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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 Wales (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 Wales. 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 Wales ...

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

  • Wales was settled in 1726.
  • It was incorporated in 1775.

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 hospitals and 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.

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

  • Hampden County     (The home county of Wales)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
    • Holland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Brimfield
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Brimfield is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,679 people
    • Monson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • State Line
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • South Factory Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • West Brimfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • West Brimfield is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brimfield
    • Tenneyville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Palmer
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Hampden
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Hampden is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,154 people
    • Thorndike
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Thorndike is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorndike
    • Three Rivers
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • North Wilbraham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Wilbraham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
    • Smiths ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Cooleyville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Millington ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Shutesbury
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • New Salem
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • New Salem is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,034 people
    • Leverett
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
    • Bondsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
    • Ware
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Belchertown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Enfield ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Granby
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Granby is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,262 people
    • South Hadley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • South Amherst
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • South Amherst is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amherst
    • Pelham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • West Pelham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • East Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • East Village is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
    • Mount Tom
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Amherst Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Amherst Center is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Center
    • Amherst
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Worcester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
    • Fiskdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Old Sturbridge Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Sturbridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Sturbridge is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturbridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,561 people
    • Globe Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Globe Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe Village
    • Southbridge
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Warren
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Warren is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,203 people
    • West Warren
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Brookfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Brookfield is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,439 people
    • West Brookfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Charlton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Charlton is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,698 people
    • Charlton City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Charlton Depot
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Charlton Depot is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton Depot
    • East Brookfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Hartford County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
    • Enfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Enfield is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,559 people
    • Hazardville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Sherwood Manor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Enfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Broad Brook
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Mill Pond Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Mill Pond Village is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Pond Village
    • Southwood Acres
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Southwood Acres is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwood Acres
    • Thompsonville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Thompsonville is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
    • East Windsor
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • East Windsor is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Windsor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,654 people
    • Windsorville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Spring Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Spring Village is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Village
    • Suffield Depot
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Suffield Depot is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suffield Depot
    • Suffield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • New London County (CT)
  • Tolland County (CT)
  • Windham County (CT)
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Wales ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wales.

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 Wales - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Wales had a population of 322 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Wales had a population of 1,862 people.

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

  • Holland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Brimfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Brimfield is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,679 people
  • East Brimfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • East Brimfield is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brimfield
  • South Monson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • South Monson is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Monson
  • State Line
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Staffordville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Mashapaug
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Mashapaug is located in Tolland County (CT)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mashapaug
  • North Monson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • North Monson is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Monson
  • Monson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ellithorpe
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ellithorpe is located in Tolland County (CT)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellithorpe
  • Stafford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Union
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Fiskdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • West Brimfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • West Brimfield is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brimfield
    • Sturbridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Sturbridge is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturbridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,561 people

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

Newspapers Published in Wales ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wales.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wales, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wales.

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 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 Wales:

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>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 Wales, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wales) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.