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 Acton (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 Acton. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Acton is located in York County.
To see how the shape of Maine's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of York County: Cumberland, Oxford, Carroll (NH), Rockingham (NH) & Strafford (NH).
Below are the counties that are near Acton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Acton:
- York County (The home county of Acton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Acton, with the one closest to Acton listed first.
- Shapleigh
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- North Shapleigh
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- North Shapleigh is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shapleigh
- Ross Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ross Corner is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross Corner
- Mee Corners
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mee Corners is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mee Corners
- West Newfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sprague City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sprague City is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprague City
- Springvale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Newfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Stevens Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Stevens Corner is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Corner
- Waterboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Sanford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Alfred
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Lebanon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Acton, with the one closest to Acton listed first.
- West Baldwin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- West Baldwin is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Baldwin
- Standish
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Steep Falls
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Baldwin
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Baldwin is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,641 people
- Sebago Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Sebago Lake is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebago Lake
- Gorham
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- North Scarborough
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- North Scarborough is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scarborough
- West Scarborough
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- West Scarborough is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Scarborough
- Danish Village ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Danish Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danish Village
- Grand Beach
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Grand Beach is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Beach
- Sebago
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Newhall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Newhall is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- South Windham
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- South Windham is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Windham
- Oxford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Acton, with the one closest to Acton listed first.
- Kezar Falls
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Kezar Falls is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kezar Falls
- Porter
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Porter is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,525 people
- Durgintown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Durgintown is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durgintown
- East Hiram
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- East Hiram is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hiram
- Hiram
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rankins Mill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rankins Mill is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rankins Mill
- Brownfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Merrill Corner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Merrill Corner is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill Corner
- East Brownfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- East Brownfield is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brownfield
- Denmark
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Belknap County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Acton, with the one closest to Acton listed first.
- Alton Bay
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Alton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Alton is located in Belknap County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,364 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alton <1>
- Gilmanton Iron Works, Gilmanton Iw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Haven
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Spring Haven is located in Belknap County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Haven
- West Alton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- West Alton is located in Belknap County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Alton
- Samoset
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Samoset is located in Belknap County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoset
- Barnstead
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lower Gilmanton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lower Gilmanton is located in Belknap County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Gilmanton
- Gilford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Glendale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Glendale is located in Belknap County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Gilmanton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Interlaken Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Interlaken Park is located in Belknap County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Interlaken Park
- Laconia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Carroll County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Acton, with the one closest to Acton listed first.
- East Wakefield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wakefield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Woodman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Woodman is located in Carroll County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodman
- Brookfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Brookfield is located in Carroll County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 688 people
- South Effingham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- North Wolfeboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- North Wolfeboro is located in Carroll County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wolfeboro
- South Wolfeboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- South Wolfeboro is located in Carroll County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wolfeboro
- Ossipee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wolfeboro Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wolfeboro Center is located in Carroll County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfeboro Center
- Fernald
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fernald is located in Carroll County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernald
- Wolfeboro Falls
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Wolfeboro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Effingham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Merrimack County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Acton, with the one closest to Acton listed first.
- Pittsfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Loudon Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Loudon Center is located in Merrimack County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loudon Center
- Websters Mill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Websters Mill is located in Merrimack County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Websters Mill
- Epsom
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Epsom is located in Merrimack County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epsom
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,824 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Epsom <1>
- Gossville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gossville is located in Merrimack County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gossville
- Rockingham County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Acton, with the one closest to Acton listed first.
- Northwood Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Northwood Ridge is located in Rockingham County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwood Ridge
- Northwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Newington Station
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Newington Station is located in Rockingham County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newington Station
- Newington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Nottingham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Strafford County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Acton, with the one closest to Acton listed first.
- Middleton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Middleton is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,832 people
- Milton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Milton is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,614 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milton <1>
- North Rochester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- North Rochester is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Rochester
- Farmington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- East Rochester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- East Rochester is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rochester
- Place
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Place is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Place
- Davis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Davis is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- New Durham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rochester
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Dexter Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dexter Corner is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter Corner
- Somersworth
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Somersworth is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somersworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,286 people
- Former names for Somersworth:
- Great Falls
- Summersworth
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Somersworth <1>
- Strafford Corner
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Strafford Corner is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strafford Corner
- Pickering
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Pickering is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickering
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Acton, see our County-by-County Page for Acton.
Cemeteries Near Acton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Acton.
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 Acton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Acton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Acton, with the one closest to Acton listed first.
- Milton Mills Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Berry Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Highland Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lovell Lake Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Reed Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Forest Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Springvale Riverside Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springvale Riverside Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Springvale Riverside Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Springvale.
- The Springvale Riverside Cemetery has also been known as:
- Riverside Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90456 <2>
- Riverside Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Notre Dame Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Notre Dame Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Notre Dame Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Springvale.
- Woods Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Woods Cemetery is located in the vicinity of East Wakefield (NH)
- The Woods Cemetery has also been known as:
- Perkins Hill Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2572960 <2>
- Whitehouse Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Twombly Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (328 more) ...
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lyford - Hutchins Family Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Wentworth Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Acton had a population of 510 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Acton had a population of 2,636 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Acton, with the one closest to Acton listed first.
- South Acton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- South Acton is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Acton
- Milton Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Milton Mills is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Mills
- Shapleigh
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- North Shapleigh
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- North Shapleigh is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shapleigh
- Union
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Union is located in Carroll County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- North Lebanon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- North Lebanon is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lebanon
- Ross Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ross Corner is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross Corner
- Springvale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Woodman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Woodman is located in Carroll County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodman
- East Wakefield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wakefield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- West Newfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Brookfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Brookfield is located in Carroll County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 688 people
- Middleton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Middleton is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,832 people
- Center Lebanon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Center Lebanon is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Lebanon
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Acton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Acton.
Newspapers Published in Acton ...
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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Acton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Acton, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Acton.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Acton:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to York County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cumberland County
- Oxford County
- Belknap County
- Carroll County
- Merrimack County
- Rockingham County
- Strafford County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Maine
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The 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. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Acton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Acton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |