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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 Waterville (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 Waterville. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Waterville 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 Waterville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Waterville:

  • Suffolk County     (The home county of Waterville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterville, with the one closest to Waterville listed first.
    • Mattituck
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Cutchogue
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • New Suffolk
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Laurel
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Peconic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jamesport
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Luce Landing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Luce Landing is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luce Landing
    • Northville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Northville is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northville
    • Southold
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Aquebogue
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Squiretown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Squiretown is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squiretown
    • North Sea
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • North Sea is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sea
    • Flanders
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Middlesex County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterville, with the one closest to Waterville listed first.
    • Clinton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Grove Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Grove Beach is located in Middlesex County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Beach
    • Clinton
      (19 miles [30.6 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
    • Plum Bank Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Plum Bank Beach is located in Middlesex County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Bank Beach
    • Westbrook
      (19 miles [30.6 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
    • Westbrook
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Saybrook Manor
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Saybrook Manor is located in Middlesex County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook Manor
    • Fenwick
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Fenwick is located in Middlesex County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenwick
    • Old Saybrook
      (21 miles [33.8 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
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ivoryton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Killingworth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Centerbrook
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • New Haven County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterville, with the one closest to Waterville listed first.
    • Madison
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • East River
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • East River is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
    • Guilford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Stony Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Stony Creek is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
    • Pine Orchard
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Pine Orchard is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Orchard
    • Branford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Branford is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,736 people
    • Guilford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Guilford is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,043 people
    • Madison
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Madison is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,924 people
    • Branford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Short Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Short Beach is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Beach
    • North Madison
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • North Madison is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Madison
    • North Branford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • East Haven
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • East Haven is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Haven
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,454 people
  • New London County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waterville, with the one closest to Waterville listed first.
    • Old Lyme
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Old Lyme
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • South Lyme
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hamburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Hamburg is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
    • Sterling City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Sterling City is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling City
    • Lyme
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Lyme is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyme
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,304 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyme <1>
    • Lyme
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Lyme is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyme
    • East Lyme
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Niantic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
    • Hadlyme
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Waterford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Waterford is located in New London County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,865 people

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

Cemeteries Near Waterville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Waterville.

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

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

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

  • Bethany Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Mattituck Presbyterian Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Cutchogue Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Laurel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Burying Ground
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Northville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Sound Ave. Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Jamesport Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Patrick's Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Willow Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Aquebogue Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (225 more) ...
    • First Presbyterian Church Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • North Sea Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)

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 Waterville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Waterville.

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

  • Mattituck
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Cutchogue
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • New Suffolk
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Jamesport
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Peconic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Aquebogue
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Southold
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Flanders
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Riverhead
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Shinnecock Hills
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Shinnecock Hills is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shinnecock Hills
  • Shelter Island
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Shelter Island Heights
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Baiting Hollow
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Southampton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Watermill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Watermill is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watermill

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

Newspapers Published in Waterville ...

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 126 newspapers that have been published in the area around Waterville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Waterville, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Waterville.

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 Waterville:

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 Waterville, 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- Waterville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.