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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 Alton (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 Alton. 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 Alton ...

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 Alton: W. Alton

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 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.

West Alton is located in Belknap 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 Belknap County: Carroll, Grafton, Merrimack & Strafford.

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

  • Belknap County     (The home county of West Alton)
  • Carroll County
  • Grafton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Alton, with the one closest to West Alton listed first.
    • Ashland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Holderness
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Bristol
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Bridgewater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridgewater have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgewater
      • Bridgewater is located in Grafton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,082 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgewater <3>
    • Plymouth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Alexandria
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • South Alexandria
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Waterville Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterville Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterville Valley
      • Waterville Valley is located in Grafton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 242 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waterville Valley <3>
    • Campton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campton
      • Campton is located in Grafton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,335 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campton <3>
    • Campton Lower Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campton Lower Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campton Lower Village
      • Campton Lower Village is located in Grafton County
    • Hebron
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hebron have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
      • Hebron is located in Grafton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 633 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hebron <3>
    • Campton Upper Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campton Upper Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campton Upper Village
      • Campton Upper Village is located in Grafton County
    • Groton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Merrimack County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Alton, with the one closest to West Alton listed first.
    • Loudon Center
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Northfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northfield
      • Northfield is located in Merrimack County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,979 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Northfield <3>
    • Shaker Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 Merrimack County
    • Pittsfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Websters Mill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Franklin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Canterbury
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Loudon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loudon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loudon
      • Loudon is located in Merrimack County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,697 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loudon <3>
    • Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Chichester
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Hill Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Boscawen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Boyce
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Boyce. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyce
      • Boyce is located in Merrimack County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Boyce
      • From West Alton to Boyce
  • Rockingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Alton, with the one closest to West Alton listed first.
    • Northwood Ridge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Northwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Deerfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deerfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
      • Deerfield is located in Rockingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,564 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deerfield <3>
    • James City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for James City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James City
      • James City is located in Rockingham County
    • Deerfield Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Strafford County
  • Oxford County (ME)
  • York County (ME)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Alton, with the one closest to West Alton listed first.
    • Stevens Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Mee Corners
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • South Effingham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Acton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Acton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
      • Acton is located in York County (ME)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,636 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Acton <3>
    • West Newfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Newfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Newfield
      • West Newfield is located in York County (ME)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Newfield <3>
    • Parsonsfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parsonsfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsonsfield
      • Parsonsfield is located in York County (ME)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,971 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parsonsfield <3>
    • Shapleigh
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shapleigh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shapleigh
      • Shapleigh is located in York County (ME)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,769 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shapleigh <3>
    • Newfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Sprague City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sprague City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprague City
      • Sprague City is located in York County (ME)
    • North Parsonsfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Ross Corner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Lebanon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lebanon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon
      • Lebanon is located in York County (ME)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,435 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lebanon <3>
    • East Parsonsfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near West Alton ...

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

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

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

  • West Alton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Alton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Alton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Swetts Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swetts Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swetts Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McCoy Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCoy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCoy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hersey Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hersey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hersey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Lambert Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Lambert Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Lambert Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Lamberts Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Union Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lamprey Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Alton Bay Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (260 more) ...

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 Alton had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Spring Haven
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Mount Major
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Major have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Major
    • Mount Major is located in Belknap County
  • Lake Shore Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Shore Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore Park
    • Lake Shore Park is located in Belknap County
  • Gilford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilford
    • Gilford is located in Belknap County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,278 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilford <3>
  • Wolfeboro
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mirror Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mirror Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mirror Lake
    • Mirror Lake is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mirror Lake <3>
  • Alton Bay
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • South Wolfeboro
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Center Tuftonboro
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center Tuftonboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Tuftonboro
    • Center Tuftonboro is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Center Tuftonboro <3>
  • Laconia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Alton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Fernald
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Wolfeboro Center
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Gilmanton Ironworks
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilmanton Ironworks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmanton Ironworks
      • Gilmanton Ironworks is located in Belknap County
    • Tuftonboro
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tuftonboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuftonboro
      • Tuftonboro is located in Carroll County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,436 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tuftonboro <3>

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

Newspapers Published in West Alton ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Alton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Alton, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Alton.

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 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 Alton:

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

The official website for Belknap County: www.belknapcounty.org/

The official website for State of New Hampshire: https://www.nh.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 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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Alton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Alton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.5519, Longitude: -71.3115    
<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 Alton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025