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 Fitchburg (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 Fitchburg. 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 Fitchburg ...
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 Fitchburg: W. Fitchburg
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 doctors and hospitals 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 Fitchburg is located in Worcester 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 Worcester County: Tolland (CT), Windham (CT), Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Cheshire (NH), Hillsborough (NH) & Providence (RI).
Below are the counties that are near West Fitchburg. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Fitchburg:
- Worcester County (The home county of West Fitchburg)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fitchburg, with the one closest to West Fitchburg listed first.
- Fitchburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Fitchburg is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,310 people
- South Fitchburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- South Fitchburg is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fitchburg
- Blackburn Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Blackburn Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn Village
- Westminster
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Westminster is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,091 people
- Ashburnham
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ashburnham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashburnham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,350 people
- South Ashburnham
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- South Ashburnham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ashburnham
- Leominster
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Leominster is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leominster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,548 people
- Lunenburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lunenburg is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunenburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,810 people
- Lunenburg Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Lunenburg Station is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunenburg Station
- Lane Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lane Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane Village
- East Princeton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- East Princeton is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Princeton
- Gardner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Gardner is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,585 people
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fitchburg, with the one closest to West Fitchburg listed first.
- North Orange
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- North Orange is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orange
- Tully
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Tully is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tully
- Orange
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Orange is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,581 people
- Millington ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Millington is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millington
- Mayo Corners
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Mayo Corners is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo Corners
- Morse Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Morse Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Village
- New Salem
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- New Salem is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,034 people
- Warwick
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Warwick is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
- Wendell Depot
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Wendell Depot is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell Depot
- Cooleyville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Cooleyville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooleyville
- Erving
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Erving is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erving
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,749 people
- Wendell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wendell is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 881 people
- Hampshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fitchburg, with the one closest to West Fitchburg listed first.
- Ware
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ware is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,897 people
- Enfield ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Enfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- Middlesex County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fitchburg, with the one closest to West Fitchburg listed first.
- South Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- South Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Village
- Ashby
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ashby is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,204 people
- Old City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Old City is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
- West Townsend
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- West Townsend is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Townsend
- Townsend
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Townsend is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townsend
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,448 people
- Shaker Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- Shirley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Shirley is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,554 people
- Townsend Harbor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Townsend Harbor is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townsend Harbor
- Devens
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Devens is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devens
- West Groton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- West Groton is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Groton
- Ayer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Ayer is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,211 people
- Groton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Groton is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,256 people
- Cheshire County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fitchburg, with the one closest to West Fitchburg listed first.
- Rindge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- West Rindge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Rindge is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rindge
- Jaffrey
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Fitzwilliam Depot
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fitzwilliam Depot is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzwilliam Depot
- Fitzwilliam
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bonds Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bonds Corner is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonds Corner
- Troy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Troy is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,117 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <1>
- Dublin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Richmond
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Eastview
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Eastview is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastview
- East Swanzey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- East Swanzey is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Swanzey
- Harrisville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hillsborough County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fitchburg, with the one closest to West Fitchburg listed first.
- New Ipswich
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Mason
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Mason is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,433 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <1>
- Greenville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Brookline
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sharon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Sharon is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
- Temple
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Temple is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,434 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Temple <1>
- West Wilton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- West Wilton is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wilton
- Hollis Depot
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hollis Depot is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Depot
- Hollis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hollis is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,123 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollis <1>
- Wilton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Wilton is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,838 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilton <1>
- East Milford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Milford is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Milford
- Milford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Milford is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,515 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milford <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Fitchburg, see our County-by-County Page for West Fitchburg.
Cemeteries Near West Fitchburg ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Fitchburg.
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 Fitchburg - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Fitchburg covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Fitchburg, with the one closest to West Fitchburg listed first.
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Joseph Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Joseph Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the southwest of Fitchburg.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91584 <3>
- Forest Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Forest Hill Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the southwest of Fitchburg.
- Be careful not to confuse this cemetery with another one that is also named Forest Hill Cemetery (located 63 miles to the north).
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #FIT.804 <4>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90989 <3>
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Woodside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Bernards Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- North Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- North Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- St. Dennis Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (413 more) ...
- New Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Leo Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- St. Cecilias Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Cecilias Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Cecilias Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Leominster.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1111015 <3>
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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, West Fitchburg had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Fitchburg, with the one closest to West Fitchburg listed first.
- Wachusett
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wachusett is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wachusett
- Fitchburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Fitchburg is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,310 people
- South Fitchburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- South Fitchburg is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fitchburg
- Westminster
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Westminster is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,091 people
- West Leominster
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Leominster is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leominster
- Leominster
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Leominster is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leominster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,548 people
- North Leominster
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- North Leominster is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leominster
- Ashburnham
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ashburnham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashburnham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,350 people
- South Ashburnham
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- South Ashburnham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ashburnham
- Lunenburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lunenburg is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunenburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,810 people
- East Princeton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- East Princeton is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Princeton
- Gates Crossing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gates Crossing is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gates Crossing
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Lunenburg Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Lunenburg Station is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunenburg Station
- Ashby
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ashby is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,204 people
- Gardner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Gardner is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,585 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Fitchburg. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Fitchburg.
Newspapers Published in West Fitchburg ...
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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Fitchburg.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Fitchburg, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Fitchburg.
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 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 West Fitchburg:
- Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Pages specific to Worcester County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Hampshire County
- Middlesex County
- Cheshire County
- Hillsborough County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
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> | 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 Fitchburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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> | 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.
|
| <5> | 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 Fitchburg, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |