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 Exeter (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 Exeter. 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 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.
Exeter 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 Exeter. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Exeter:
- Washington County (The home county of Exeter)
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Liberty
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Liberty is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Tripps Corner
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Tripps Corner is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tripps Corner
- Exeter
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Exeter is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
- Slocum
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Slocum is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
- Usquepaug
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Usquepaug is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Usquepaug
- Wickford Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wickford Junction is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickford Junction
- Kingston Station
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Kingston Station is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston Station
- Richmond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Richmond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,886 people
- Allenton
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Allenton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenton
- Belleville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Belleville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleville
- Austin
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Austin is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin
- Kingston
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Kingston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Bristol County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Annawomscutt
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Annawomscutt is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annawomscutt
- Barrington
(17 miles [27.4 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
- Bristol
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bristol is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Barrington
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Barrington is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington
- Bristol
(18 miles [29 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
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Coggeshall is located in Bristol County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coggeshall
- Warren
(19 miles [30.6 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
(19 miles [30.6 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 Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Shippee Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Shippee Corner is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shippee Corner
- East Greenwich
(6 miles [9.7 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
- West Greenwich
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- 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
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Kitts Corner is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kitts Corner
- Spring Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Spring Lake is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
- Coventry
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Coventry is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry
- East Greenwich
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- East Greenwich is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Greenwich
- Quidnick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Quidnick is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quidnick
- West Warwick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- West Warwick is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Warwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,967 people
- West Warwick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- West Warwick is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Warwick
- Cowesett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cowesett is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowesett
- Gortons Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gortons Corner is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gortons Corner
- Newport County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Jamestown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Jamestown is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,482 people
- Jamestown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Jamestown is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Clarks Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Clarks Village is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Village
- Brenton Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brenton Village is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brenton Village
- Lawtons
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Lawtons is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawtons
- Newport
(13 miles [20.9 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
- Prudence Island
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Prudence Island is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prudence Island
- Melville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Melville is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Middletown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Middletown is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Newport East
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Newport East is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport East
- Middletown
(15 miles [24.1 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
- Portsmouth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Portsmouth is located in Newport County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portsmouth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,108 people
- Providence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Kent ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Kent is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Oaklawn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Oaklawn is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaklawn
- Sockanosset
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Sockanosset is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sockanosset
- Garden City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Garden City is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Meshanticut
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Meshanticut is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meshanticut
- Richmond ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Richmond is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Ashland ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Ashland is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Clayville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Clayville is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayville
- Knightsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Knightsville is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightsville
- Rockland ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Rockland is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Bellefonte
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bellefonte is located in Providence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefonte
- Cranston
(17 miles [27.4 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 Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Voluntown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Voluntown is located in New London County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voluntown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,500 people
- Voluntown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Glasgo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- North Stonington
(16 miles [25.7 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
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pawcatuck
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Griswold
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Griswold is located in New London County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,660 people
- Clarks Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Clarks Village is located in New London County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Village
- Wequetequock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wequetequock is located in New London County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wequetequock
- Mashantucket
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Jewett City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Preston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Windham County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Ekonk
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ekonk is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekonk
- Oneco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sterling
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sterling is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,764 people
- Sterling
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Almyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Almyville is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almyville
- Moosup
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Plainfield
(19 miles [30.6 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Plainfield Village is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield Village
- Plainfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Central Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- South Killingly
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- South Killingly is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Killingly
- Wauregan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bristol County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Globe Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Globe Village is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe Village
- Seekonk
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Seekonk is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seekonk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,851 people
- Harris
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Harris is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Ocean Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ocean Grove is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Grove
- South Rehoboth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Rehoboth is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Rehoboth
- Fall River
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Fall River is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89,792 people
- Swansea Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Swansea Center is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansea Center
- Swansea
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Swansea is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansea
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,000 people
- Acoaxet
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Acoaxet is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acoaxet
- Central Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Central Village is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Village
- Bowenville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bowenville is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowenville
- Flint Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Flint Village is located in Bristol County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Exeter, see our County-by-County Page for Exeter.
Cemeteries Near Exeter ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Exeter.
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 Exeter - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Exeter covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Reverend Solomon Sprague Plot
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Sherman Plot
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Sherman Burial Ground
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hathaway Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Sweet - Tripp Plot
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Exeter School Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Preacher Smart Burial Yard
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Sweet Plot
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Gardner Plot
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Albert Sweet Lot
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albert Sweet Lot
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Albert Sweet Lot is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the southwest of Exeter.
- The Albert Sweet Lot has also been known as:
- Albert Sweet Plot
- Jump to the Rhode Island Historical Cemetery Commission: RIHCC ID #EX126 <3>
- Dawley - Brown Plot
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Dowley Plot
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Continue List (702 more) ...
- Dawley Plot
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Tripp Family Cemeteryt
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Willcox Plot
(Less than 2 miles 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>
While we didn't find Exeter in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Exeter.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Exeter, with the one closest to Exeter listed first.
- Liberty
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Liberty is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Exeter
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Exeter is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
- Usquepaug
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Usquepaug is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Usquepaug
- Pine Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Hill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
- Kingston Station
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Kingston Station is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston Station
- West Kingston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- West Kingston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Kingston
- Lafayette
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lafayette is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lafayette
- Wickford Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wickford Junction is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickford Junction
- Kingston
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Kingston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Allenton
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Allenton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenton
- Belleville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Belleville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleville
- Wickford
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Wickford is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickford
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Gould
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Gould is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Hamilton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hamilton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Davisville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Davisville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davisville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Exeter. See our List of 1890's Communities around Exeter.
Newspapers Published in Exeter ...
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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Exeter.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Exeter, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Exeter.
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 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 Exeter:
- 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Exeter) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Exeter, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |