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 Hampstead (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 Hampstead. 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 Hampstead ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Hampstead: W. Hampstead
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 and hospitals 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 Hampstead 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 Hampstead. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Hampstead:
- Rockingham County (The home county of West Hampstead)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hampstead, with the one closest to West Hampstead listed first.
- Sandown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hampstead
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hubbard
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hubbard is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard
- Danville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Chester
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Salem
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Derry Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Derry Village is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry Village
- Atkinson
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Derry
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fremont
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Salem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Plaistow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Westville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Westville is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Belknap County
- Barnstead
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Hillsborough County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hampstead, with the one closest to West Hampstead listed first.
- Massabesic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Massabesic is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massabesic
- Pelham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Manchester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- East Merrimack
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- East Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Merrimack
- Litchfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Reeds Ferry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- Hudson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Merrimack
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Pinardville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pinardville is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinardville
- Nashua
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bedford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Grasmere
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Grasmere is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grasmere
- South Merrimack
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- 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 Hampstead, with the one closest to West Hampstead listed first.
- South Hooksett
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- South Hooksett is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hooksett
- Martin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Martin is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
- Hooksett
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Allenstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Suncook
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Pembroke
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Epsom
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Gossville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Gossville is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gossville
- Bow
(23 miles [37 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>
- Bow Junction
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bow Junction is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow Junction
- Dunbarton
(24 miles [38.6 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
- Chichester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Horse Corner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Horse Corner is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Corner
- Strafford County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hampstead, with the one closest to West Hampstead listed first.
- Glenmere Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Glenmere Village is located in Strafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmere Village
- Lee
(18 miles [29 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>
- Durham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Barrington
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bow Lake Village
(23 miles [37 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
- Madbury
(23 miles [37 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
- East Barrington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- East Barrington is located in Strafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Barrington
- Dover
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Strafford Corner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Strafford Corner is located in Strafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strafford Corner
- Pickering
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pickering is located in Strafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickering
- Strafford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Rochester
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rollinsford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Essex County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hampstead, with the one closest to West Hampstead listed first.
- Ayers Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Ayers Village is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers Village
- Tozier Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Tozier Corner is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tozier Corner
- Bradford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bradford is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Haverhill
(11 miles [17.7 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
- Merrimac
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Merrimac is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,972 people
- Ward Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ward Hill is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward Hill
- Methuen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Methuen is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Methuen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50,910 people
- Rocks Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rocks Village is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocks Village
- Lawrence
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Lawrence is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80,007 people
- Groveland
(13 miles [20.9 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
- West Newbury
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- West Newbury is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Newbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,781 people
- Amesbury
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Amesbury is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amesbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,537 people
- North Andover
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- North Andover is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Andover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 31,460 people
- Middlesex County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hampstead, with the one closest to West Hampstead listed first.
- Dracut
(16 miles [25.7 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
- Collinsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Collinsville is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
- Lowell
(18 miles [29 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
- Tyngsbororough
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Tyngsbororough is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyngsbororough
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,646 people
- Ayres City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Ayres City is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres City
- Middlesex Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Middlesex Village is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex Village
- Princeton Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Princeton Village is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton Village
- Tewksbury
(20 miles [32.2 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
- Dunstable
(20 miles [32.2 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
- North Chelmsford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- North Chelmsford is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chelmsford
- Chelmsford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Chelmsford is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelmsford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 35,528 people
- North Billerica
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- North Billerica is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Billerica
- Billerica
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Billerica is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billerica
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43,021 people
- Worcester County (MA)
- Shaker Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Shaker Village is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- York County (ME)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Hampstead, with the one closest to West Hampstead listed first.
- South Eliot
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- South Eliot is located in York County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Eliot
- Admiralty Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Admiralty Village is located in York County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Admiralty Village
- Eliot
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Kittery
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Kittery Point
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bedell Crossing
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bedell Crossing is located in York County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedell Crossing
- Beech Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Beech Ridge is located in York County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Ridge
- Berwick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- South Berwick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Hampstead, see our County-by-County Page for West Hampstead.
Cemeteries Near West Hampstead ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Hampstead.
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 Hampstead - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Hampstead covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Hampstead, with the one closest to West Hampstead listed first.
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Lakeview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Old Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Center Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wells Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Forest Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- North Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hadley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Knoll Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Village Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- New Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (521 more) ...
- Soldiers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Center Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Old Meeting House Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, West Hampstead had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Hampstead, with the one closest to West Hampstead listed first.
- Hubbard
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hubbard is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard
- Hampstead
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sandown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Hampstead
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- East Derry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- East Derry is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Derry
- North Salem
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Danville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Chester
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Derry
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Atkinson
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- North Danville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- North Danville is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Danville
- Windham Depot
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Windham Depot is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham Depot
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Salem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Westville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Westville is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Plaistow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Hampstead. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Hampstead.
Newspapers Published in West Hampstead ...
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 115 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Hampstead.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Hampstead, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Hampstead.
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 Hampstead:
- Websites specific to New Hampshire
- Pages specific to Rockingham County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Belknap County
- Hillsborough County
- Merrimack County
- Strafford County
- Essex County
- Middlesex County
- Worcester County
- York 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Hampstead, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 Hampstead) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |