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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 Shaftsbury (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 Shaftsbury. 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.

Shaftsbury is located in Bennington County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bennington County: Berkshire (MA), Franklin (MA), Rensselaer (NY), Washington (NY), Rutland, Windham & Windsor.

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

  • Bennington County     (The home county of Shaftsbury)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaftsbury, with the one closest to Shaftsbury listed first.
    • Shaftsbury
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaftsbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaftsbury
      • Shaftsbury is located in Bennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,411 people
    • South Shaftsbury
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Arlington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
      • Arlington is located in Bennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,204 people
    • Arlington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
      • Arlington is located in Bennington County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arlington <2>
    • Kansas
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • North Bennington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Glastenbury
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glastenbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glastenbury
      • Glastenbury is located in Bennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7 people
    • Paper Mill Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paper Mill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village
      • Paper Mill Village is located in Bennington County
    • Sunderland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunderland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunderland
      • Sunderland is located in Bennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 947 people
    • Bennington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bennington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennington
      • Bennington is located in Bennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,897 people
    • Bennington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Old Bennington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Bennington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Bennington
      • Old Bennington is located in Bennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
    • Woodford Hollow
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Rutland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaftsbury, with the one closest to Shaftsbury listed first.
    • Pawlet
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pawlet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawlet
      • Pawlet is located in Rutland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,359 people
    • Danby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danby
      • Danby is located in Rutland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,308 people
    • Wells
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Mount Tabor
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Tabor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tabor
      • Mount Tabor is located in Rutland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
    • Wells
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wells have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
      • Wells is located in Rutland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,151 people
    • South Wallingford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Windham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaftsbury, with the one closest to Shaftsbury listed first.
    • Somerset
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Somerset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
      • Somerset is located in Windham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3 people
    • Stratton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Stratton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratton
      • Stratton is located in Windham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
    • Podunk
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • West Dover
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • West Wardsboro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Dover
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
      • Dover is located in Windham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,057 people
    • Wilmington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Wardsboro
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wardsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardsboro
      • Wardsboro is located in Windham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 828 people
    • Wilmington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilmington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
      • Wilmington is located in Windham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,786 people
    • Goose City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goose City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose City
      • Goose City is located in Windham County
    • South Wardsboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Wardsboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Windsor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaftsbury, with the one closest to Shaftsbury listed first.
    • Simonsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Weston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
      • Weston is located in Windsor County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 542 people
  • Berkshire County (MA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaftsbury, with the one closest to Shaftsbury listed first.
    • Williamstown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
      • Williamstown is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,631 people
    • Greylock
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Greylock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greylock
      • Greylock is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Greylock
      • From Shaftsbury to Greylock
    • North Adams
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Zylonite
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zylonite. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zylonite
      • Zylonite is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zylonite
      • From Shaftsbury to Zylonite
    • Florida
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Renfrew
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Renfrew. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renfrew
      • Renfrew is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Renfrew
      • From Shaftsbury to Renfrew
    • Adams
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Drury
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • New Ashford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Ashford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Ashford
      • New Ashford is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
    • Arnoldville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Savoy Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Town Crest Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Town Crest Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Crest Village
      • Town Crest Village is located in Berkshire County (MA)
    • Cheshire
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Franklin County (MA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaftsbury, with the one closest to Shaftsbury listed first.
    • Monroe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Monroe is located in Franklin County (MA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
    • Monroe Bridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe Bridge
      • Monroe Bridge is located in Franklin County (MA)
    • Rowe
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • North Heath
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Dell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Heath
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Charlemont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Albany County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shaftsbury, with the one closest to Shaftsbury listed first.
    • Cohoes
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Green Island
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Island
      • Green Island is located in Albany County (NY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,879 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Green Island <2>
  • Rensselaer County (NY)
  • Saratoga County (NY)
  • Warren County (NY)
  • Washington County (NY)

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

Cemeteries Near Shaftsbury ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shaftsbury.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Shaftsbury had a population of 120 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • South Shaftsbury
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • East Arlington
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Arlington
    • East Arlington is located in Bennington County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Arlington <2>
  • White Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • North Bennington
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Glastenbury
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glastenbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glastenbury
    • Glastenbury is located in Bennington County
  • Arlington
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
    • Arlington is located in Bennington County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arlington <2>
  • West Arlington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Arlington
    • West Arlington is located in Bennington County
  • Walloomsac
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Walloomsac. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walloomsac
    • Walloomsac is located in Rensselaer County (NY)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Walloomsac
    • From Shaftsbury to Walloomsac
  • Bennington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Sunderland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunderland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunderland
    • Sunderland is located in Bennington County
  • Center White Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Hoosick Junction
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Shushan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shushan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shushan
      • Shushan is located in Washington County (NY)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shushan <2>
    • Cambridge
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cambridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
      • Cambridge is located in Washington County (NY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,796 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cambridge <2>
    • Sandgate
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandgate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandgate
      • Sandgate is located in Bennington County

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

Newspapers Published in Shaftsbury ...

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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shaftsbury.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shaftsbury, 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 Shaftsbury.

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 Shaftsbury:

The official website for Shaftsbury: www.shaftsbury.net/

The official website for State of Vermont: https://www.vermont.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shaftsbury) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shaftsbury. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.0029, Longitude: -73.1967    
<6>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 Shaftsbury, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025