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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 Southborough (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 Southborough. 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 Southborough ...

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

  • Southborough was settled in 1660.
  • It was incorporated in 1727.

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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

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

  • Worcester County     (The home county of Southborough)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southborough, with the one closest to Southborough listed first.
    • Fayville
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Cordaville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Southville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Westborough
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Northborough
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • 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 Berlin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Berlin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Bolton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Seventh Day Adventist Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Upton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Upton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upton
      • Upton is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,088 people
    • Shrewsbury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southborough, with the one closest to Southborough listed first.
    • Mansfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • North Attleboro
      (24 miles [38.6 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
    • Attleboro Falls
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Attleboro Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attleboro Falls
      • Attleboro Falls is located in Bristol County
    • East Mansfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Attleborough City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Attleborough City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attleborough City
      • Attleborough City is located in Bristol County
    • Attleboro
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • North Easton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
    • Easton Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Easton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,116 people
    • Furnace Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Furnace Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Village
      • Furnace Village is located in Bristol County
    • South Easton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
    • Chartley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chartley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartley
      • Chartley is located in Bristol County
  • Essex County
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southborough, with the one closest to Southborough listed first.
    • Marlborough Junction
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Marlborough
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Ashland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Framingham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Hopkinton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Woodville
      (5 miles [8 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
    • Saxonville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Hudson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Hayden Row
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Musketamquid Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Sudbury
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cochituate
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southborough, with the one closest to Southborough listed first.
    • Wellesley
      (11 miles [17.7 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
      (12 miles [19.3 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
    • Millis
      (12 miles [19.3 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
    • Babson Park
      (13 miles [20.9 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
    • Charles River Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Dover
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • 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 Southborough to Dover
    • Medfield
      (13 miles [20.9 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
    • Medway
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Needham Heights
      (14 miles [22.5 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
    • Rockville
      (14 miles [22.5 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 Southborough to Rockville
    • Needham
      (15 miles [24.1 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
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southborough, with the one closest to Southborough listed first.
    • Montello
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Brockton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Suffolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southborough, with the one closest to Southborough listed first.
    • West Roxbury
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Brighton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Stonybrook Village
      (19 miles [30.6 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
    • Allston
      (20 miles [32.2 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
    • Hyde Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Readville
      (20 miles [32.2 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
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Jamaica Plain
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Mattapan Station
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Mattapan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Roxbury
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Ashmont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ashmont. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashmont
      • Ashmont is located in Suffolk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ashmont
      • From Southborough to Ashmont
  • Windham County (CT)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southborough, with the one closest to Southborough listed first.
    • Hollis Depot
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Brookline
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Hollis
      (30 miles [48.3 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>
  • Providence County (RI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Southborough, with the one closest to Southborough listed first.
    • Hamlet
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hamlet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
      • Hamlet is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hamlet
      • From Southborough to Hamlet
    • Woonsocket
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Branch Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Burnt Swamp Corner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Slatersville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Union Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Village
      • Union Village is located in Providence County (RI)
    • Arnold Mills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Cumberland Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Cumberland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumberland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
      • Cumberland is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,207 people
    • Cumberland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumberland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
      • Cumberland is located in Providence County (RI)
    • Glendale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Nasonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Southborough ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Southborough.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Southborough, with the one closest to Southborough 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Southborough had a population of 420 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Southborough had a population of 10,200 people.

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

  • Fayville
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Southville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Cordaville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Marlborough Junction
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Marlborough
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Ashland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Nobscot
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nobscot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobscot
    • Nobscot is located in Middlesex County
  • Westborough
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Woodville
    (5 miles [8 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
  • Hopkinton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Framingham
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Chapinville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • 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
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Northborough
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Hayden Row
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Hudson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • 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

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

Newspapers Published in Southborough ...

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 124 newspapers that have been published in the area around Southborough.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Southborough, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Southborough.

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 Southborough:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Southborough. 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>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 Southborough, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>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 from Point A (ie- Southborough) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Southborough. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3056, Longitude: -71.5255       In this case, the coordinates for Southborough have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025