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 Plymouth (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 Plymouth. 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 Plymouth ...
While it's still very early in our research, we found that:
- Plymouth was settled in 1620.
- It was incorporated in 1620.
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 hospitals 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.
Plymouth is located in Plymouth County and is the County Seat.
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 Plymouth. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Plymouth:
- Plymouth County (The home county of Plymouth)
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- North Plymouth
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Plymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Plymouth
- North Plymouth is located in Plymouth County
- Kingston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Kingston is located in Plymouth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,024 people
- South Duxbury
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Duxbury
- South Duxbury is located in Plymouth County
- Island Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Island Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Creek
- Island Creek is located in Plymouth County
- Duxbury
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Manomet
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - White Horse Beach
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Horse Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Horse Beach
- White Horse Beach is located in Plymouth County
- South Meadow Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Meadow Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Meadow Village
- South Meadow Village is located in Plymouth County
- Carver
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Water View Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Water View Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water View Village
- Water View Village is located in Plymouth County
- North Carver
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Carver
- North Carver is located in Plymouth County
- Plympton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Barnstable County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Sagamore Beach
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- 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
- Buzzards Bay
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- 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
- Sagamore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast) - Bourne
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south) - Monument Beach
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- 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
- Sandwich
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast) - East Sandwich
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sandwich
- East Sandwich is located in Barnstable County
- Plowed Neck
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plowed Neck
- Plowed Neck is located in Barnstable County
- Pocasset
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocasset
- Pocasset is located in Barnstable County
- Cataumet
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south) - Forestdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
- Forestdale is located in Barnstable County
- North Falmouth
(21 miles [33.8 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
- Bristol County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- East Freetown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Freetown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Freetown
- East Freetown is located in Bristol County
- Long Plain
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Plain
- Long Plain is located in Bristol County
- East Taunton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Taunton
- East Taunton is located in Bristol County
- Raynham Center
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raynham Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynham Center
- Raynham Center is located in Bristol County
- Raynham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynham
- Raynham is located in Bristol County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,560 people
- Braleys
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braleys
- Braleys is located in Bristol County
- Clifford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest) - Acushnet Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet Center
- Acushnet Center is located in Bristol County
- Acushnet
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest) - Berkley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west) - Easton Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton Center
- Easton Center is located in Bristol County
- Easton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Norfolk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Beechwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
- Beechwood is located in Norfolk County
- Cohasset
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north) - South Weymouth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Weymouth
- South Weymouth is located in Norfolk County
- East Weymouth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Weymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Weymouth
- East Weymouth is located in Norfolk County
- Avon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest) - Holbrook
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holbrook
- Holbrook is located in Norfolk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,014 people
- Weymouth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weymouth
- Weymouth is located in Norfolk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58,104 people
- Randolph
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest) - North Stoughton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Stoughton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Stoughton
- North Stoughton is located in Norfolk County
- North Weymouth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Weymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Weymouth
- North Weymouth is located in Norfolk County
- Braintree
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braintree
- Braintree is located in Norfolk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 37,074 people
- Stoughton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoughton
- Stoughton is located in Norfolk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,891 people
- Suffolk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Mattapan Station
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattapan Station
- Mattapan Station is located in Suffolk County
- Mattapan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattapan
- Mattapan is located in Suffolk County
- Readville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Plymouth, see our County-by-County Page for Plymouth.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Plymouth ...
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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Plymouth.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Plymouth. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Plymouth and those printed in the larger area surrounding Plymouth.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> of Plymouth.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Plymouth:
- 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 Plymouth County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barnstable County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Bristol County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Norfolk County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Suffolk County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Barnstable County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Cemeteries of Plymouth County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Cemeteries of Plymouth County
Cemeteries Near Plymouth ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Plymouth.
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 Plymouth covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- Vine Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vine Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vine Hill Cemetery
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
- Burial Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burial Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burial Hill Cemetery
- Sarcophagus Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sarcophagus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sarcophagus Cemetery
- Chiltonville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chiltonville Cemetery
- Parting Ways Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- To give a relative sense of its location, the Parting Ways Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the east of Plymouth.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parting Ways Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91418 <3>
- South Pond Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Pond Cemetery
- Russell Mills Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Russell Mills Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Russell Mills Cemetery
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
- Grave of Myles Standish
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grave of Myles Standish have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grave of Myles Standish
- Plymouth County Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Plymouth County Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Plymouth County Memorial Cemetery
- Evergreen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is located in Kingston.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
- Continue List (362 more) ...
- Myles Standish Burying Ground
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Myles Standish Burying Ground have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Myles Standish Burying Ground
- Wenham Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wenham Cemetery
- Mayflower Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- The Mayflower Cemetery has also been known as:
- Duxbury Mayflower Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mayflower Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91217 <3>
- Myles Standish Burying Ground
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 Plymouth had a population of 7,314 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Plymouth had a population of 62,654 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Plymouth, with the one closest to Plymouth listed first.
- North Plymouth
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Plymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Plymouth
- North Plymouth is located in Plymouth County
- Chiltonville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chiltonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiltonville
- Chiltonville is located in Plymouth County
- Kingston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Kingston is located in Plymouth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,024 people
- East Carver
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Carver have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Carver
- East Carver is located in Plymouth County
- Island Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Island Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Creek
- Island Creek is located in Plymouth County
- Duxbury
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Manomet
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Millbrook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - North Carver
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Carver
- North Carver is located in Plymouth County
- Carver
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Silver Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Silver Lake is located in Plymouth County
- Plympton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Continue List (14 more) ...
- North Duxbury
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Duxbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Duxbury
- North Duxbury is located in Plymouth County
- Brant Rock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brant Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brant Rock
- Brant Rock is located in Plymouth County
- Green Harbor
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Harbor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Harbor
- Green Harbor is located in Plymouth County
- North Duxbury
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Plymouth. See our List of 1890's Communities around Plymouth.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Plymouth: www.townofplymouth.org/
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Plymouth) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Plymouth. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9590, Longitude: -70.6684 |
| <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 Plymouth, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |