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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 West Fairlee (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 West Fairlee. 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.

Name Variations for West Fairlee ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Fairlee: W. Fairlee

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

West Fairlee is located in Orange County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Orange County: Grafton (NH), Addison, Caledonia, Washington & Windsor.

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

  • Orange County     (The home county of West Fairlee)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Fairlee, with the one closest to West Fairlee listed first.
    • Post Mills
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Post Mills is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Mills
    • West Fairlee
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • West Fairlee is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairlee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
    • Mill Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Mill Village is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
    • Vershire
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Vershire is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vershire
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 746 people
    • Ely
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ely is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely
    • Fairlee
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Fairlee
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairlee is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 976 people
    • Vershire
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Vershire is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vershire
    • Thetford Center
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Thetford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Thetford is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thetford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,525 people
    • Strafford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Strafford is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strafford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,058 people
    • Old City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Old City is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
  • Addison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Fairlee, with the one closest to West Fairlee listed first.
    • Hancock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Granville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Granville is located in Addison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 308 people
    • Granville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Lower Granville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Lower Granville is located in Addison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Granville
  • Caledonia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Fairlee, with the one closest to West Fairlee listed first.
    • Groton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Ryegate Corner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Ryegate Corner is located in Caledonia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryegate Corner
    • Groton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Groton is located in Caledonia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 954 people
    • Lakeside
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Lakeside is located in Caledonia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
    • Ryegate
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Ryegate is located in Caledonia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryegate
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,084 people
    • McIndoe Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • McIndoe Falls is located in Caledonia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIndoe Falls
    • South Peacham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • South Peacham is located in Caledonia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Peacham
    • Peacham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Peacham is located in Caledonia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peacham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 708 people
    • Peacham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Barnet
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Barnet is located in Caledonia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnet
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,615 people
  • Rutland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Fairlee, with the one closest to West Fairlee listed first.
    • Pittsfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Pittsfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Pittsfield is located in Rutland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 551 people
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Fairlee, with the one closest to West Fairlee listed first.
    • Graniteville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Graniteville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
    • Websterville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Barre
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Barre is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,741 people
    • South Barre
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • South Barre is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barre
    • Barre
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Barre is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,474 people
      • Barre has also been known as:
      • Barre City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Barre <1>
    • Plainfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Plainfield is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,263 people
    • Northfield Center
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Northfield Center is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northfield Center
    • Northfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Roxbury
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Roxbury is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 709 people
    • Northfield Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Roxbury
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Berlin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Berlin is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,783 people
  • Windsor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Fairlee, with the one closest to West Fairlee listed first.
    • Pompanoosuc
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Pompanoosuc is located in Windsor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pompanoosuc
    • Norwich
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Norwich is located in Windsor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwich
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,401 people
    • West Norwich
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • West Norwich is located in Windsor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Norwich
    • Sharon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Sharon is located in Windsor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,533 people
    • Norwich
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Lewiston ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Lewiston is located in Windsor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewiston
    • South Royalton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Royalton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Royalton is located in Windsor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royalton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,882 people
    • Royalton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Royalton is located in Windsor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royalton
    • Wilder
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • East Bethel
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • East Bethel is located in Windsor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bethel
    • Hartford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Hartford is located in Windsor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,566 people
  • Grafton County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Fairlee, with the one closest to West Fairlee listed first.
    • Orford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Orford is located in Grafton County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,315 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orford <1>
    • Orfordville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Orfordville is located in Grafton County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orfordville
    • Lyme
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Lyme is located in Grafton County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyme
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,685 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyme <1>
    • Piermont
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lyme Center
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lyme Center is located in Grafton County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyme Center
    • Haverhill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hanover
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Hanover is located in Grafton County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,555 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hanover <1>
    • Etna
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Etna is located in Grafton County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
    • Sachem Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Sachem Village is located in Grafton County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sachem Village
    • Wentworth
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • North Dorchester
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • North Dorchester is located in Grafton County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorchester
    • Meadow Brook Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Meadow Brook Village is located in Grafton County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Brook Village
  • Sullivan County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Fairlee, with the one closest to West Fairlee listed first.
    • Meriden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Meriden is located in Sullivan County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meriden
    • Mill Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Mill Village is located in Sullivan County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
    • North Grantham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • North Grantham is located in Sullivan County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Grantham
    • Plainfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Squag City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Squag City is located in Sullivan County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squag City
    • Grantham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Grantham is located in Sullivan County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,955 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grantham <1>
    • Cornish City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Cornish City is located in Sullivan County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornish City
    • Springfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Springfield is located in Sullivan County (NH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,348 people

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

Cemeteries Near West Fairlee ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Fairlee.

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 West Fairlee - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Krook Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • West Fairlee Village Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Cook - Huse - Fulton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Post Mills Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Middle Brook Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Sawnee Bean Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • West Fairlee Center Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • South Vershire Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Wood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Smith - Mill Village Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Blood Brook School Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Clough Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (411 more) ...
    • Ely - South Fairlee Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Wild Hill Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Scruton Hill Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that West Fairlee had a population of 375 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Post Mills
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Post Mills is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Mills
  • Thetford Center
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • North Thetford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • North Thetford is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Thetford
  • Fairlee
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Vershire
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Vershire is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vershire
  • Orford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Orford is located in Grafton County (NH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orford
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,315 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orford <1>
  • South Strafford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • South Corinth
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • South Corinth is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Corinth
  • Union Village
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Union Village is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Village
  • Lyme
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Lyme is located in Grafton County (NH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyme
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,685 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyme <1>
  • Orfordville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Orfordville is located in Grafton County (NH)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orfordville
  • Bradford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Bradford Center
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Bradford Center is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford Center
    • West Corinth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • West Corinth is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Corinth
    • Piermont
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in West Fairlee ...

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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Fairlee.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Fairlee, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Fairlee.

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 West Fairlee:

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>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 West Fairlee, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Fairlee) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.