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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 Sandwich (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 Sandwich. 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 Sandwich ...

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

  • Sandwich was settled in 1630.
  • It was incorporated in 1639.

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.

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

  • Barnstable County     (The home county of Sandwich)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandwich, with the one closest to Sandwich listed first.
    • Sagamore
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Sagamore is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore
    • Plowed Neck
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • East Sandwich
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Sagamore Beach
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Sagamore Beach is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore Beach
    • Forestdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Bourne
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Bourne is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,743 people
    • Monument Beach
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Monument Beach is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument Beach
    • Buzzards Bay
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Buzzards Bay is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzards Bay
    • Mashpee
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Mashpee is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mashpee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,266 people
    • West Barnstable
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Barnstable Town
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Barnstable Town is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnstable Town
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,535 people
    • Marstons Mills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Pocasset
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandwich, with the one closest to Sandwich listed first.
    • Long Plain
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Acushnet Center
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Acushnet
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Acushnet Station is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet Station
    • Clifford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • East Freetown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Braleys
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • New Bedford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Bliss Corner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Bliss Corner is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corner
    • South Dartmouth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • South Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dartmouth
    • North Dartmouth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • North Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dartmouth
    • Apponagansett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Dukes County
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sandwich, with the one closest to Sandwich listed first.
    • White Island Shores
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • White Island Shores is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Island Shores
    • Onset
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • East Wareham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
    • Onset Station
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Manomet
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Manomet is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manomet
    • Wareham Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Wareham Center is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham Center
    • Wareham
      (11 miles [17.7 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
    • White Horse Beach
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • White Horse Beach is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Horse Beach
    • Briarwood Beach
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Weweantic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Weweantic is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weweantic
    • Cranberry Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Cranberry Village is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry Village
    • Pine Tree Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Pine Tree Village is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Tree Village
    • West Wareham
      (13 miles [20.9 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 Sandwich, see our County-by-County Page for Sandwich.

Cemeteries Near Sandwich ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sandwich.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sandwich, with the one closest to Sandwich 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 Sandwich had a population of 1,244 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Sandwich had a population of 20,151 people.

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

  • Sagamore
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Sagamore is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore
  • East Sandwich
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Bournedale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Bournedale is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bournedale
  • Forestdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bourne
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Bourne is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourne
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,743 people
  • Monument Beach
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Monument Beach is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument Beach
  • Buzzards Bay
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Buzzards Bay is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzards Bay
  • Mashpee
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Mashpee is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mashpee
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,266 people
  • West Barnstable
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Pocasset
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Marstons Mills
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Onset
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Cataumet
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cataumet is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cataumet
    • Hatchville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • East Wareham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Sandwich ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sandwich.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Sandwich. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Sandwich and those printed in the larger area surrounding Sandwich.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> of Sandwich.

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 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 Sandwich:

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>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 Sandwich, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sandwich) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.