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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 Vining Hill (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 Vining Hill. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

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

  • Hampden County     (The home county of Vining Hill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vining Hill, with the one closest to Vining Hill listed first.
    • Southwick
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Southwick is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwick
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,715 people
    • Granville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Granville is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,606 people
    • Hosmer Corner
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Hosmer Corner is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hosmer Corner
    • Feeding Hills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Feeding Hills is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Feeding Hills
    • Westfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Westfield is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41,063 people
    • West Granville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • West Granville is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Granville
    • Hampton Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Hampton Village is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton Village
    • Woronoco
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Woronoco is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woronoco
    • Agawam
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Agawam is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agawam
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,467 people
    • Merrick
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Merrick is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrick
    • West Springfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • West Springfield is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Springfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,397 people
    • Russell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Russell is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,787 people
  • Berkshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vining Hill, with the one closest to Vining Hill listed first.
    • East Otis
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • East Otis is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Otis
    • Otis
      (18 miles [29 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
    • Sandisfield
      (18 miles [29 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
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • South Sandisfield is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sandisfield
    • North Otis
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • North Otis is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Otis
    • New Marlborough
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Southfield is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southfield
    • Monterey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Monterey is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 918 people
    • West Becket
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • West Becket is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Becket
    • Clayton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Clayton is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
    • Gomorrah
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Gomorrah is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomorrah
    • Hartsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Hartsville is located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsville
  • Franklin County
    • Whately
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Whately is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whately
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,583 people
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vining Hill, with the one closest to Vining Hill listed first.
    • Huntington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Huntington is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,159 people
    • Southampton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Southampton is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southampton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,162 people
    • Easthampton
      (17 miles [27.4 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
    • Westhampton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Westhampton is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westhampton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
    • West Farms
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • West Farms is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Farms
    • South Hadley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • South Hadley is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hadley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,539 people
    • Mount Tom
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Tom is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tom
    • Bay State
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Bay State is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay State
    • Granby
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Granby is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,262 people
    • Florence
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Florence is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • Leeds
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Leeds is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
    • Northampton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Northampton is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northampton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,362 people
  • Hartford County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vining Hill, with the one closest to Vining Hill listed first.
    • North Granby
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Rising Corner
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Rising Corner is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Corner
    • Granby
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Granby is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,558 people
    • Granby
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Salmon Brook
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Salmon Brook is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salmon Brook
    • West Granby
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • East Hartland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Chatsworth Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Chatsworth Village is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatsworth Village
    • East Granby
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • East Granby is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Granby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,120 people
    • Suffield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Suffield is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suffield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,812 people
    • West Suffield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • East Granby
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Litchfield County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vining Hill, with the one closest to Vining Hill listed first.
    • Hampsted
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Hampsted is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampsted
    • Barkhamsted
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Barkhamsted
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Barkhamsted is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkhamsted
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,587 people
    • Riverton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Valley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • New Hartford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Pine Meadow
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Puddle Town
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Puddle Town is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puddle Town
    • Colebrook
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Colebrook is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,396 people
    • Winsted
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Colebrook
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • North Colebrook
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • North Colebrook is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Colebrook
  • Middlesex County (CT)
    • Cromwell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Cromwell is located in Middlesex County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,772 people
  • New Haven County (CT)
    • Wolcott
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Wolcott is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolcott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,565 people
  • Tolland County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vining Hill, with the one closest to Vining Hill listed first.
    • Somersville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Somers
      (18 miles [29 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
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Somers is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somers
      • Somers has also been known as:
      • Central Somers
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Somers <1>
    • Ellington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Ellington is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,652 people
    • Ellington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Windermere
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Windermere is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windermere
    • Rockville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Quarryville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Quarryville is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarryville
    • Vernon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Vernon is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29,400 people
    • Vernon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Crystal Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Crystal Lake is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
    • State Line
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • State Line is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line

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

Cemeteries Near Vining Hill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vining Hill.

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 Vining Hill - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Vining Hill, with the one closest to Vining Hill listed first.

  • New Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Old Southwick Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Cooley Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Silver Street Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • 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]<4> 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 <3>
  • Baptist Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • West Side of the Mountain Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Pratt Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Copper Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Northeast Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Center Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Granby Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Prisoners Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (425 more) ...
    • Viets Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Holcomb Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • West Suffield Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)

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>

While we didn't find Vining Hill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Vining Hill.

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

  • North Granby
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Southwick
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Southwick is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwick
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,715 people
  • Granville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Granville is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,606 people
  • East Hartland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • West Granby
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Granby
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • West Suffield
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Feeding Hills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Feeding Hills is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Feeding Hills
  • East Granby
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Westfield
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Westfield is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 41,063 people
  • West Granville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • West Granville is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Granville
  • West Hartland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Tariffville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Suffield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Hartland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Hartland is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland

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

Newspapers Published in Vining Hill ...

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 139 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vining Hill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vining Hill, 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 Vining Hill.

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 websites either 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 Vining Hill:

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>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.
<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- Vining Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Vining Hill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.