RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of New Hampshire >> Strafford County >> Durham >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
New Hampshire

The Commemorative Quarter for New Hampshire





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 Durham (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 Durham. 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.

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 doctors 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.

Durham is located in Strafford County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Strafford County: York (ME), Belknap, Carroll, Merrimack & Rockingham.

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

  • Strafford County     (The home county of Durham)
  • Belknap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durham, with the one closest to Durham listed first.
    • Barnstead
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barnstead have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnstead
      • Barnstead is located in Belknap County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,777 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Barnstead <2>
    • Alton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Alton Bay
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lower Gilmanton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Carroll County
    • Brookfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
      • Brookfield is located in Carroll County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 688 people
  • Hillsborough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durham, with the one closest to Durham listed first.
    • Massabesic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Manchester
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Pinardville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinardville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinardville
      • Pinardville is located in Hillsborough County
  • Merrimack County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durham, with the one closest to Durham listed first.
    • Epsom
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Epsom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epsom
      • Epsom is located in Merrimack County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,824 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Epsom <2>
    • Gossville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Pittsfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Websters Mill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Allenstown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Chichester
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Horse Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Pembroke
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • South Hooksett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Hooksett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hooksett
      • South Hooksett is located in Merrimack County
    • Suncook
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Loudon Center
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hooksett
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Martin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
      • Martin is located in Merrimack County
  • Rockingham County
  • Essex County (MA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durham, with the one closest to Durham listed first.
    • Amesbury
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Salisbury
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salisbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
      • Salisbury is located in Essex County (MA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,591 people
    • Merrimac
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merrimac have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
      • Merrimac is located in Essex County (MA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,972 people
    • Newburyport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Rocks Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocks Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocks Village
      • Rocks Village is located in Essex County (MA)
    • West Newbury
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Newbury
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbury
      • Newbury is located in Essex County (MA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,175 people
    • Byfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Byfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byfield
      • Byfield is located in Essex County (MA)
    • Haverhill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Newbury Old Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newbury Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbury Old Town
      • Newbury Old Town is located in Essex County (MA)
    • Bradford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Groveland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Ayers Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ayers Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers Village
      • Ayers Village is located in Essex County (MA)
  • York County (ME)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durham, with the one closest to Durham listed first.
    • Eliot
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eliot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eliot
      • Eliot is located in York County (ME)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,115 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eliot <2>
    • South Eliot
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Eliot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Eliot
      • South Eliot is located in York County (ME)
    • Berwick
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • South Berwick
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Admiralty Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Admiralty Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Admiralty Village
      • Admiralty Village is located in York County (ME)
    • Beech Ridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Kittery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Payneton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Kittery Point
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Bedell Crossing
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • York Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for York Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York Village
      • York Village is located in York County (ME)
    • York
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for York have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
      • York is located in York County (ME)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,329 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for York <2>
    • Agamenticus Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Agamenticus Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agamenticus Village
      • Agamenticus Village is located in York County (ME)

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

Cemeteries Near Durham ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Durham.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Durham, with the one closest to Durham listed first.

  • Stevens Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Demeritt Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Demeritt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Demeritt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Durham Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Durham Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Durham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Griffiths Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Griffiths Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Griffiths Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mathes Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mathes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mathes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jenkins Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jenkins Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jenkins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Torr Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Torr Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Torr Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Randall Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Randall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Randall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gluke Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gluke Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gluke Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sanders Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sanders Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sanders Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • James Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the James Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (326 more) ...
    • Budge Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Budge Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Budge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Hayes Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hayes Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hayes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Layne Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Layne Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Layne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Durham had a population of 358 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Durham had a population of 16,441 people.

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

  • Madbury
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madbury
    • Madbury is located in Strafford County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,879 people
  • Newmarket
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Sawyers
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyers have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyers
    • Sawyers is located in Strafford County
  • Lee
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
    • Lee is located in Strafford County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,597 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lee <2>
  • Wadley Falls
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wadley Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadley Falls
    • Wadley Falls is located in Strafford County
  • Stratham Station
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratham Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratham Station
    • Stratham Station is located in Rockingham County
  • Newington
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Newington Station
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Dover
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • South Lee
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Lee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lee
    • South Lee is located in Strafford County
  • Bayside
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayside
    • Bayside is located in Rockingham County
  • East Barrington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Barrington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Barrington
    • East Barrington is located in Strafford County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • South Barrington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Barrington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barrington
      • South Barrington is located in Strafford County
    • Stratham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • South Eliot
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Eliot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Eliot
      • South Eliot is located in York County (ME)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Durham ...

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 106 newspapers that have been published in the area around Durham.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Durham. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Durham and those printed in the larger area surrounding Durham.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<6> of Durham.

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 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 Durham:

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

The official website for Strafford County: www.co.strafford.nh.us/

The official website for State of New Hampshire: https://www.nh.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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<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 Durham, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Durham) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Durham. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1342, Longitude: -70.9266    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025