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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 Lynn (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 Lynn. 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 Lynn ...

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 have occurred.

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

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 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 Lynn is located in Essex County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Essex County: Middlesex, Suffolk & Rockingham (NH).

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

  • Essex County     (The home county of West Lynn)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Lynn, with the one closest to West Lynn listed first.
    • Lynn
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Saugus
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • East Lynn
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Lynn. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lynn
      • East Lynn is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to East Lynn
      • From West Lynn to East Lynn
    • Swampscott
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Nahant
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Clifton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clifton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clifton
      • From West Lynn to Clifton
    • Peabody
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Salem
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Marblehead
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marblehead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marblehead
      • Marblehead is located in Essex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,551 people
    • West Town Landing
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Town Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Town Landing
      • West Town Landing is located in Essex County
    • Lynnfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Danvers
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Bristol County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Lynn, with the one closest to West Lynn listed first.
    • North Easton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
      • North Easton is located in Bristol County
    • South Easton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Easton
      • South Easton is located in Bristol County
    • Easton Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Easton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Easton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Easton is located in Bristol County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,116 people
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Lynn, with the one closest to West Lynn listed first.
    • Melrose
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Wyoming
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wyoming. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
      • Wyoming is located in Middlesex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wyoming
      • From West Lynn to Wyoming
    • Montrose
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Montrose. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
      • Montrose is located in Middlesex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Montrose
      • From West Lynn to Montrose
    • Wakefield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Everett
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Malden
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Medford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Wellington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Stoneham
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Reading
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reading have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
      • Reading is located in Middlesex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,535 people
    • Montvale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Montvale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montvale
      • Montvale is located in Middlesex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Montvale
      • From West Lynn to Montvale
    • Walnut Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Lynn, with the one closest to West Lynn listed first.
    • Brookline Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookline Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Village
      • Brookline Village is located in Norfolk County
    • Brookline
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Montclair
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Norfolk Downs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Wollaston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Milton Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Village
      • Milton Village is located in Norfolk County
    • Quincy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • West Quincy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Westbrook Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westbrook Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
      • Westbrook Village is located in Norfolk County
    • Milton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • North Weymouth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Weymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Weymouth
      • North Weymouth is located in Norfolk County
    • North Cohasset
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Lynn, with the one closest to West Lynn listed first.
    • Hull
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Hingham
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Minot
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minot have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minot
      • Minot is located in Plymouth County
    • North Scituate
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Scituate have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scituate
      • North Scituate is located in Plymouth County
    • Accord
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Scituate
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scituate have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scituate
      • Scituate is located in Plymouth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,047 people
    • North Abington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Rockland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Rockland is located in Plymouth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,992 people
    • Greenbush
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenbush have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbush
      • Greenbush is located in Plymouth County
    • Norwell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Abington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Montello
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  • Suffolk County
  • Worcester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Lynn, with the one closest to West Lynn listed first.
    • Fayville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Shaker Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
      • Shaker Village is located in Worcester County
    • Southborough
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Southborough. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southborough
      • Southborough is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,200 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Southborough
      • From West Lynn to Southborough
    • Cordaville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Harvard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • Pelham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pelham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
      • Pelham is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,306 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelham <3>
  • Rockingham County (NH)

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

Cemeteries Near West Lynn ...

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Lynn, with the one closest to West Lynn 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, West Lynn had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Pleasant Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hills
    • Pleasant Hills is located in Essex County
  • Cliftondale
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cliftondale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliftondale
    • Cliftondale is located in Essex County
  • Lynn
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Saugus
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Franklin Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Park
    • Franklin Park is located in Suffolk County
  • Oak Island
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Island have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Island
    • Oak Island is located in Suffolk County
  • East Lynn
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Lynn. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lynn
    • East Lynn is located in Essex County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to East Lynn
    • From West Lynn to East Lynn
  • Maplewood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maplewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
    • Maplewood is located in Middlesex County
  • Linden
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Linden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
    • Linden is located in Middlesex County
  • Swampscott
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Melrose Highlands
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Melrose Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose Highlands
    • Melrose Highlands is located in Middlesex County
  • Wyoming
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wyoming. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
    • Wyoming is located in Middlesex County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Wyoming
    • From West Lynn to Wyoming
  • Continue List   (25 more) ...
    • Fells
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fells have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fells
      • Fells is located in Middlesex County
    • Faulkner
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Faulkner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faulkner
      • Faulkner is located in Middlesex County
    • Revere
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in West Lynn ...

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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Lynn.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Lynn, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Lynn.

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 helpful 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 Lynn:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Lynn. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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.
<6>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 Lynn, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>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- West Lynn) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Lynn. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4655, Longitude: -70.9833    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025