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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 Windsor (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 Windsor. 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 Windsor ...

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

  • Windsor was settled in 1767.
  • It was incorporated in 1771.

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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Windsor is located in Berkshire 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 Berkshire County: Litchfield (CT), Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Columbia (NY), Rensselaer (NY) & Bennington (VT).

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

  • Berkshire County     (The home county of Windsor)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor, with the one closest to Windsor listed first.
    • Savoy
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Peru
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Peru is also located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 833 people
    • East Windsor
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Savoy Center
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Arnoldville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Cheshire
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Town Crest Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Town Crest Village is also located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Crest Village
    • Dalton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dalton is also located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,479 people
    • Hinsdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Hinsdale is also located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinsdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,902 people
    • Berkshire
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Berkshire is also located in Berkshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
    • Farnams
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Adams
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor, with the one closest to Windsor listed first.
    • West Hawley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • West Hawley is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hawley
    • Hawley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Hawley is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
    • Charlemont
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ashfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • South Ashfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Monroe
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Monroe is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
    • Buckland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Buckland is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,851 people
    • Rowe
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Monroe Bridge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Monroe Bridge is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe Bridge
    • Dell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Heath
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • North Heath
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Hampden County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor, with the one closest to Windsor listed first.
    • North Chester
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Chester
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Chester is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,365 people
    • Chester Center
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • North Blandford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Blandford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Blandford is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,249 people
    • Montgomery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Montgomery is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 863 people
    • Russell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Woronoco
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hampton Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Hampton Village is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton Village
    • Tolland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Tolland is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
    • West Granville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Holyoke
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor, with the one closest to Windsor listed first.
    • Plainfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Plainfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 663 people
    • Cummington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Worthington Corners
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Swift River
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Worthington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Worthington is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,176 people
    • Middlefield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Middlefield is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
    • West Chesterfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • West Chesterfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chesterfield
    • Goshen
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Chesterfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Chesterfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,250 people
    • Williamsburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Haydenville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Haydenville is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haydenville
    • Huntington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Huntington is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,159 people
  • Columbia County (NY)
  • Rensselaer County (NY)
  • Bennington County (VT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Windsor, with the one closest to Windsor listed first.
    • Stamford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Readsboro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Stamford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Stamford is located in Bennington County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stamford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
    • Readsboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Readsboro is located in Bennington County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readsboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 720 people
    • Pownal
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Pownal is located in Bennington County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pownal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,386 people
    • Pownal Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Woodford is located in Bennington County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 398 people
    • Woodford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Bennington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Searsburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Searsburg is located in Bennington County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Woodford Hollow
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Bennington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Bennington is located in Bennington County (VT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,897 people
  • Windham County (VT)

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

Cemeteries Near Windsor ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Windsor.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Windsor, with the one closest to Windsor 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 Windsor had a population of 40 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Windsor had a population of 860 people.

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

  • Peru
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Peru is also located in Berkshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 833 people
  • East Windsor
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Savoy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • West Hawley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • West Hawley is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hawley
  • Dalton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dalton is also located in Berkshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,479 people
  • Hinsdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hinsdale is also located in Berkshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinsdale
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,902 people
  • West Worthington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • West Worthington is located in Hampshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Worthington
  • Savoy Center
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Cheshire
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Cheshire Harbor
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Cheshire Harbor is also located in Berkshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheshire Harbor
  • Farnams
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Berkshire
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Berkshire is also located in Berkshire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Windsor ...

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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Windsor.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Windsor, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Windsor.

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 Windsor:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Windsor) 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 Windsor, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.