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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 South Gardner (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 Gardner. 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 Gardner ...

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 Gardner: S. Gardner

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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

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

  • Worcester County     (The home county of South Gardner)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Gardner, with the one closest to South Gardner listed first.
    • Olde English Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olde English Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olde English Village
      • Olde English Village is located in Worcester County
    • Gardner
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • East Templeton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Templeton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Templeton
      • East Templeton is located in Worcester County
    • Westminster
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • South Ashburnham
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Templeton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Templeton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Templeton
      • Templeton is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,134 people
    • Baldwinville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hubbardston Station
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Hubbardston
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Ashburnham
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Blackburn Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackburn Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn Village
      • Blackburn Village is located in Worcester County
    • Brooks Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooks Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks Village
      • Brooks Village is located in Worcester County
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Gardner, with the one closest to South Gardner listed first.
    • Tully
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tully. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tully
      • Tully is located in Franklin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tully
      • From South Gardner to Tully
    • North Orange
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Orange
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Millington ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Mayo Corners
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Morse Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morse Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Village
      • Morse Village is located in Franklin County
    • New Salem
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Salem have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
      • New Salem is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,034 people
    • Wendell Depot
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wendell Depot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell Depot
      • Wendell Depot is located in Franklin County
    • Warwick
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cooleyville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Erving
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Wendell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wendell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell
      • Wendell is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 881 people
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Gardner, with the one closest to South Gardner listed first.
    • Enfield ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Enfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
      • Enfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Enfield
      • From South Gardner to Enfield
    • Pelham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Ware
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Belchertown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belchertown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belchertown
      • Belchertown is located in Hampshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,103 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Belchertown
      • From South Gardner to Belchertown
    • West Pelham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • East Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
      • East Village is located in Hampshire County
    • North Amherst
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Amherst Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amherst Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Center
      • Amherst Center is located in Hampshire County
    • Amherst
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bondsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bondsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
      • Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
    • South Amherst
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Amherst have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amherst
      • South Amherst is located in Hampshire County
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Gardner, with the one closest to South Gardner listed first.
    • South Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Village
      • South Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Ashby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Old City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
      • Old City is located in Middlesex County
    • West Townsend
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Townsend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Townsend
      • West Townsend is located in Middlesex County
    • Townsend
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Shaker Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
      • Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Shirley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Townsend Harbor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • West Groton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Groton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Groton
      • West Groton is located in Middlesex County
    • Ayer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Paper Mill Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paper Mill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village
      • Paper Mill Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Pepperell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Cheshire County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Gardner, with the one closest to South Gardner listed first.
    • Rindge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • West Rindge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Fitzwilliam Depot
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jaffrey
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jaffrey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaffrey
      • Jaffrey is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,287 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jaffrey <3>
    • Fitzwilliam
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Richmond
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Troy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Troy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
      • Troy is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,117 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <3>
    • Bonds Corner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Dublin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dublin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
      • Dublin is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,555 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dublin <3>
    • East Swanzey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Eastview
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eastview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastview
      • Eastview is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Eastview
      • From South Gardner to Eastview
    • Winchester
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Gardner, with the one closest to South Gardner listed first.
    • New Ipswich
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Greenville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mason
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Sharon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Temple
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Temple have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple
      • Temple is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,434 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Temple <3>
    • Brookline
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • West Wilton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Peterborough
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peterborough have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterborough
      • Peterborough is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,743 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peterborough <3>
    • West Peterborough
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • North Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Village
      • North Village is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
    • Hollis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Wilton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Wilton is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,838 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilton <3>
  • Windham County (VT)

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

Cemeteries Near South Gardner ...

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from South Gardner, with the one closest to South Gardner 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 Gardner had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Gardner
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • East Templeton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Templeton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Templeton
    • East Templeton is located in Worcester County
  • Westminster
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • South Ashburnham
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Otter River
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otter River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter River
    • Otter River is located in Worcester County
  • Templeton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Templeton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Templeton
    • Templeton is located in Worcester County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,134 people
  • Hubbardston
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Hubbardston Station
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Wachusett
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wachusett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wachusett
    • Wachusett is located in Worcester County
  • Baldwinville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ashburnham
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Williamsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
    • Williamsville is located in Worcester County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • West Fitchburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Fitchburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fitchburg
      • West Fitchburg is located in Worcester County
    • Phillipston
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • North Rutland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in South Gardner ...

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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Gardner.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Gardner, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for South Gardner.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Gardner:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for South Gardner. 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>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.
<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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- South Gardner) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in South Gardner. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5577, Longitude: -71.9805       In this case, the coordinates for South Gardner have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Gardner, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025