RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Franklin County >> Riverside >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Riverside (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 Riverside. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Riverside is located in Franklin County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Franklin County: Berkshire, Hampshire, Worcester, Cheshire (NH) & Windham (VT).

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

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Riverside)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Factory Village ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Factory Village is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factory Village
    • Turners Falls
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Turners Falls is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turners Falls
    • Montague City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Montague City is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague City
    • Gill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Gill is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,473 people
    • East Deerfield
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • East Deerfield is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Deerfield
    • Millers Falls
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Millers Falls is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millers Falls
    • Greenfield
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Greenfield is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,241 people
    • Bernardston
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Bernardston is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernardston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,089 people
    • Lake Pleasant
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Lake Pleasant is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Pleasant
    • Mount Hermon
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Hermon is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hermon
    • Montague
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Montague is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,203 people
    • Deerfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Deerfield is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,049 people
  • Berkshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Drury
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Drury is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drury
    • Florida
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Florida is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florida
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 711 people
    • East Windsor
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • East Windsor is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Windsor
    • Savoy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Savoy is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savoy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 676 people
    • Savoy Center
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Savoy Center is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savoy Center
    • Windsor
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Windsor is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 860 people
    • Peru
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Peru is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 833 people
    • Briggsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Briggsville is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggsville
    • Renfrew
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Renfrew is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renfrew
    • Zylonite
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Zylonite is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zylonite
    • Adams
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Adams is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,955 people
    • Arnoldville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Arnoldville is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnoldville
  • Hampden County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Ludlow City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Ludlow City is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow City
    • North Chester
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • North Chester is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chester
    • Holyoke
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Holyoke is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 39,921 people
    • Chester Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Chester Center is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Center
    • Aldenville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Aldenville is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldenville
    • Montgomery
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Montgomery is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 863 people
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • North Amherst
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • North Amherst is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Amherst
    • North Hatfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • North Hatfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hatfield
    • North Hadley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • North Hadley is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hadley
    • Amherst Center
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Amherst Center is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Center
    • Amherst
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Amherst is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40,643 people
    • East Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • East Village is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
    • Hatfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Hatfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,243 people
    • West Pelham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • West Pelham is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pelham
    • Pelham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Pelham is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,305 people
    • West Hatfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • West Hatfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hatfield
    • Goshen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Goshen is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,057 people
    • Williamsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Williamsburg is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,462 people
  • Worcester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Athol
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Athol is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,698 people
    • North Dana ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • North Dana is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dana
    • Royalston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Royalston is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royalston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,278 people
    • Dana ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Dana is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
    • Greenwich Village ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Greenwich Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich Village
    • Petersham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Petersham is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,237 people
    • Phillipston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Phillipston is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,739 people
    • Greenwich ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Greenwich is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich
    • Brooks Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Brooks Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks Village
    • Goulding Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Goulding Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goulding Village
    • Baldwinville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Baldwinville is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwinville
    • Templeton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Templeton is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Templeton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,134 people
  • Cheshire County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Hinsdale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Hinsdale is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinsdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,906 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hinsdale <1>
    • Ashuelot
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Winchester
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Richmond
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Richmond is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,126 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richmond <1>
    • Chesterfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Spofford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • West Swanzey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • East Swanzey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • East Swanzey is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Swanzey
    • Fitzwilliam Depot
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Fitzwilliam Depot is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzwilliam Depot
    • Swanzey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Swanzey is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swanzey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,271 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swanzey <1>
    • Fitzwilliam
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Troy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Troy is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,117 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <1>
  • Bennington County (VT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Readsboro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Readsboro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Readsboro is located in Bennington County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readsboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 720 people
    • Searsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Searsburg is located in Bennington County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Stamford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Stamford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Stamford is located in Bennington County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stamford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
  • Windham County (VT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • South Vernon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • South Vernon is located in Windham County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vernon
    • Vernon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Vernon is located in Windham County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,190 people
    • Guilford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Guilford is located in Windham County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,102 people
    • Guilford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Halifax
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Halifax is located in Windham County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halifax
    • Fairview Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Fairview Village is located in Windham County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Village
    • Halifax
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Halifax is located in Windham County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halifax
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
    • Brattleboro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • West Halifax
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Brattleboro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Brattleboro is located in Windham County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brattleboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,257 people
    • West Brattleboro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Ames Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Ames Hill is located in Windham County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames Hill

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

Cemeteries Near Riverside ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riverside.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Riverside had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Montague City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Montague City is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague City
  • Greenfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenfield is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,241 people
  • Cheapside
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cheapside is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheapside
  • East Deerfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • East Deerfield is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Deerfield
  • Millers Falls
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Millers Falls is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millers Falls
  • Northfield Farms
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Northfield Farms is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northfield Farms
  • Gill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Gill is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gill
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,473 people
  • Bernardston
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Bernardston is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernardston
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,089 people
  • Lake Pleasant
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Lake Pleasant is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Pleasant
  • Deerfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Deerfield is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,049 people
  • Montague
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Montague is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,203 people
  • Farley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Farley is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farley
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Mount Hermon
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Hermon is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hermon
    • West Deerfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • West Deerfield is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Deerfield
    • East Shelburne
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • East Shelburne is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Shelburne

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

Newspapers Published in Riverside ...

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 80 newspapers that have been published in the area around Riverside.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Riverside, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Riverside.

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 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 Riverside:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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.

<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 Riverside, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Riverside) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.