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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 Rock (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 Rock. 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 doctors and 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.

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

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

  • Plymouth County     (The home county of Rock)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • South Middleboro
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Middleborough
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Lakeville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Lakeville is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,698 people
    • North Lakeville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • South Carver
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Carver
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Carver is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carver
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,762 people
    • Water View Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Water View Village is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water View Village
    • Namasket Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Namasket Village is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Namasket Village
    • Cranberry Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Cranberry Village is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry Village
    • Pine Tree Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Pine Tree Village is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Tree Village
    • North Carver
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • South Meadow Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • South Meadow Village is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Meadow Village
  • Barnstable County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • Buzzards Bay
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Buzzards Bay is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzards Bay
    • Bourne
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bourne is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,743 people
    • Monument Beach
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Monument Beach is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument Beach
    • Pocasset
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sagamore Beach
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Sagamore Beach is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore Beach
    • Sagamore
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Sagamore is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore
    • Cataumet
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Cataumet is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cataumet
    • North Falmouth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • North Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Falmouth
    • Silver Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Silver Beach is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
    • Sandwich
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • West Falmouth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • West Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Falmouth
    • Forestdale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • East Freetown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Long Plain
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Clifford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Braleys
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Freetown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • East Taunton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Raynham Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Raynham Center is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynham Center
    • Acushnet Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Acushnet
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Acushnet is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,673 people
    • Assonet ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Assonet is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assonet
    • Berkley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Berkley is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,900 people
    • Acushnet Station ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Acushnet Station is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet Station
  • Dukes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • Gosnold
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Gosnold is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosnold
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • West Chop
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • West Chop is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chop
    • Cuttyhunk
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Cuttyhunk is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuttyhunk
    • Tisbury
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Vineyard Haven
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Christian Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Christian Town is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Town
    • Oak Bluffs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • Brookville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Holbrook
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Avon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • South Weymouth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Stoughton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • North Stoughton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Randolph
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Randolph is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
      • Estimated population in 2019: 34,362 people
    • Beechwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • East Weymouth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • East Weymouth is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Weymouth
    • Foxborough
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Sharon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Canton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Suffolk County
    • Readville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Readville is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readville
  • Bristol County (RI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • Coggeshall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Warren
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Warren is located in Bristol County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,469 people
    • Bristol
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Bristol is located in Bristol County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,866 people
    • Warren
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Bristol
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Barrington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Annawomscutt
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Barrington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Barrington is located in Bristol County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,015 people
  • Kent County (RI)
  • Newport County (RI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • Bliss Corners
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Tiverton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Tiverton is located in Newport County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiverton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,569 people
    • Tiverton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Tiverton is located in Newport County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiverton
    • Adamsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Tiverton Four Corners
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Portsmouth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Little Compton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Little Compton is located in Newport County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Compton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,462 people
    • Little Compton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Melville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Melville is located in Newport County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
    • Portsmouth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Portsmouth is located in Newport County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portsmouth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,108 people
    • Prudence Island
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lawtons
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Rock ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rock.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rock had a population of 400 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • South Middleboro
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Howlands
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Howlands is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howlands
  • North Rochester
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • North Rochester is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Rochester
  • Middleborough
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • North Lakeville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Lakeville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Lakeville is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,698 people
  • Tremont
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Tremont is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tremont
  • South Carver
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Carver
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Carver is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carver
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,762 people
  • Eddyville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Eddyville is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
  • East Freetown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • West Wareham
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • West Wareham is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wareham
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Rock ...

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 Rock.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rock, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rock.

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 Rock:

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 Rock, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Rock) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.