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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 Ossipee (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 Ossipee. 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 Ossipee ...

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 Ossipee: W. Ossipee

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 Ossipee is located in Carroll 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 Carroll County: Oxford (ME), York (ME), Belknap, Coos, Grafton & Strafford.

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

  • Carroll County     (The home county of West Ossipee)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Ossipee, with the one closest to West Ossipee listed first.
    • Ossipee Valley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Ossipee Valley is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ossipee Valley
    • Chocorua
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Tamworth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Whittier
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Whittier is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittier
    • Silver Lake
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • South Tamworth
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • South Tamworth is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Tamworth
    • Madison
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • East Madison
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • East Madison is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Madison
    • Chickville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Chickville is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chickville
    • Freedom
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Eaton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Ferncroft
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Ferncroft is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferncroft
    • North Sandwich
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Belknap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Ossipee, with the one closest to West Ossipee listed first.
    • Center Harbor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Samoset
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Samoset is located in Belknap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoset
    • Meredith
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Spring Haven
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Spring Haven is located in Belknap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Haven
    • West Alton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • West Alton is located in Belknap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Alton
    • Glendale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Glendale is located in Belknap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Interlaken Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Interlaken Park is located in Belknap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Interlaken Park
    • Winona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Winona is located in Belknap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winona
    • Gilford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Alton Bay
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Laconia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Wildwood Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Wildwood Village is located in Belknap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Village
    • Alton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Alton is located in Belknap County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,364 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alton <1>
  • Coos County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Ossipee, with the one closest to West Ossipee listed first.
    • Hadleys Purchase
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Hadleys Purchase is located in Coos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadleys Purchase
    • Sargents Purchase
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Sargents Purchase is located in Coos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargents Purchase
    • Cutts Grant
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Cutts Grant is located in Coos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutts Grant
    • Beans Grant
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Beans Grant is located in Coos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Grant
    • Pinkhams Grant
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Pinkhams Grant is located in Coos County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkhams Grant
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9 people
  • Grafton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Ossipee, with the one closest to West Ossipee listed first.
    • Waterville Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Holderness
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Campton Lower Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Campton Upper Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Campton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Thornton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Ashland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Plymouth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • The Village of Loon Mountain
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodstock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ellsworth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Ellsworth is located in Grafton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
    • Lincoln
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • North Woodstock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Strafford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Ossipee, with the one closest to West Ossipee listed first.
    • Middleton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Middleton is located in Strafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,832 people
    • New Durham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Davis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Davis is located in Strafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
    • Farmington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Milton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Milton is located in Strafford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,614 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milton <1>
  • Cumberland County (ME)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Ossipee, with the one closest to West Ossipee listed first.
    • West Baldwin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • West Baldwin is located in Cumberland County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Baldwin
    • Baldwin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Baldwin is located in Cumberland County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,641 people
    • West Bridgton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • West Bridgton is located in Cumberland County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bridgton
    • Sebago
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Sebago is located in Cumberland County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebago
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,844 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sebago <1>
    • Steep Falls
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • South Bridgton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • South Bridgton is located in Cumberland County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bridgton
    • Sandy Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Sandy Creek is located in Cumberland County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Creek
    • Bridgton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bridgton is located in Cumberland County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,509 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgton <1>
  • Oxford County (ME)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Ossipee, with the one closest to West Ossipee listed first.
    • Porter
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Porter is located in Oxford County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,525 people
    • Merrill Corner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Merrill Corner is located in Oxford County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill Corner
    • Kezar Falls
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Kezar Falls is located in Oxford County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kezar Falls
    • Brownfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • East Brownfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • East Brownfield is located in Oxford County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brownfield
    • Fryeburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Durgintown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Durgintown is located in Oxford County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durgintown
    • East Hiram
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • East Hiram is located in Oxford County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hiram
    • Hiram
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Hiram is located in Oxford County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiram
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,659 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hiram <1>
    • Rankins Mill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Rankins Mill is located in Oxford County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rankins Mill
    • Fryeburg Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Fryeburg Center is located in Oxford County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fryeburg Center
    • Denmark
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Denmark is located in Oxford County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,153 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Denmark <1>
    • East Fryeburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • East Fryeburg is located in Oxford County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Fryeburg
  • York County (ME)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Ossipee, with the one closest to West Ossipee listed first.
    • North Parsonsfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • North Parsonsfield is located in York County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Parsonsfield
    • South Effingham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • South Effingham is located in York County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Effingham
    • Parsonsfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Stevens Corner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Stevens Corner is located in York County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Corner
    • Mee Corners
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Mee Corners is located in York County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mee Corners
    • West Newfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • East Parsonsfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • East Parsonsfield is located in York County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Parsonsfield
    • Cornish
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Newfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Limerick
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • North Shapleigh
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • North Shapleigh is located in York County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shapleigh
    • Sprague City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Sprague City is located in York County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprague City
    • Acton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Acton is located in York County (ME)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,636 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Acton <1>

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

Cemeteries Near West Ossipee ...

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

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

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

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

  • Riverside Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Chocorua Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Grant Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Madison Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Chickville Cemetery (New)
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Chickville Cemetery (Old)
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Stevenson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Hubbard Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Shaw Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Shannon Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Bodge Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (244 more) ...
    • Albany Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Little Pond Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Brown Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)

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 West Ossipee had a population of 125 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Ossipee Valley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ossipee Valley is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ossipee Valley
  • Chocorua
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Tamworth
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Silver Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • South Tamworth
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • South Tamworth is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Tamworth
  • Moultonville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Moultonville is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moultonville
  • Center Ossipee
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Madison
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • East Madison
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • East Madison is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Madison
  • Effingham Falls
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Effingham Falls is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effingham Falls
  • Freedom
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Water Village
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Water Village is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Village
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Eaton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Snowville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • North Sandwich
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in West Ossipee ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Ossipee.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Ossipee, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Ossipee.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Ossipee:

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 Ossipee, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- West Ossipee) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.