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 Windham (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 Windham. 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 Windham ...
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 Windham: W. Windham
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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 Windham 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 Windham. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Windham:
- Rockingham County (The home county of West Windham)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Windham, with the one closest to West Windham listed first.
- Windham
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Londonderry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Derry
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- North Salem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Derry Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Derry Village is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry Village
- Salem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Wilson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Wilson is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Hubbard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hubbard is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard
- Wilson Corners
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Wilson Corners is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Corners
- Hampstead
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Atkinson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Chester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsborough County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Windham, with the one closest to West Windham listed first.
- Pelham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hudson
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Nashua
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Litchfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- East Merrimack
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- East Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Merrimack
- Merrimack
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Reeds Ferry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- South Merrimack
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- South Merrimack is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Merrimack
- Hollis Depot
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hollis Depot is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Depot
- Bedford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hollis
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- East Milford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- East Milford is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Milford
- Merrimack County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Windham, with the one closest to West Windham listed first.
- South Hooksett
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- South Hooksett is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hooksett
- Martin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Martin is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
- Hooksett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Suncook
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Allenstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Pembroke
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bow
(24 miles [38.6 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
(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
- Bow Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bow Junction is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow Junction
- Concord
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Epsom
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Gossville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Gossville is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gossville
- Strafford County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Windham, with the one closest to West Windham listed first.
- Glenmere Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Glenmere Village is located in Strafford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmere Village
- Lee
(28 miles [45.1 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>
- Essex County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Windham, with the one closest to West Windham listed first.
- Ayers Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Ayers Village is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers Village
- Tozier Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Tozier Corner is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tozier Corner
- Methuen
(10 miles [16.1 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
- Lawrence
(11 miles [17.7 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
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Ward Hill is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward Hill
- Haggetts
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Haggetts is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haggetts
- North Andover
(13 miles [20.9 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
- Shawsheen Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Shawsheen Village is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawsheen Village
- West Andover
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- West Andover is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Andover
- Bradford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Bradford is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Haverhill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Haverhill is located in Essex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haverhill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64,098 people
- Andover
(14 miles [22.5 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
- Middlesex County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Windham, with the one closest to West Windham listed first.
- Collinsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Collinsville is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
- Dracut
(9 miles [14.5 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
(9 miles [14.5 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
- Lowell
(11 miles [17.7 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
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Middlesex Village is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex Village
- North Chelmsford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- North Chelmsford is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chelmsford
- Princeton Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Princeton Village is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton Village
- Dunstable
(11 miles [17.7 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
- Ayres City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Ayres City is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres City
- Chelmsford
(14 miles [22.5 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
- Babbatasset Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Babbatasset Village is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babbatasset Village
- East Pepperell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- East Pepperell is located in Middlesex County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Pepperell
- Suffolk County (MA)
- Franklin Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin Park is located in Suffolk County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Park
- Worcester County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Windham, with the one closest to West Windham listed first.
- Shaker Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Shaker Village is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- Harvard
(23 miles [37 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
(23 miles [37 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
- Lunenburg Station
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lunenburg Station is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunenburg Station
- Still River
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Still River is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Still River
- Fitchburg
(27 miles [43.5 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
- South Fitchburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- South Fitchburg is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fitchburg
- Bolton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bolton is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,476 people
- Lancaster
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lancaster is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,857 people
- Leominster
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Leominster is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leominster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,548 people
- North Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- North Village is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Village
- Blackburn Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Blackburn Village is located in Worcester County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Windham, see our County-by-County Page for West Windham.
Cemeteries Near West Windham ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Windham.
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 Windham - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Windham covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Windham, with the one closest to West Windham listed first.
- Cemetery on the Plains
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Boyd Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Senter Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Westview Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cemetery on the Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Hills Farms Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Polish Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sunnyside Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Glen Wood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Wood Cemetery
- The Glen Wood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Glenwood Cemetery
- Spear Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (541 more) ...
- Valley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Old Burial Ground
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Gumpas Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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 Windham had a population of 25 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Windham, with the one closest to West Windham listed first.
- Windham
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Hudson Center
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hudson Center is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson Center
- Windham Depot
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Windham Depot is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham Depot
- Londonderry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pelham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hudson
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Derry
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Nashua
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Salem Depot
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Salem Depot is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem Depot
- North Salem
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Salem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Hubbard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hubbard is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- East Derry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- East Derry is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Derry
- Wilson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Wilson is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Thorntons Ferry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Thorntons Ferry is located in Hillsborough County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorntons Ferry
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Windham. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Windham.
Newspapers Published in West Windham ...
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 208 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Windham.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Windham, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Windham.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Windham:
- 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
- Suffolk 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 '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 Windham) 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 Windham, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |