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 Opening (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 Opening. 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 Opening ...
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 Opening: W. Opening
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 Opening is located in Dukes 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 Dukes County: Barnstable, Bristol, Nantucket & Plymouth.
Below are the counties that are near West Opening. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Opening:
- Dukes County (The home county of West Opening)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Opening, with the one closest to West Opening listed first.
- Edgartown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgartown
- Edgartown is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,383 people
- Oak Bluffs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bluffs
- Oak Bluffs is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,696 people
- Tisbury
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tisbury
- Tisbury is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,128 people
- Vineyard Haven
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyard Haven
- Vineyard Haven is located in Dukes County
- West Tisbury
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tisbury
- West Tisbury is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,927 people
- North Tisbury
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tisbury
- North Tisbury is located in Dukes County
- West Chop
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Christian Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christian Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Town
- Christian Town is located in Dukes County
- Chilmark
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - Menemsha
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west) - Squibnocket
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Squibnocket have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squibnocket
- Squibnocket is located in Dukes County
- Aquinnah
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquinnah
- Aquinnah is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
- Former name for Aquinnah:
- Gay Head
- Gosnold
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Barnstable County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Opening, with the one closest to West Opening listed first.
- Acapesket
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acapesket
- Acapesket is located in Barnstable County
- Maushop Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maushop Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maushop Village
- Maushop Village is located in Barnstable County
- Monomoscoy Island
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monomoscoy Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monomoscoy Island
- Monomoscoy Island is located in Barnstable County
- New Seabury
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Seabury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Seabury
- New Seabury is located in Barnstable County
- Popponesset
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Popponesset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popponesset
- Popponesset is located in Barnstable County
- Seconsett Island
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seconsett Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seconsett Island
- Seconsett Island is located in Barnstable County
- Teaticket
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north) - Falmouth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31,107 people
- Woods Hole
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Hole
- Woods Hole is located in Barnstable County
- East Falmouth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Falmouth
- East Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Popponesset Island
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Popponesset Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popponesset Island
- Popponesset Island is located in Barnstable County
- Seabrook
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north) - Cotuit
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Bristol County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Opening, with the one closest to West Opening listed first.
- Nonquitt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nonquitt
- Nonquitt is located in Bristol County
- South Dartmouth
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Dartmouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dartmouth
- South Dartmouth is located in Bristol County
- Apponagansett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apponagansett
- Apponagansett is located in Bristol County
- Bliss Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bliss Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss Corner
- Bliss Corner is located in Bristol County
- Fairhaven
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest) - New Bedford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bedford
- New Bedford is located in Bristol County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95,517 people
- Nantucket County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Opening, with the one closest to West Opening listed first.
- Nantucket
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantucket
- Nantucket is located in Nantucket County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,376 people
- Pocomo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocomo
- Pocomo is located in Nantucket County
- Siasconset
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Siasconset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siasconset
- Siasconset is located in Nantucket County
- Plymouth County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Opening, with the one closest to West Opening listed first.
- Marion
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Marion is located in Plymouth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,189 people
- Mattapoisett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mattapoisett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattapoisett
- Mattapoisett is located in Plymouth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,427 people
- Onset
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onset
- Onset is located in Plymouth County
- East Wareham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Wareham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wareham
- East Wareham is located in Plymouth County
- Briarwood Beach
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
- Briarwood Beach is located in Plymouth County
- Weweantic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Opening, see our County-by-County Page for West Opening.
Newspapers Published in West Opening ...
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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Opening.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Opening, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Opening.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Opening:
- 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
- Barnstable County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of 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
Cemeteries Near West Opening ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Opening.
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 Opening covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Opening, with the one closest to West Opening listed first.
- Town Hill Burying Ground
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Town Hill Burying Ground have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Town Hill Burying Ground
- Westside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westside Cemetery
- New Westside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Westside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Westside Cemetery
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sacred Heart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Cemetery
- West Chop Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Chop Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Chop Cemetery
- South End Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South End Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South End Cemetery
- Tisbury Village Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tisbury Village Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tisbury Village Cemetery
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
- West Tisbury Village Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- The West Tisbury Village Cemetery has also been known as:
- West Tisbury Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Tisbury Village Cemetery
- Christiantown Memorial Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Christiantown Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Christiantown Memorial Cemetery
- Lambert's Cove Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- To give a relative sense of its location, the Lambert's Cove Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the south of West Tisbury.
- The Lambert's Cove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lamberts Cove Road Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lambert's Cove Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91158 <3>
- Continue List (98 more) ...
- Abel's Hill Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- The Abel's Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
- Chilmark Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Abel's Hill Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90874 <3>
- Methodist Society Burying Ground
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- The Methodist Society Burying Ground has also been known as:
- Methodist Cemetery
- Old Methodist Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Methodist Society Burying Ground
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2314290 <3>
- Old Town Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Town Cemetery
- Abel's Hill 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>
While we didn't find West Opening in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Opening.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Opening, with the one closest to West Opening listed first.
- Katama
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Edgartown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgartown
- Edgartown is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,383 people
- Oak Bluffs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bluffs
- Oak Bluffs is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,696 people
- Vineyard Highlands
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vineyard Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyard Highlands
- Vineyard Highlands is located in Dukes County
- Vineyard Haven
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineyard Haven
- Vineyard Haven is located in Dukes County
- West Tisbury
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Tisbury
- West Tisbury is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,927 people
- West Chop
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - North Tisbury
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tisbury
- North Tisbury is located in Dukes County
- Chilmark
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - Falmouth Heights
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falmouth Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth Heights
- Falmouth Heights is located in Barnstable County
- Squibnocket
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Squibnocket have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squibnocket
- Squibnocket is located in Dukes County
- Teaticket
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north) - Continue List (15 more) ...
- Falmouth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31,107 people
- East Falmouth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Falmouth
- East Falmouth is located in Barnstable County
- Aquinnah
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquinnah
- Aquinnah is located in Dukes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
- Former name for Aquinnah:
- Gay Head
- Falmouth
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Opening. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Opening.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Opening. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Dukes County: www.dukescounty.org/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <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 Opening) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Opening. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3468, Longitude: -70.4953 In this case, the coordinates for West Opening have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Opening, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |