babbatasset Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Babbatasset Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babbatasset Village
      • Babbatasset Village is located in Middlesex County
    • East Pepperell
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Pepperell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Pepperell
      • East Pepperell is located in Middlesex County
    • Paper Mill Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paper Mill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village
      • Paper Mill Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Townsend Harbor
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Groton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • West Groton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Groton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Groton
      • West Groton is located in Middlesex County
    • Dunstable
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Townsend
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Old City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
      • Old City is located in Middlesex County
    • Ayer
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • West Townsend
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Townsend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Townsend
      • West Townsend is located in Middlesex County
    • Shirley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Forge Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pepperell, with the one closest to Pepperell listed first.
    • Haggetts
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • 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 Pepperell to Haggetts
    • Lawrence
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Lowell Junction
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Methuen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Methuen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Methuen
      • Methuen is located in Essex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50,910 people
    • Tozier Corner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Andover
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Ayers Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ayers Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers Village
      • Ayers Village is located in Essex County
    • North Andover
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Andover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Andover
      • North Andover is located in Essex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,460 people
    • Shawsheen Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Ward Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ward Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward Hill
      • Ward Hill is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ward Hill
      • From Pepperell to Ward Hill
    • Bradford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Haverhill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • West Boxford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Boxford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Boxford
      • West Boxford is located in Essex County
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pepperell, with the one closest to Pepperell listed first.
    • Wellesley Hills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Wellesley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellesley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley
      • Wellesley is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,684 people
    • Babson Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
  • Worcester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pepperell, with the one closest to Pepperell listed first.
    • Lunenburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Shaker Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • 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
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Fitchburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • South Fitchburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Still River
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Leominster
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • North Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Village
      • North Village is located in Worcester County
    • Blackburn Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackburn Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn Village
      • Blackburn Village is located in Worcester County
    • Lancaster
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Pratts Junction
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ashburnham
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Bolton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Cheshire County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pepperell, with the one closest to Pepperell listed first.
    • Rindge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Jaffrey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jaffrey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaffrey
      • Jaffrey is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,287 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jaffrey <3>
    • West Rindge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Rindge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rindge
      • West Rindge is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to West Rindge
      • From Pepperell to West Rindge
    • Bonds Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dublin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dublin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
      • Dublin is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,555 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dublin <3>
    • Eastview
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eastview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastview
      • Eastview is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Eastview
      • From Pepperell to Eastview
    • Fitzwilliam Depot
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Fitzwilliam
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pepperell, with the one closest to Pepperell listed first.
    • Hollis Depot
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hollis
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Brookline
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • South Merrimack
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Nashua
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • East Milford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Hudson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Mason
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,433 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <3>
    • Milford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Greenville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Amherst
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Litchfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Wilton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Wilton is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,838 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilton <3>
  • Merrimack County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pepperell, with the one closest to Pepperell listed first.
    • Martin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
      • Martin is located in Merrimack County (NH)
    • South Hooksett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Hooksett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hooksett
      • South Hooksett is located in Merrimack County (NH)
    • Dunbarton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Hooksett
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Rockingham County (NH)

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

Cemeteries Near Pepperell ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pepperell.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pepperell, with the one closest to Pepperell 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 Pepperell had a population of 1,500 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Pepperell had a population of 12,043 people.

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

  • East Pepperell
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Pepperell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Pepperell
    • East Pepperell is located in Middlesex County
  • Townsend Harbor
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Hollis Depot
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • West Groton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Groton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Groton
    • West Groton is located in Middlesex County
  • Groton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • East Groton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Groton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Groton
    • East Groton is located in Middlesex County
  • Dunstable
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Brookline
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Hollis
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • 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>
  • Townsend
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Ayer
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • West Townsend
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Townsend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Townsend
    • West Townsend is located in Middlesex County
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Pepperell ...

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 161 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pepperell.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Pepperell. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Pepperell and those printed in the larger area surrounding Pepperell.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<7> of Pepperell.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Pepperell:

The official website for Pepperell: www.town.pepperell.ma.us/

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 Pepperell, 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- Pepperell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pepperell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6677, Longitude: -71.5981    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025