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 Wareham (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 Wareham. 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 Wareham ...
While it's still very early in our research, we found that:
- Wareham was settled in 1678.
- It was incorporated in 1739.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Wareham is located in Plymouth 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 Plymouth County: Barnstable, Bristol & Norfolk.
Below are the counties that are near Wareham. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wareham:
- Plymouth County (The home county of Wareham)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wareham, with the one closest to Wareham listed first.
- Wareham Center
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Wareham Center is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham Center
- Weweantic
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Weweantic is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weweantic
- Briarwood Beach
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Briarwood Beach is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
- East Wareham
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
- Onset Station
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Onset Station is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset Station
- West Wareham
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Wareham is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wareham
- Onset
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Onset is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset
- Pine Tree Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pine Tree Village is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Tree Village
- Marion
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Marion is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,189 people
- Cranberry Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Cranberry Village is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry Village
- South Carver
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- South Carver is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Carver
- Rochester
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Rochester is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,740 people
- Barnstable County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wareham, with the one closest to Wareham listed first.
- Buzzards Bay
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Buzzards Bay is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzards Bay
- Bourne
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bourne is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,743 people
- Monument Beach
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Monument Beach is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument Beach
- Pocasset
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pocasset is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocasset
- Cataumet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cataumet is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cataumet
- Sagamore
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Sagamore is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore
- North Falmouth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- North Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Falmouth
- Silver Beach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Beach is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
- Sagamore Beach
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Sagamore Beach is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sagamore Beach
- Sandwich
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sandwich is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandwich
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,151 people
- West Falmouth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Falmouth
- Forestdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Forestdale is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestdale
- Bristol County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wareham, with the one closest to Wareham listed first.
- Long Plain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Long Plain is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Plain
- Acushnet Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Acushnet Center is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet Center
- Acushnet
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Acushnet is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,673 people
- Clifford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Clifford is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
- Acushnet Station ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Acushnet Station is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet Station
- Fairhaven
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fairhaven is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,103 people
- Braleys
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Braleys is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braleys
- East Freetown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- East Freetown is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Freetown
- New Bedford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- New Bedford is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bedford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95,517 people
- Bliss Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bliss Corner is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corner
- North Dartmouth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- North Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dartmouth
- Freetown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Freetown is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freetown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,432 people
- Dukes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wareham, with the one closest to Wareham listed first.
- Gosnold
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Gosnold is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosnold
- Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
- West Chop
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- West Chop is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chop
- Oak Bluffs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Oak Bluffs is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bluffs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,696 people
- Tisbury
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Tisbury is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tisbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,128 people
- Vineyard Haven
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Vineyard Haven is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyard Haven
- Christian Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Christian Town is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Town
- North Tisbury
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- North Tisbury is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tisbury
- Cuttyhunk
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cuttyhunk is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuttyhunk
- West Tisbury
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- West Tisbury is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tisbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,927 people
- Edgartown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Edgartown is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgartown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,383 people
- Chilmark
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Chilmark is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilmark
- Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
- Menemsha
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Menemsha is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menemsha
- Norfolk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wareham, with the one closest to Wareham listed first.
- Brookville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brookville is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
- Avon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Avon is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,557 people
- Holbrook
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Holbrook is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holbrook
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,014 people
- South Weymouth
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- South Weymouth is located in Norfolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Weymouth
- Bristol County (RI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wareham, with the one closest to Wareham listed first.
- Coggeshall
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Coggeshall is located in Bristol County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coggeshall
- Bristol
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Bristol is located in Bristol County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,866 people
- Warren
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Warren is located in Bristol County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,469 people
- Warren
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Warren is located in Bristol County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
- Bristol
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bristol is located in Bristol County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Barrington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Barrington is located in Bristol County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington
- Newport County (RI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wareham, with the one closest to Wareham listed first.
- Bliss Corners
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bliss Corners is located in Newport County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corners
- Adamsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Adamsville is located in Newport County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Tiverton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Tiverton is located in Newport County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiverton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,569 people
- Tiverton Four Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Tiverton Four Corners is located in Newport County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiverton Four Corners
- Tiverton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Tiverton is located in Newport County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiverton
- Little Compton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Little Compton is located in Newport County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Compton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,462 people
- Little Compton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Little Compton is located in Newport County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Compton
- Portsmouth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Portsmouth is located in Newport County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portsmouth
- Portsmouth
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Portsmouth is located in Newport County (RI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portsmouth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,108 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wareham, see our County-by-County Page for Wareham.
Cemeteries Near Wareham ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wareham.
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 Wareham - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wareham covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wareham, with the one closest to Wareham listed first.
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Centre Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Agawam Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Monument Beach Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Woodside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside Cemetery
- The Woodside Cemetery has also been known as:
- East Rochester Church Cemetery
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #ROC.805 <1>
- Hillside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Old Landing Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Long Neck Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Center Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Center Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Rochester.
- The Center Cemetery has also been known as:
- First Parish Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #862184 <2>
- Central Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Gray Gables Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Monument Neck Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (377 more) ...
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Union Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Monument Beach 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Wareham had a population of 800 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Wareham had a population of 22,778 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wareham, with the one closest to Wareham listed first.
- South Wareham
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- South Wareham is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wareham
- Onset Station
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Onset Station is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset Station
- East Wareham
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
- West Wareham
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Wareham is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wareham
- Onset
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Onset is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset
- Tremont
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tremont is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tremont
- Marion
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Marion is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,189 people
- Rochester
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Rochester is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,740 people
- South Carver
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- South Carver is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Carver
- Buzzards Bay
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Buzzards Bay is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzards Bay
- Monument Beach
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Monument Beach is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument Beach
- Bourne
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bourne is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,743 people
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- South Middleboro
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- South Middleboro is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Middleboro
- Howlands
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Howlands is located in Plymouth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howlands
- Pocasset
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pocasset is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocasset
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wareham. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wareham.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wareham ...
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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wareham.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wareham. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wareham and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wareham.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4> of Wareham.
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 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 Wareham:
- Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Pages specific to Plymouth County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barnstable County
- Bristol County
- Dukes County
- Norfolk County
- Bristol County
- Newport County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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.
|
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Wareham, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Wareham) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |