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 South Portsmouth (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 South Portsmouth. 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 and 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.
South Portsmouth is located in Newport 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 Newport County : Bristol (MA) , Bristol , Kent & Washington .
Below are the counties that are near South Portsmouth. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to South Portsmouth:
Newport County (The home county of South Portsmouth)
The following are listed by their distance from South Portsmouth, with the one closest to South Portsmouth listed first.
Middletown (Less than 2 miles to the south)
Middletown is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown Population from the 2020 Census: 15,803 people
Middletown (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
Middletown is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown Portsmouth (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
Portsmouth is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portsmouth Population from the 2020 Census: 17,108 people
Lawtons (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
Lawtons is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawtons Melville (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Melville is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville Portsmouth (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Portsmouth is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portsmouth Newport East (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Newport East is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport East Tiverton Four Corners (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
Newport (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Newport is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport Population from the 2020 Census: 24,412 people
Little Compton (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
Little Compton is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Compton Population from the 2020 Census: 3,462 people
Prudence Island (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
Prudence Island is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prudence Island Little Compton (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
Little Compton is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Compton Jamestown (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
Jamestown is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown Population from the 2020 Census: 5,482 people
Bristol County
The following are listed by their distance from South Portsmouth, with the one closest to South Portsmouth listed first.
Bristol (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
Bristol is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol Bristol (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
Bristol is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol Population from the 2020 Census: 21,866 people
Coggeshall (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
Coggeshall is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coggeshall Warren (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
Warren is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren Barrington (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
Barrington is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington Population from the 2020 Census: 16,015 people
Barrington (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
Barrington is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington Warren (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
Warren is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren Population from the 2020 Census: 10,469 people
Annawomscutt (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
Annawomscutt is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annawomscutt Kent County
The following are listed by their distance from South Portsmouth, with the one closest to South Portsmouth listed first.
Buttonwoods (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
Buttonwoods is located in Kent County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttonwoods East Greenwich (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
East Greenwich is located in Kent County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Greenwich Oakland Beach (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
Oakland Beach is located in Kent County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Beach East Greenwich (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
East Greenwich is located in Kent County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Greenwich Population from the 2020 Census: 13,141 people
Kettle Corner (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
Kettle Corner is located in Kent County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kettle Corner Shawomet (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
Shawomet is located in Kent County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawomet Warwick (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
Warwick is located in Kent County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick Population from the 2020 Census: 81,189 people
Apponaug (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
Apponaug is located in Kent County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apponaug Cowesett (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
Cowesett is located in Kent County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowesett Hillsgrove (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
Hillsgrove is located in Kent County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsgrove Shippee Corner (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
Shippee Corner is located in Kent County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shippee Corner Norwood (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
Norwood is located in Kent County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood West Warwick (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
West Warwick is located in Kent County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Warwick Population from the 2020 Census: 28,967 people
Providence County
The following are listed by their distance from South Portsmouth, with the one closest to South Portsmouth listed first.
Kent Corner (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
Kent Corner is located in Providence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Corner Riverside (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
Riverside is located in Providence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside Bellefonte (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
Bellefonte is located in Providence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefonte Garden City (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
Garden City is located in Providence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City Sockanosset (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
Sockanosset is located in Providence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sockanosset Armington Corner (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Armington Corner is located in Providence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armington Corner Luthers Corners (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Luthers Corners is located in Providence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luthers Corners Cranston (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
Cranston is located in Providence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranston Population from the 2020 Census: 81,142 people
Meshanticut (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
Meshanticut is located in Providence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meshanticut Oaklawn (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
Oaklawn is located in Providence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaklawn Carpenters Corner (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
Carpenters Corner is located in Providence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenters Corner East Providence (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
East Providence is located in Providence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Providence Population from the 2020 Census: 47,337 people
Knightsville (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
Knightsville is located in Providence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightsville Washington County
The following are listed by their distance from South Portsmouth, with the one closest to South Portsmouth listed first.
Saunderstown (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
Saunderstown is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saunderstown Mount View (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
Mount View is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount View Bridgetown (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
Bridgetown is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgetown Allenton (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
Allenton is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenton Belleville (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
Belleville is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleville North Kingstown (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
North Kingstown is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Kingstown Population from the 2020 Census: 26,278 people
North Kingstown (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
North Kingstown is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Kingstown Wickford (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
Wickford is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickford Narragansett (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
Narragansett is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narragansett Population from the 2020 Census: 15,309 people
Narragansett (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
Narragansett is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narragansett Narragansett Pier (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
Narragansett Pier is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narragansett Pier Wickford Junction (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
Wickford Junction is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickford Junction Peace Dale (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
Peace Dale is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peace Dale New London County (CT)
Voluntown (29 miles [46.7 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
Windham County (CT)
The following are listed by their distance from South Portsmouth, with the one closest to South Portsmouth listed first.
