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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 Wilbraham (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 Wilbraham. 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.

A Few Details for Wilbraham ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • Wilbraham was settled in 1730.
  • It was incorporated in 1763.

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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Wilbraham is located in Hampden 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 Hampden County: Hartford (CT), Litchfield (CT), Tolland (CT), Berkshire, Hampshire & Worcester.

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

  • Hampden County     (The home county of Wilbraham)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilbraham, with the one closest to Wilbraham listed first.
    • North Wilbraham
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Ludlow
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Ludlow is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,101 people
    • Indian Orchard
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Hampden
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Hampden is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,154 people
    • Monson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Palmer
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Three Rivers
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Baptist Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Baptist Village is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baptist Village
    • East Longmeadow
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • East Longmeadow is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Longmeadow
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,093 people
    • Tenneyville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Thorndike
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Thorndike is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorndike
    • South Factory Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ludlow City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ludlow City is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow City
  • Franklin County
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilbraham, with the one closest to Wilbraham listed first.
    • Bondsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
    • Belchertown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Granby
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Granby is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,262 people
    • South Hadley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ware
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Enfield ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Mount Tom
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • South Amherst
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • South Amherst is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amherst
    • Easthampton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Southampton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Southampton is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southampton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,162 people
    • Amherst Center
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Amherst Center is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Center
    • East Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • East Village is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
    • Hadley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Worcester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilbraham, with the one closest to Wilbraham listed first.
    • West Warren
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Warren
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Warren is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,203 people
    • Fiskdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • West Brookfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Brookfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Brookfield is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,439 people
    • Old Sturbridge Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Greenwich ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Gilbertville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sturbridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Sturbridge is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturbridge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,561 people
    • Globe Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Globe Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe Village
    • Greenwich Village ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hardwick
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Hardwick is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardwick
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,047 people
    • East Brookfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Hartford County (CT)
  • Litchfield County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilbraham, with the one closest to Wilbraham listed first.
    • Hampsted
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Hampsted is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampsted
    • Barkhamsted
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Barkhamsted
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Barkhamsted is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkhamsted
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,587 people
  • Tolland County (CT)
  • Windham County (CT)

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

Cemeteries Near Wilbraham ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilbraham.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wilbraham, with the one closest to Wilbraham 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Wilbraham had a population of 700 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Wilbraham had a population of 14,670 people.

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

  • North Wilbraham
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Red Bridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Red Bridge is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bridge
  • Ludlow
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ludlow is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,101 people
  • Ludlow Center
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Ludlow Center is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow Center
  • Hampden
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Hampden is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,154 people
  • Indian Orchard
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • East Longmeadow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • East Longmeadow is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Longmeadow
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,093 people
  • Monson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Palmer
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Three Rivers
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • South Monson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • South Monson is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Monson
  • North Monson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • North Monson is located in Hampden County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Monson
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Thorndike
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Thorndike is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorndike
    • Athol Junction
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Athol Junction is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol Junction
    • Bondsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville

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

Newspapers Published in Wilbraham ...

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 184 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilbraham.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilbraham, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilbraham.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Wilbraham:

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