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The Commemorative Quarter for Massachusetts





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 Wellfleet (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 Wellfleet. 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 Wellfleet ...

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

  • Wellfleet was settled in 1724.
  • 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 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.

Wellfleet is located in Barnstable County.

To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

Below are the counties that are near Wellfleet. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wellfleet:

  • Barnstable County     (The home county of Wellfleet)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wellfleet, with the one closest to Wellfleet listed first.
    • South Truro
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • South Wellfleet
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Wellfleet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wellfleet
      • South Wellfleet is located in Barnstable County
    • Truro
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Truro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truro
      • Truro is located in Barnstable County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,007 people
    • North Eastham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Eastham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Eastham
      • North Eastham is located in Barnstable County
    • Thumpertown Beach
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • North Truro
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Truro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Truro
      • North Truro is located in Barnstable County
    • Pond Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pond Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Village
      • Pond Village is located in Barnstable County
    • Eastham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eastham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastham
      • Eastham is located in Barnstable County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,902 people
    • East Orleans
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Orleans
      • East Orleans is located in Barnstable County
    • Orleans
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
      • Orleans is located in Barnstable County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,802 people
    • Provincetown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Provincetown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Provincetown
      • Provincetown is located in Barnstable County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,957 people
    • Brewster
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • South Orleans
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Orleans
      • South Orleans is located in Barnstable County
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wellfleet, with the one closest to Wellfleet listed first.
    • Manomet
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manomet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manomet
      • Manomet is located in Plymouth County
    • White Horse Beach
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Horse Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Horse Beach
      • White Horse Beach is located in Plymouth County
    • Chiltonville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Wellfleet ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wellfleet.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wellfleet, with the one closest to Wellfleet 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.<7>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Wellfleet had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Wellfleet had a population of 2,728 people.

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

  • South Wellfleet
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Wellfleet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wellfleet
    • South Wellfleet is located in Barnstable County
  • South Truro
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Truro
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Truro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truro
    • Truro is located in Barnstable County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,007 people
  • Truro Station ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Truro Station have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truro Station
    • Truro Station is located in Barnstable County
  • North Eastham
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Eastham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Eastham
    • North Eastham is located in Barnstable County
  • Eastham
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eastham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastham
    • Eastham is located in Barnstable County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,902 people
  • North Truro
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Truro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Truro
    • North Truro is located in Barnstable County
  • Orleans
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
    • Orleans is located in Barnstable County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,802 people
  • East Orleans
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Orleans
    • East Orleans is located in Barnstable County
  • East Brewster
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Brewster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brewster
    • East Brewster is located in Barnstable County
  • Provincetown
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Provincetown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Provincetown
    • Provincetown is located in Barnstable County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,957 people
  • Brewster
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • West Brewster
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • South Brewster
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Brewster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Brewster
      • South Brewster is located in Barnstable County
    • South Orleans
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Orleans
      • South Orleans is located in Barnstable County

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

Newspapers Published in Wellfleet ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wellfleet.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wellfleet, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wellfleet.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Wellfleet:

The official website for Wellfleet: www.wellfleetma.org/

The official website for Barnstable County: www.barnstablecounty.org/

The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<3>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<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>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- Wellfleet) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wellfleet. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9371, Longitude: -70.0309    
<7>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 Wellfleet, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025