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The Commemorative Quarter for Massachusetts





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 South Berlin (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 South Berlin. 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.

Name Variations for South Berlin ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for South Berlin: S. Berlin

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

South Berlin is located in Worcester County.

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 Worcester County: Tolland (CT), Windham (CT), Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Cheshire (NH), Hillsborough (NH) & Providence (RI).

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

  • Worcester County     (The home county of South Berlin)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Berlin, with the one closest to South Berlin listed first.
    • Berlin
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
      • Berlin is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,731 people
    • Carterville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Northborough
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northborough have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northborough
      • Northborough is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,038 people
    • Seventh Day Adventist Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seventh Day Adventist Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seventh Day Adventist Village
      • Seventh Day Adventist Village is located in Worcester County
    • Boylston
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boylston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boylston
      • Boylston is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,728 people
    • Clinton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bolton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Boylston Center
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Lancaster
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • South Lancaster
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Southborough
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Southborough. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southborough
      • Southborough is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,200 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Southborough
      • From South Berlin to Southborough
    • Shrewsbury
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Berlin, with the one closest to South Berlin listed first.
    • Mansfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • North Attleboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Attleboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Attleboro
      • North Attleboro is located in Bristol County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29,470 people
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Berlin, with the one closest to South Berlin listed first.
    • Haggetts
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Haggetts. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haggetts
      • Haggetts is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Haggetts
      • From South Berlin to Haggetts
    • Lowell Junction
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Berlin, with the one closest to South Berlin listed first.
    • Hudson
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hudson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Hudson is located in Middlesex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,732 people
    • Marlborough Junction
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Marlborough
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Lower Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lower Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Village
      • Lower Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Stow
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
      • Woodville is located in Middlesex County
    • Musketamquid Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Musketamquid Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Musketamquid Village
      • Musketamquid Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Boxborough
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Maynard
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Ashland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Hopkinton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • North Sudbury
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Berlin, with the one closest to South Berlin listed first.
    • Wellesley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellesley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley
      • Wellesley is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,684 people
    • Wellesley Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellesley Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley Hills
      • Wellesley Hills is located in Norfolk County
    • Babson Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Babson Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babson Park
      • Babson Park is located in Norfolk County
    • Dover
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dover. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
      • Dover is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,119 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dover
      • From South Berlin to Dover
    • Medway
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Millis
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millis
      • Millis is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,519 people
    • Charles River Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Needham Heights
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Needham Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham Heights
      • Needham Heights is located in Norfolk County
    • Needham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Needham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
      • Needham is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,537 people
    • Bellingham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Medfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Medfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medfield
      • Medfield is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,011 people
    • Rockville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rockville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
      • Rockville is located in Norfolk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rockville
      • From South Berlin to Rockville
  • Suffolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Berlin, with the one closest to South Berlin listed first.
    • Brighton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • West Roxbury
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Allston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allston
      • Allston is located in Suffolk County
    • Stonybrook Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonybrook Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonybrook Village
      • Stonybrook Village is located in Suffolk County
    • Hyde Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Jamaica Plain
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Readville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Readville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readville
      • Readville is located in Suffolk County
    • Roslindale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Mattapan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Roxbury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Bay Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Village
      • Bay Village is located in Suffolk County
    • Dorchester
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Windham County (CT)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Berlin, with the one closest to South Berlin listed first.
    • Hollis Depot
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Brookline
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Hollis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis
      • Hollis is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,123 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollis <3>
    • Mason
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,433 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <3>
    • Greenville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Hudson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Nashua
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • New Ipswich
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Ipswich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Ipswich
      • New Ipswich is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,429 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Ipswich <3>
    • South Merrimack
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Pelham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pelham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
      • Pelham is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,306 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelham <3>
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near South Berlin ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Berlin.

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 South Berlin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from South Berlin, with the one closest to South Berlin 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.<7>

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

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

  • Berlin
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
    • Berlin is located in Worcester County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,731 people
  • Chapinville
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chapinville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapinville
    • Chapinville is located in Worcester County
  • Northborough
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northborough have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northborough
    • Northborough is located in Worcester County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,038 people
  • South Bolton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Bolton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bolton
    • South Bolton is located in Worcester County
  • West Berlin
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Berlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Berlin
    • West Berlin is located in Worcester County
  • Hudson
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hudson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
    • Hudson is located in Middlesex County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,732 people
  • Marlborough Junction
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Marlborough
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Clinton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Boylston
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boylston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boylston
    • Boylston is located in Worcester County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,728 people
  • Bolton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Boylston Center
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in South Berlin ...

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 213 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Berlin.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Berlin, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for South Berlin.

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 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 South Berlin:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for South Berlin. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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- South Berlin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in South Berlin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3618, Longitude: -71.6287       In this case, the coordinates for South Berlin have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.

<6>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.
<7>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 South Berlin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025