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 Derry (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 Derry. 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 Derry ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Derry: W. Derry
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Derry. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Derry.
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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
West Derry is located in Rockingham County.
To see how the shape of New Hampshire's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Rockingham County: Essex (MA), York (ME), Hillsborough, Merrimack & Strafford.
Below are the counties that are near West Derry. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Derry:
- Rockingham County (The home county of West Derry)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Derry
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Derry Village
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Derry Village is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry Village
- Londonderry
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Wilson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Hubbard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hubbard is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard
- Windham
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- North Salem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hampstead
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Chester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sandown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Atkinson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Auburn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Hillsborough County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- East Merrimack
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- East Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Merrimack
- Litchfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Merrimack
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Reeds Ferry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- Massabesic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Massabesic is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massabesic
- Pelham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Hudson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Nashua
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bedford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Manchester
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pinardville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pinardville is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinardville
- South Merrimack
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- South Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Merrimack
- Merrimack County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- South Hooksett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- South Hooksett is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hooksett
- Martin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Martin is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
- Hooksett
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Suncook
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Allenstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Pembroke
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bow
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bow is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,063 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bow <1>
- Dunbarton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dunbarton is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbarton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,916 people
- Bow Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bow Junction is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow Junction
- Epsom
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Gossville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Gossville is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gossville
- Concord
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Strafford County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Glenmere Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Glenmere Village is located in Strafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmere Village
- Lee
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lee is located in Strafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,597 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lee <1>
- Bow Lake Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bow Lake Village is located in Strafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow Lake Village
- Bow Lake Village has also been known as:
- Bow Lake
- Durham
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Barrington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- East Barrington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- East Barrington is located in Strafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Barrington
- Madbury
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Madbury is located in Strafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,879 people
- Essex County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Ayers Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ayers Village is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers Village
- Tozier Corner
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tozier Corner is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tozier Corner
- Methuen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Methuen is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Methuen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50,910 people
- Haverhill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Haverhill is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haverhill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64,098 people
- Lawrence
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lawrence is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80,007 people
- Ward Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ward Hill is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward Hill
- Bradford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bradford is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- North Andover
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- North Andover is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Andover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31,460 people
- Merrimac
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Merrimac is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,972 people
- Andover
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Andover is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,554 people
- Groveland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Groveland is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,868 people
- Haggetts
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Haggetts is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haggetts
- Middlesex County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Collinsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Collinsville is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
- Dracut
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Dracut is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dracut
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31,423 people
- Tyngsbororough
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Tyngsbororough is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyngsbororough
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,646 people
- Dunstable
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dunstable is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunstable
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,404 people
- Lowell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Lowell is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110,904 people
- Middlesex Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Middlesex Village is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex Village
- North Chelmsford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- North Chelmsford is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chelmsford
- Princeton Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Princeton Village is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton Village
- Ayres City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Ayres City is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres City
- Tewksbury
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Tewksbury is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tewksbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,970 people
- Babbatasset Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Babbatasset Village is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babbatasset Village
- East Pepperell
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- East Pepperell is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Pepperell
- Worcester County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Shaker Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shaker Village is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- Lunenburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lunenburg is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunenburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,810 people
- Harvard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Harvard is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,618 people
- Lunenburg Station
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lunenburg Station is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunenburg Station
- Fitchburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fitchburg is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,310 people
- Still River
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Still River is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Still River
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Derry, see our County-by-County Page for West Derry.
Cemeteries Near West Derry ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Derry.
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 West Derry - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Derry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Glen Wood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Wood Cemetery
- The Glen Wood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Glenwood Cemetery
- Old Hill Graveyard
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Hill Graveyard
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Old Hill Graveyard is located less than 2 miles<2> to the west of Derry.
- Pinkerton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pillsbury Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pillsbury Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Pillsbury Cemetery is located outside and to the west of Derry.
- Valley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Forest Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Boyd Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Senter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cemetery on the Plains
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Stowell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (504 more) ...
- Cemetery on the Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cemetery on the Hill
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Cemetery on the Hill is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the west of Salem.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #102809 <3>
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
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 Derry in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Derry.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Derry, with the one closest to West Derry listed first.
- Derry
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Londonderry
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Windham Depot
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Windham Depot is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham Depot
- East Derry
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Derry is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Derry
- Wilson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- West Windham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- West Windham is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Windham
- Hubbard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hubbard is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard
- North Londonderry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Londonderry is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Londonderry
- Windham
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- North Salem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Hampstead
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- West Hampstead is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hampstead
- Hudson Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hudson Center is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson Center
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Hampstead
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Chester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Goffs Falls
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Goffs Falls is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goffs Falls
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Derry. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Derry.
Newspapers Published in West Derry ...
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 143 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Derry.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Derry, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Derry.
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 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 Derry:
- Websites specific to New Hampshire
- Pages specific to Rockingham County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hillsborough County
- Merrimack County
- Strafford County
- Essex County
- Middlesex County
- Worcester County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New Hampshire
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> | 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 Derry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Derry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |