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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 Deerfield (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 Deerfield. 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.

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 northeast 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 north.

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 north 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.

Deerfield is located in Suffolk County.

To see how the shape of New York's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

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

  • Suffolk County     (The home county of Deerfield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Deerfield, with the one closest to Deerfield listed first.
    • Watermill
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Watermill is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watermill
    • West Mecox Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • West Mecox Village is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Mecox Village
    • North Sea
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • North Sea is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sea
    • Bridgehampton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Southampton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Southampton is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southampton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,313 people
      • Southampton has also been known as:
      • Southampton village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Southampton <1>
    • Tuckahoe
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Tuckahoe is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe
    • Sagaponack
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Noyack
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Art Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Art Village is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Art Village
    • Bay Point
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bay Point is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Point
    • Sag Harbor
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • North Haven
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • North Haven is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Haven
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 894 people
    • New Suffolk
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Middlesex County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Deerfield, with the one closest to Deerfield listed first.
    • Plum Bank Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Plum Bank Beach is located in Middlesex County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Bank Beach
    • Fenwick
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Fenwick is located in Middlesex County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenwick
    • Clinton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Grove Beach
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Grove Beach is located in Middlesex County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Beach
    • Old Saybrook
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Old Saybrook is located in Middlesex County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Saybrook
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,028 people
    • Old Saybrook
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Saybrook Manor
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Saybrook Manor is located in Middlesex County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook Manor
    • Westbrook
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Westbrook
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Westbrook is located in Middlesex County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,842 people
    • Clinton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Clinton is located in Middlesex County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,881 people
    • Centerbrook
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Essex
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Essex is located in Middlesex County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essex
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,634 people
    • Essex
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • New Haven County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Deerfield, with the one closest to Deerfield listed first.
    • Madison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • East River
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • East River is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
    • Guilford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Madison
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Madison is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,924 people
    • Stony Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Stony Creek is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
  • New London County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Deerfield, with the one closest to Deerfield listed first.
    • Old Lyme
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Old Lyme is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Lyme
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,280 people
    • Old Lyme
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • South Lyme
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Niantic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Pleasure Beach
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Pleasure Beach is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasure Beach
    • East Lyme
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • East Lyme is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lyme
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,525 people
    • East Lyme
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Sterling City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Sterling City is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling City
    • Waterford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Waterford is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,865 people
    • Eastern Point
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Eastern Point is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastern Point
    • Groton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Groton is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,872 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Groton <1>
    • New London
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • New London is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New London
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,870 people
    • Waterford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Waterford is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
      • Waterford has also been known as:
      • Central Waterford
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waterford <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Deerfield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Deerfield.

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

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

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

  • Water Mill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Hay Ground Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • North Sea Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Flying Point Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary RC Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Southampton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • North End Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Southampton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Mecox Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bridgehampton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Edgewood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Sagg Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (131 more) ...
    • Poxabogue Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • St. Andrews Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Noyac Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 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>

While we didn't find Deerfield in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Deerfield.

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

  • Watermill
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Watermill is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watermill
  • Southampton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Southampton is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southampton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,313 people
    • Southampton has also been known as:
    • Southampton village
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Southampton <1>
  • Bridgehampton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Sagaponack
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Sag Harbor
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Shinnecock Hills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Shinnecock Hills is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shinnecock Hills
  • New Suffolk
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Cutchogue
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Southold
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • East Hampton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Peconic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Shelter Island
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Mattituck
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Shelter Island Heights
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Amagansett
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Deerfield ...

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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Deerfield.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Deerfield, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Deerfield.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Deerfield:

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 Deerfield, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Deerfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.