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 Charlestown (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 Charlestown. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Charlestown is located in Washington County.
To see how the shape of the state's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Washington County: New London (CT), Windham (CT), Dukes (MA), Suffolk (NY), Bristol, Kent & Newport.
Below are the counties that are near Charlestown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Charlestown:
- Washington County (The home county of Charlestown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
- Kenyon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Kenyon is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenyon
- Shannock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shannock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannock
- Alton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Alton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Charlestown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Charlestown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlestown
- Carolina
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Carolina is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina
- Burdickville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Burdickville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdickville
- Bradford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bradford is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Perryville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Perryville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perryville
- Canonchet
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Canonchet is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canonchet
- Hope Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hope Valley is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Valley
- Hopkinton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hopkinton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkinton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,095 people
- Hopkinton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hopkinton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkinton
- Ashaway
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ashaway is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashaway
- Bristol County
- The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
- Bristol
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bristol is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Annawomscutt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Annawomscutt is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annawomscutt
- Barrington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Barrington is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,015 people
- Barrington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Barrington is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington
- Bristol
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bristol is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,866 people
- Coggeshall
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coggeshall is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coggeshall
- Warren
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Warren is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,469 people
- Warren
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Warren is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
- Kent County
- The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
- West Greenwich
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- West Greenwich is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Greenwich
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,418 people
- Kitts Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Kitts Corner is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kitts Corner
- East Greenwich
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- East Greenwich is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Greenwich
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,141 people
- Shippee Corner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Shippee Corner is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shippee Corner
- Gortons Corner
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Gortons Corner is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gortons Corner
- Spring Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Spring Lake is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
- Coventry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Coventry is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,931 people
- Coventry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Coventry is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry
- Greene
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Greene is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene
- Quidnick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Quidnick is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quidnick
- East Greenwich
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Greenwich is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Greenwich
- Rice City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Rice City is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice City
- Cowesett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cowesett is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowesett
- Newport County
- The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
- Clarks Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Clarks Village is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Village
- Jamestown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Jamestown is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Brenton Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Brenton Village is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brenton Village
- Jamestown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jamestown is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,482 people
- Newport
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Newport is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,412 people
- Newport East
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Newport East is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport East
- Middletown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Middletown is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,803 people
- Middletown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Middletown is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Lawtons
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lawtons is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawtons
- Prudence Island
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Prudence Island is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prudence Island
- Melville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Melville is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Portsmouth
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Portsmouth is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portsmouth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,108 people
- Portsmouth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Portsmouth is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portsmouth
- Providence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
- Kent ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Kent is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Clayville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Clayville is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayville
- Richmond ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Richmond is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Ashland ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Ashland is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Oaklawn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Oaklawn is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaklawn
- Sockanosset
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sockanosset is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sockanosset
- Foster
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Foster is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,747 people
- Meshanticut
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Meshanticut is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meshanticut
- Rockland ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rockland is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Garden City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Garden City is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Knightsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Knightsville is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightsville
- Bellefonte
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bellefonte is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefonte
- Cranston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cranston is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81,142 people
- New London County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
- Pawcatuck
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Clarks Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Clarks Village is located in New London County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Village
- North Stonington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- North Stonington is located in New London County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Stonington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,197 people
- North Stonington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Wequetequock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Wequetequock is located in New London County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wequetequock
- Stonington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Stonington is located in New London County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,566 people
- Stonington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Voluntown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Voluntown is located in New London County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voluntown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,500 people
- Glasgo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Voluntown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mashantucket
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Old Mystic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mystic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Windham County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
- Ekonk
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Ekonk is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekonk
- Oneco
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Sterling
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Sterling is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,764 people
- Sterling
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Plainfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Plainfield is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,084 people
- Plainfield Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Plainfield Village is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield Village
- Plainfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Almyville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Almyville is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almyville
- Moosup
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Central Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Canterbury
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wauregan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Canterbury
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Canterbury is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canterbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,088 people
- Bristol County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
- Acoaxet
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Acoaxet is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acoaxet
- Globe Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Globe Village is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Charlestown, see our County-by-County Page for Charlestown.
Cemeteries Near Charlestown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Charlestown.
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 Charlestown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Charlestown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
- Royal Indian Burial Ground
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Burdick Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Aldrich Potter Lot
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldrich Potter Lot
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Aldrich Potter Lot is located outside and to the west of Charlestown.
- Jump to the Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Commission: RIHCC ID #CH032 <2>
- Charlestown Indian Burying Ground
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Allen Green Lot
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Nathan Kinyon Plot
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- White Brook Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Boss Plot
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hoxsie - Cayer Plot
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- George Babcock Plot
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Joseph Burdick Plot
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hall - Geer Plot
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (599 more) ...
- Doctor Isaac Collins Plot
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fones Palmer Plot
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hezekiah Collins Plot
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
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>
While we didn't find Charlestown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Charlestown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Charlestown, with the one closest to Charlestown listed first.
- Wood River Junction
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Wood River Junction is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood River Junction
- Charlestown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Charlestown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlestown
- Kenyon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Kenyon is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenyon
- Shannock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shannock is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannock
- Carolina
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Carolina is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina
- Woodville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Woodville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Green Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Green Hill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Perryville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Perryville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perryville
- Wyoming
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Wyoming is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
- Quonochontaug
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Quonochontaug is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quonochontaug
- Hope Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hope Valley is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Valley
- Matunuck
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Matunuck is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matunuck
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Usquepaug
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Usquepaug is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Usquepaug
- Canonchet
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Canonchet is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canonchet
- Hopkinton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hopkinton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkinton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Charlestown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Charlestown.
Newspapers Published in Charlestown ...
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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Charlestown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Charlestown, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Charlestown.
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 Charlestown:
- Websites specific to Rhode Island
- Pages specific to Washington County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bristol County
- Kent County
- Newport County
- Providence County
- New London County
- Windham County
- Bristol County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Rhode Island
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 Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Commission (RIHCC) has created and maintains a database of cemeteries. More information about the RIHCC can be found on their website: rihistoriccemeteries.org. |
| <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 Charlestown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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- Charlestown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |