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 Thornton (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 Thornton. 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 Thornton ...
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 Thornton: W. Thornton
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 Thornton is located in Grafton 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 Grafton County: Belknap, Carroll, Coos, Merrimack, Sullivan, Caledonia (VT), Essex (VT), Orange (VT) & Windsor (VT).
Below are the counties that are near West Thornton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Thornton:
- Grafton County (The home county of West Thornton)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Thornton, with the one closest to West Thornton listed first.
- Woodstock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Thornton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ellsworth
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ellsworth is located in Grafton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
- Campton Lower Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Campton Upper Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- North Woodstock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lincoln
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Campton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- The Village of Loon Mountain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Warren
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Quincy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Quincy is located in Grafton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
- Rumney
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Belknap County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Thornton, with the one closest to West Thornton listed first.
- Winona
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Winona is located in Belknap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winona
- Center Harbor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Meredith
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Hampton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Interlaken Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Interlaken Park is located in Belknap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Interlaken Park
- Gaza
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Gaza is located in Belknap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaza
- Wildwood Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Wildwood Village is located in Belknap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Village
- Glendale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Glendale is located in Belknap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Laconia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Gilford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Samoset
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Samoset is located in Belknap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoset
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Thornton, with the one closest to West Thornton listed first.
- Chicks Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Chicks Corner is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicks Corner
- Whiteface
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Whiteface is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteface
- Big Rock Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Big Rock Corner is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock Corner
- North Sandwich
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ferncroft
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Ferncroft is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferncroft
- Wonalancet
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Wonalancet is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wonalancet
- Passaconaway
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Passaconaway is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Passaconaway
- Sandwich
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sandwich is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandwich
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,367 people
- Livermore
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Livermore is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
- Moultonborough
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Albany
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Notchland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Notchland is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Notchland
- Coos County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Thornton, with the one closest to West Thornton listed first.
- Hadleys Purchase
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hadleys Purchase is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadleys Purchase
- Cutts Grant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cutts Grant is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutts Grant
- Fabyan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fabyan is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fabyan
- Carroll
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Carroll is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
- Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
- Beans Grant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Beans Grant is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Grant
- Crawfords Purchase
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Crawfords Purchase is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawfords Purchase
- Chandlers Purchase
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chandlers Purchase is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandlers Purchase
- Sargents Purchase
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sargents Purchase is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargents Purchase
- Whitefield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Pinkhams Grant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pinkhams Grant is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkhams Grant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9 people
- Merrimack County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Thornton, with the one closest to West Thornton listed first.
- Hill Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hill Center is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Center
- Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hill is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,115 people
- Danbury
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Caledonia County (VT)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Thornton, with the one closest to West Thornton listed first.
- Ryegate Corner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ryegate Corner is located in Caledonia County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryegate Corner
- McIndoe Falls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- McIndoe Falls is located in Caledonia County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIndoe Falls
- Ryegate
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ryegate is located in Caledonia County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryegate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,084 people
- Lower Waterford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Orange County (VT)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Thornton, with the one closest to West Thornton listed first.
- Newbury
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- South Newbury
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- South Newbury is located in Orange County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Newbury
- Bradford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Wells River
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bradford
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bradford is located in Orange County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,684 people
- Fairlee
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Fairlee is located in Orange County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 976 people
- Fairlee
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- West Newbury
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- West Newbury is located in Orange County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Newbury
- Newbury
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Newbury is located in Orange County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,145 people
- Ely
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Ely is located in Orange County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely
- Newbury Center
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Newbury Center is located in Orange County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbury Center
- West Fairlee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- West Fairlee is located in Orange County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairlee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Windsor County (VT)
- Pompanoosuc
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pompanoosuc is located in Windsor County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pompanoosuc
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Thornton, see our County-by-County Page for West Thornton.
Cemeteries Near West Thornton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Thornton.
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 Thornton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Thornton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Thornton, with the one closest to West Thornton listed first.
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Pine Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the northwest of Thornton.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #103040 <3>
- Mad River Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Riverside Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Blair Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Campton Hollow Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Highland Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Riverside Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Plymouth.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #103087 <3>
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Trinity Churchyard Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Prescott Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kinsman Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Squam Bridge Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Continue List (162 more) ...
- Grove Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- East Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- North Groton Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that West Thornton had a population of 105 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Thornton, with the one closest to West Thornton listed first.
- Woodstock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Thornton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Campton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- West Campton is located in Grafton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Campton
- North Woodstock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Campton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Blair
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Blair is located in Grafton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
- Warren
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Rumney
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rumney Depot
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rumney Depot is located in Grafton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumney Depot
- Quincy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Quincy is located in Grafton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
- Wildwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wildwood is located in Grafton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
- West Rumney
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Rumney is located in Grafton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rumney
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- West Plymouth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- West Plymouth is located in Grafton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plymouth
- Plymouth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Wentworth
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Thornton. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Thornton.
Newspapers Published in West Thornton ...
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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Thornton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Thornton, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Thornton.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Thornton:
- Websites specific to New Hampshire
- Pages specific to Grafton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Belknap County
- Carroll County
- Coos County
- Merrimack County
- Caledonia County
- Orange County
- Windsor 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Thornton) 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 Thornton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |