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 Tolland (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 Tolland. 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 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.
Tolland is located in Hampden 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 Hampden County: Hartford (CT), Litchfield (CT), Tolland (CT), Berkshire, Hampshire & Worcester.
Below are the counties that are near Tolland. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Tolland:
- Hampden County (The home county of Tolland)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tolland, with the one closest to Tolland listed first.
- West Granville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- West Granville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Granville
- Granville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Granville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,606 people
- North Blandford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- North Blandford is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Blandford
- Blandford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Blandford is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,249 people
- Russell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Russell is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,787 people
- Woronoco
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Woronoco is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woronoco
- Southwick
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Southwick is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,715 people
- Chester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Chester is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,365 people
- Montgomery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Montgomery is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 863 people
- Hosmer Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Hosmer Corner is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hosmer Corner
- Westfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Westfield is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,063 people
- Hampton Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hampton Village is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton Village
- Berkshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tolland, with the one closest to Tolland listed first.
- East Otis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- East Otis is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Otis
- Sandisfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sandisfield is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandisfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 887 people
- South Sandisfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- South Sandisfield is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sandisfield
- Otis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Otis is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,531 people
- North Otis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- North Otis is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Otis
- New Marlborough
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- New Marlborough is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Marlborough
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,450 people
- Southfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Southfield is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southfield
- Monterey
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Monterey is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 918 people
- Hartsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hartsville is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
- West Becket
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- West Becket is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Becket
- Gomorrah
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Gomorrah is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomorrah
- Mill River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Mill River is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill River
- Franklin County
- West Hawley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- West Hawley is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hawley
- Hampshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tolland, with the one closest to Tolland listed first.
- Huntington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Huntington is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,159 people
- Southampton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Southampton is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southampton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,162 people
- Middlefield
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Middlefield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
- Westhampton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Westhampton is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westhampton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
- Worthington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Worthington is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,176 people
- Easthampton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Easthampton is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easthampton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,750 people
- West Farms
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- West Farms is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Farms
- Worthington Corners
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Worthington Corners is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthington Corners
- Chesterfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Chesterfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,250 people
- West Chesterfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- West Chesterfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chesterfield
- Bay State
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bay State is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay State
- Florence
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Florence is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Hartford County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tolland, with the one closest to Tolland listed first.
- West Hartland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hartland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hartland is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Hartland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hartland is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,113 people
- East Hartland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- North Granby
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Granby
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Granby is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,558 people
- West Granby
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Granby
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- North Canton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- North Canton is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Canton
- Salmon Brook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Salmon Brook is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salmon Brook
- Rising Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Rising Corner is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Corner
- Chatsworth Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Chatsworth Village is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatsworth Village
- Litchfield County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tolland, with the one closest to Tolland listed first.
- Colebrook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Colebrook is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,396 people
- North Colebrook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- North Colebrook is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Colebrook
- Colebrook
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Riverton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Barkhamsted
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Barkhamsted is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkhamsted
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,587 people
- Pleasant Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Winchester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Winchester is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,548 people
- Barkhamsted
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hampsted
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hampsted is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampsted
- Grantville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grantville is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
- Norfolk
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Norfolk is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norfolk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,622 people
- Norfolk
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tolland County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tolland, with the one closest to Tolland listed first.
- Somersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Somers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Somers is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,741 people
- Somers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ellington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ellington is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,652 people
- Ellington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Windermere
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Windermere is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windermere
- Columbia County (NY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tolland, with the one closest to Tolland listed first.
- Green River
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Green River is located in Columbia County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
- Copake Falls
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Weed Mines
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Weed Mines is located in Columbia County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weed Mines
- Copake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Austerlitz
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ancramdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Copake Lake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Copake Lake is located in Columbia County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copake Lake
- Craryville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Canaan Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Canaan Center is located in Columbia County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canaan Center
- Dutchess County (NY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tolland, with the one closest to Tolland listed first.
- Millerton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Spencer Corners
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Spencer Corners is located in Dutchess County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer Corners
- Irondale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Irondale is located in Dutchess County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irondale
- Amenia Union
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Amenia Union is located in Dutchess County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amenia Union
- Leedsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Leedsville is located in Dutchess County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leedsville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Tolland, see our County-by-County Page for Tolland.
Cemeteries Near Tolland ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Tolland.
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 Tolland - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Tolland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Tolland, with the one closest to Tolland listed first.
- Tolland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- South Quarter Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dubois Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Roberts Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- West Hartland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Colebrook River Burying Ground
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Center Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Warfield Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Montville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Center Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- South Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Beech Plain Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (374 more) ...
- Hemlock Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Riverton Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Silver Street Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Street Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Silver Street Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 7 miles [11.3 km]<3> to the southwest of Westfield.
- The Silver Street Cemetery has also been known as:
- Granville Cemetery
- Southeast Cemetery
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #GRN.806 <2>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91031 <4>
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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Tolland had a population of 120 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Tolland had a population of 506 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Tolland, with the one closest to Tolland listed first.
- West Granville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- West Granville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Granville
- New Boston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- New Boston is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Boston
- West Hartland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- North Colebrook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- North Colebrook is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Colebrook
- Hartland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hartland is located in Hartford County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Montville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Montville is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montville
- Sandisfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sandisfield is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandisfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 887 people
- Colebrook
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Robertsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Robertsville is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsville
- South Sandisfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- South Sandisfield is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sandisfield
- Riverton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- East Hartland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Granville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Granville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,606 people
- Otis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Otis is located in Berkshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,531 people
- Blandford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Blandford is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,249 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Tolland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Tolland.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Tolland ...
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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Tolland.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Tolland. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Tolland and those printed in the larger area surrounding Tolland.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3> of Tolland.
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 helpful 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 Tolland:
- Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Pages specific to Hampden County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Berkshire County
- Franklin County
- Hampshire County
- Hartford County
- Litchfield County
- Tolland County
- Columbia County
- Dutchess County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Tolland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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> | 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 Tolland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |