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 West Chop (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 West Chop. 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.

Name Variations for West Chop ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Chop: W. Chop

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 hospitals and doctors 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.

West Chop is located in Dukes 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 Dukes County: Barnstable, Bristol, Nantucket & Plymouth.

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

Dukes County (The home county of West Chop)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Chop, with the one closest to West Chop listed first.
- Tisbury
  (Less than 2 miles 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
  (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  - Vineyard Haven is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyard Haven
- Oak Bluffs
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  - Oak Bluffs is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bluffs
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 4,696 people
- Christian Town
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  - Christian Town is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Town
- North Tisbury
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  - North Tisbury is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tisbury
- Edgartown
  (7 miles [11.3 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
- West Tisbury
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  - West Tisbury is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tisbury
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 2,927 people
- Katama
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  - Katama is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katama
- Gosnold
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  - Gosnold is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosnold
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
- Chilmark
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  - Chilmark is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilmark
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
- Menemsha
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  - Menemsha is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menemsha
- Squibnocket
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  - Squibnocket is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squibnocket
Barnstable County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Chop, with the one closest to West Chop listed first.
- Woods Hole
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  - Woods Hole is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Hole
- Acapesket
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  - Acapesket is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acapesket
- Falmouth
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  - Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 31,107 people
- Teaticket
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  - Teaticket is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teaticket
- East Falmouth
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  - East Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Falmouth
- Monomoscoy Island
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  - Monomoscoy Island is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monomoscoy Island
- Seconsett Island
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  - Seconsett Island is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seconsett Island
- West Falmouth
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  - West Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Falmouth
- Maushop Village
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  - Maushop Village is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maushop Village
- Seabrook
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  - Seabrook is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seabrook
- New Seabury
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  - New Seabury is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Seabury
- Popponesset
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  - Popponesset is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popponesset
Bristol County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Chop, with the one closest to West Chop listed first.
- Fairhaven
  (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  - Fairhaven is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 16,103 people
- Nonquitt
  (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  - Nonquitt is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nonquitt
- Bliss Corner
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  - Bliss Corner is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corner
- South Dartmouth
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  - South Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dartmouth
- Acushnet
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  - Acushnet is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 10,673 people
- Apponagansett
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  - Apponagansett is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apponagansett
- New Bedford
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  - New Bedford is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bedford
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 95,517 people
- Acushnet Center
  (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  - Acushnet Center is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet Center
- Acushnet Station ‑ Historic
  (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  - Acushnet Station is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acushnet Station
- Dartmouth
  (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  - Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dartmouth
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 33,926 people
- North Dartmouth
  (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  - North Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dartmouth
- Smith Mills
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  - Smith Mills is located in Bristol County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Mills
Nantucket County
- Nantucket
  (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  - Nantucket is located in Nantucket County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantucket
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 11,376 people
Plymouth County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Chop, with the one closest to West Chop listed first.
- Mattapoisett
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  - Mattapoisett is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattapoisett
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 6,427 people
- Marion
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  - Marion is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 5,189 people
- Onset
  (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  - Onset is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset
- Weweantic
  (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  - Weweantic is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weweantic
- Briarwood Beach
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  - Briarwood Beach is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
- East Wareham
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  - East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
- Onset Station
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  - Onset Station is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset Station
- Wareham Center
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  - Wareham Center is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham Center
- Wareham
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  - Wareham is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 22,778 people
- Rochester
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  - Rochester is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 5,740 people
- West Wareham
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  - West Wareham is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wareham
- White Island Shores
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  - White Island Shores is located in Plymouth County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Island Shores
Newport County (RI)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Chop, with the one closest to West Chop listed first.
- Adamsville
  (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  - Adamsville is located in Newport County (RI)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Bliss Corners
  (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  - Bliss Corners is located in Newport County (RI)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corners
- Little Compton
  (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  - 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 west)
  - Little Compton is located in Newport County (RI)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Compton
- Sakonnet
  (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  - Sakonnet is located in Newport County (RI)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sakonnet
- Tiverton Four Corners
  (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  - Tiverton Four Corners is located in Newport County (RI)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiverton Four Corners
- Tiverton
  (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  - Tiverton is located in Newport County (RI)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiverton
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 15,569 people

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

Cemeteries Near West Chop ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Chop.

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 West Chop - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

West Chop Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chop Cemetery
South End Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South End Cemetery
Tisbury Village Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tisbury Village Cemetery
Oak Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Cemetery
Sacred Heart Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacred Heart Cemetery
Oak Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Cemetery
Lambert's Cove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert's Cove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Lambert's Cove Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<1> to the north of West Tisbury.
- The Lambert's Cove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lamberts Cove Road Cemetery
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #WTI.804 <2>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91158 <3>
Old Town Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town Cemetery
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #FAL.808 <2>
Methodist Society Burying Ground
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Methodist Society Burying Ground
- The Methodist Society Burying Ground has also been known as:
- Methodist Cemetery
- Old Methodist Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2314290 <3>
Christiantown Memorial Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiantown Memorial Cemetery
Oak Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Cemetery
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #FAL.810 <2>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #644001 <3>
St. Patricks Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Patricks Cemetery
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #FAL.802 <2>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91652 <3>
Continue List (170 more) ...
- St. Anthonys Cemetery
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Anthonys Cemetery
  - To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Anthonys Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in East Falmouth.
  - The St. Anthonys Cemetery has also been known as:
  - St. Anthonys Catholic Cemetery
  - Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #174183 <3>
- West Tisbury Village Cemetery
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tisbury Village Cemetery
  - The West Tisbury Village Cemetery has also been known as:
  - West Tisbury Cemetery
  - Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #WTI.800 <2>
- New Westside Cemetery
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Westside Cemetery

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 in 1895, West Chop had a post office and no railroad service.

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

Vineyard Haven
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Vineyard Haven is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyard Haven
Oak Bluffs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Bluffs is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bluffs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,696 people
Vineyard Highlands
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Vineyard Highlands is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyard Highlands
Falmouth Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Falmouth Heights is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth Heights
Teaticket
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Teaticket is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teaticket
Falmouth
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31,107 people
North Tisbury
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- North Tisbury is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tisbury
West Tisbury
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Tisbury is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tisbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,927 people
Edgartown
(7 miles [11.3 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
East Falmouth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- East Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Falmouth
West Falmouth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- West Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Falmouth
Katama
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Katama is located in Dukes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katama
Continue List (15 more) ...
- Hatchville
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  - Hatchville is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchville
- Chilmark
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  - Chilmark is located in Dukes County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilmark
  - Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
- North Falmouth
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  - North Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
  - Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Falmouth

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

Newspapers Published in West Chop ...

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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Chop.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Chop, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<1>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Chop.

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 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 West Chop:

Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the Massachusetts Archives Division

Pages specific to Dukes County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails

Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barnstable County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Bristol County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Nantucket County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Plymouth County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Newport County
  - Jump to Cyndi's List
  - Jump to Family Search
  - Jump to Genealogy Trails

Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Cemeteries of Dukes County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Massachusetts
- Cemeteries of Dukes County

Footnotes ...

<1>	Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Chop) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 West Chop, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.