Oneco (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Sterling (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Sterling is located in Windham County (CT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling Population from the 2020 Census: 3,764 people
Barnstable County (MA)
Woods Hole (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
Woods Hole is located in Barnstable County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Hole Bristol County (MA)
The following are listed by their distance from South Portsmouth, with the one closest to South Portsmouth listed first.
Acoaxet (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
Acoaxet is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acoaxet Central Village (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Central Village is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Village Westport Point (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Westport Point is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport Point Westport (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Westport is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport Population from the 2020 Census: 16,097 people
Globe Village (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
Globe Village is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe Village Gidleys Corner (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
Gidleys Corner is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gidleys Corner North Westport (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
North Westport is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Westport Fall River (12 miles [19.3 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
Flint Village (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
Flint Village is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Village Oak Grove Village (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
Oak Grove Village is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Village Westport Factory (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
Westport Factory is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport Factory Ocean Grove (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
Ocean Grove is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Grove Bowenville (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
Bowenville is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowenville Dukes County (MA)
The following are listed by their distance from South Portsmouth, with the one closest to South Portsmouth listed first.
Cuttyhunk (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
Cuttyhunk is located in Dukes County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuttyhunk Gosnold (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
Gosnold is located in Dukes County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosnold Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
Aquinnah (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
Aquinnah is located in Dukes County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquinnah Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
Former name for Aquinnah:
Gay Head Menemsha (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Menemsha is located in Dukes County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menemsha Squibnocket (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
Squibnocket is located in Dukes County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squibnocket Christian Town (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
Christian Town is located in Dukes County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christian Town Chilmark (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
Chilmark is located in Dukes County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilmark Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
Plymouth County (MA)
The following are listed by their distance from South Portsmouth, with the one closest to South Portsmouth listed first.
Mattapoisett (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
Mattapoisett is located in Plymouth County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattapoisett Population from the 2020 Census: 6,427 people
Lakeville (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
Lakeville is located in Plymouth County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeville Population from the 2020 Census: 11,698 people
Rochester (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
Rochester is located in Plymouth County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester Population from the 2020 Census: 5,740 people
Marion (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
Marion is located in Plymouth County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion Population from the 2020 Census: 5,189 people
North Lakeville (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
North Lakeville is located in Plymouth County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lakeville Briarwood Beach (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Briarwood Beach is located in Plymouth County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach Middleborough (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Middleborough is located in Plymouth County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleborough Population from the 2020 Census: 25,722 people
Rock (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Rock is located in Plymouth County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock South Middleboro (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
South Middleboro is located in Plymouth County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Middleboro Namasket Village (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
Namasket Village is located in Plymouth County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Namasket Village West Wareham (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
West Wareham is located in Plymouth County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wareham Weweantic (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
Weweantic is located in Plymouth County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weweantic
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to South Portsmouth, see our County-by-County Page for South Portsmouth .
Cemeteries Near South Portsmouth ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Portsmouth.
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 South Portsmouth - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for South Portsmouth covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from South Portsmouth, with the one closest to South Portsmouth listed first.
Holy Cross Episcopal Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Middletown Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
Barker Burying Ground (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
Newport Memorial Park (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
St. Columbas Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
Woodman - Peckham Family Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
Portsmouth Friends Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Braman Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Island Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Common Ground Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
St. Marys Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Coddington Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Continue List (639 more) ...
Governors Graveyard (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Trinity Churchyard Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Arnold Burying Ground (4 miles [6.4 km] 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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that South Portsmouth had a population of 500 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from South Portsmouth, with the one closest to South Portsmouth listed first.
Portsmouth (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Portsmouth is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portsmouth Newport (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Newport is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport Population from the 2020 Census: 24,412 people
Tiverton Four Corners (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
Little Compton (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
Little Compton is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Compton Jamestown (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
Jamestown is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown Adamsville (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
Adamsville is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville Tiverton (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
Tiverton is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiverton Bristol Ferry (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
Bristol Ferry is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol Ferry Bristol (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
Bristol is located in Bristol County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol Westport Point (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Westport Point is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport Point Central Village (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Central Village is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Village Westport (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
Westport is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport Population from the 2020 Census: 16,097 people
Continue List (25 more) ...
North Tiverton (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
North Tiverton is located in Newport County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tiverton Hamilton (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
Hamilton is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton South Westport (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
South Westport is located in Bristol County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Westport
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around South Portsmouth. See our List of 1890's Communities around South Portsmouth .
Newspapers Published in South Portsmouth ...
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 94 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Portsmouth.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Portsmouth, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> Extended Newspaper List for South Portsmouth.
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 helpful 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 South Portsmouth:
Websites specific to Rhode Island Pages specific to Newport County Genealogy information for nearby counties
Bristol County Kent County Providence County Washington County New London County Windham County Barnstable County Bristol County Dukes County Plymouth County Cemetery Information and Directories for Rhode Island Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for South Portsmouth. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page .
The official website for State of Rhode Island: https://www.ri.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. 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- South Portsmouth) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. 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 . 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 . 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 South Portsmouth, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.