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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 Pondsville (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 Pondsville. 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 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.

Pondsville is located in Barnstable County.

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

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

  • Barnstable County     (The home county of Pondsville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pondsville, with the one closest to Pondsville listed first.
    • Barnstable Town
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Barnstable Town is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnstable Town
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,535 people
    • West Barnstable
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • West Barnstable is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Barnstable
    • Marstons Mills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Marstons Mills is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marstons Mills
    • East Sandwich
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • East Sandwich is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sandwich
    • Plowed Neck
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Plowed Neck is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plowed Neck
    • Cotuit
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Cotuit is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotuit
    • Centerville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Centerville is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
    • Osterville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Osterville is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osterville
    • Mashpee
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Mashpee is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mashpee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,266 people
    • Forestdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Forestdale is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
    • Craigville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Craigville is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
    • Mashpee Neck
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Mashpee Neck is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mashpee Neck
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pondsville, with the one closest to Pondsville listed first.
    • Long Plain
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Long Plain is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Plain
    • Acushnet Center
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Acushnet Center is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet Center
    • Acushnet
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Acushnet is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,673 people
    • Fairhaven
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Fairhaven is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,103 people
    • Acushnet Station ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Acushnet Station is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet Station
    • Clifford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Clifford is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
    • New Bedford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • New Bedford is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bedford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95,517 people
    • Bliss Corner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Bliss Corner is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corner
    • South Dartmouth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • South Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dartmouth
    • Apponagansett
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Apponagansett is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apponagansett
    • Braleys
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Braleys is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braleys
    • East Freetown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • East Freetown is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Freetown
  • Dukes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pondsville, with the one closest to Pondsville listed first.
    • Oak Bluffs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Oak Bluffs is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bluffs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,696 people
    • West Chop
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • West Chop is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chop
    • Tisbury
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Tisbury is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tisbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,128 people
    • Vineyard Haven
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Vineyard Haven is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyard Haven
    • Edgartown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Edgartown is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgartown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,383 people
    • Christian Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Christian Town is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Town
    • Katama
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Katama is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katama
    • North Tisbury
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • North Tisbury is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tisbury
    • Gosnold
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Gosnold is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosnold
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • West Tisbury
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • West Tisbury is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tisbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,927 people
    • Chilmark
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Chilmark is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilmark
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
    • Menemsha
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Menemsha is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menemsha
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pondsville, with the one closest to Pondsville listed first.
    • White Island Shores
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • White Island Shores is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Island Shores
    • East Wareham
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
    • Onset
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Onset is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset
    • Onset Station
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Onset Station is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset Station
    • Briarwood Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Briarwood Beach is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
    • Wareham Center
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Wareham Center is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham Center
    • Wareham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,778 people
    • Weweantic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Weweantic is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weweantic
    • Manomet
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Manomet is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manomet
    • Marion
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Marion is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,189 people
    • Cranberry Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Cranberry Village is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry Village
    • West Wareham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • West Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wareham

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

Cemeteries Near Pondsville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pondsville.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pondsville, with the one closest to Pondsville 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.<3>

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

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

  • Marstons Mills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Marstons Mills is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marstons Mills
  • West Barnstable
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • West Barnstable is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Barnstable
  • Mashpee
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mashpee is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mashpee
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,266 people
  • Osterville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Osterville is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osterville
  • East Sandwich
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • East Sandwich is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sandwich
  • Centerville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Centerville is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Forestdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Forestdale is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
  • Wianno
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Wianno is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wianno
  • Craigville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Craigville is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
  • Barnstable
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Barnstable is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnstable
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 45,193 people
    • Barnstable has also been known as:
    • Barnstable Village
  • Sandwich
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Sandwich is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandwich
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,151 people
  • Hyannis Port
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hyannis Port is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyannis Port
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Hyannis
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Hyannis is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyannis
    • Hatchville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Hatchville is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchville
    • Yarmouth Station
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Yarmouth Station is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth Station

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

Newspapers Published in Pondsville ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pondsville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pondsville, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pondsville.

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 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 Pondsville:

Footnotes ...

<1>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.

<2>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.
<3>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 Pondsville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Pondsville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.