RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Barnstable County >> West Dennis >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Dennis (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 Dennis. 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 Dennis ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

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

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

West Dennis is located in Barnstable County.

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

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

  • Barnstable County     (The home county of West Dennis)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Dennis, with the one closest to West Dennis listed first.
    • South Yarmouth
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • South Yarmouth is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yarmouth
    • South Dennis
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • South Dennis is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dennis
    • Bass River
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Bass River is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bass River
    • Dennis Port
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Dennis Port is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Port
    • West Harwich
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • West Harwich is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Harwich
    • North Harwich
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • North Harwich is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Harwich
    • West Yarmouth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • West Yarmouth is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yarmouth
    • Yarmouth Port
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Yarmouth Port is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth Port
    • Yarmouth Station
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Yarmouth Station is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth Station
    • Yarmouth
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Yarmouth is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,166 people
    • Dennis
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Dennis is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,890 people
    • East Dennis
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • East Dennis is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dennis
    • Cummaquid ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Cummaquid is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummaquid
  • Dukes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Dennis, with the one closest to West Dennis listed first.
    • Oak Bluffs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Oak Bluffs is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bluffs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,696 people
    • Edgartown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Edgartown is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgartown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,383 people
    • West Chop
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • West Chop is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chop
    • Tisbury
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Tisbury is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tisbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,128 people
    • Vineyard Haven
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Vineyard Haven is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyard Haven
    • Katama
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Katama is located in Dukes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katama
  • Nantucket County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Dennis, with the one closest to West Dennis listed first.
    • Pocomo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Pocomo is located in Nantucket County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocomo
    • Nantucket
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Nantucket is located in Nantucket County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantucket
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,376 people
    • Siasconset
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Siasconset is located in Nantucket County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siasconset
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Dennis, with the one closest to West Dennis listed first.
    • Onset
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Onset is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset
    • White Island Shores
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • White Island Shores is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Island Shores
    • Manomet
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Manomet is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manomet
    • East Wareham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
    • Onset Station
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Onset Station is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset Station
    • White Horse Beach
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • White Horse Beach is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Horse Beach
    • Briarwood Beach
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Briarwood Beach is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
    • Wareham Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Wareham Center is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham Center
    • Wareham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Wareham is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wareham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,778 people
    • Weweantic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Weweantic is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weweantic
    • Chiltonville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Chiltonville is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiltonville
    • Cranberry Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Cranberry Village is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry Village
    • Marion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Marion is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,189 people

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

Cemeteries Near West Dennis ...

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

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Dennis, with the one closest to West Dennis 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 in 1895, West Dennis had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • South Yarmouth
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • South Yarmouth is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Yarmouth
  • South Dennis
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • South Dennis is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dennis
  • Dennis Port
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Dennis Port is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Port
  • West Harwich
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • West Harwich is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Harwich
  • West Yarmouth
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • West Yarmouth is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yarmouth
  • North Harwich
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • North Harwich is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Harwich
  • Yarmouth
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Yarmouth is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,166 people
  • Yarmouth Port
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Yarmouth Port is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth Port
  • Yarmouth Station
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Yarmouth Station is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yarmouth Station
  • Dennis
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Dennis is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,890 people
  • Harwich Port
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Harwich Port is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwich Port
  • Harwich
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Harwich is located in Barnstable County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwich
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,144 people
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Pleasant Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Pleasant Lake is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
    • East Dennis
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • East Dennis is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dennis
    • South Harwich
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • South Harwich is located in Barnstable County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Harwich

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

Newspapers Published in West Dennis ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Dennis.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Dennis, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Dennis.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 West Dennis:

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