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 Andover (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 Andover. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Andover is located in Oxford 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 Oxford County: Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin, York, Carroll (NH) & Coos (NH).
Below are the counties that are near Andover. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Andover:
- Oxford County (The home county of Andover)
- The following are listed by their distance from Andover, with the one closest to Andover listed first.
- South Andover
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- South Andover is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Andover
- East Andover
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- East Andover is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Andover
- North Newry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- North Newry is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Newry
- Roxbury
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Byron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Byron is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Hanover
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Newry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Rumford Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mexico
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rumford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Middle Dam
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Middle Dam is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Dam
- South Rumford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- South Rumford is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Rumford
- Upton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Androscoggin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Andover, with the one closest to Andover listed first.
- Livermore Falls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- North Livermore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- North Livermore is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Livermore
- Shy Corner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Shy Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shy Corner
- Livermore
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Andover, with the one closest to Andover listed first.
- Carthage
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Carthage is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
- Population from the 2020 Census: 536 people
- Berry Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Berry Mills is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry Mills
- Bemis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bemis is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bemis
- Weld
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Perkin's Plantation ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Perkin's Plantation is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkin's Plantation
- Sandy River Plantation
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sandy River Plantation is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy River Plantation
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Madrid
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- East Dixfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- East Dixfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dixfield
- Mountainview
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Mountainview is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainview
- Oquossoc
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rangeley
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Phillips
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- North Jay
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- North Jay is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Jay
- Coos County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Andover, with the one closest to Andover listed first.
- Errol
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Milan
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Shelburne
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dummer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Berlin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Second College Grant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Second College Grant is located in Coos County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Second College Grant
- Gorham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Upper Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Upper Village is located in Coos County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Village
- West Milan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- West Milan is located in Coos County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Milan
- Dixs Grant
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dixs Grant is located in Coos County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixs Grant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1 people
- Atkinson and Gilmanton Academy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Beans Purchase
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Beans Purchase is located in Coos County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Purchase
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Andover, see our County-by-County Page for Andover.
Cemeteries Near Andover ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Andover.
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 Andover - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Andover covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Andover, with the one closest to Andover listed first.
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Andover Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Farmers Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Byron Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Upper West Ellis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stockbridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lower West Ellis Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- East Ellis Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Glover Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Old Frye Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Pineview Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Powers Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Continue List (141 more) ...
- Rumford Point Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rumford Point Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Andover had a population of 275 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Andover had a population of 838 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Andover, with the one closest to Andover listed first.
- South Andover
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- South Andover is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Andover
- North Newry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- North Newry is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Newry
- Frye
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Frye is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frye
- Roxbury
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Byron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Byron is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Hanover
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Newry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Rumford Point
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rumford Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- East Bethel
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- East Bethel is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bethel
- Rumford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mexico
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Middle Dam
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Middle Dam is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Dam
- South Rumford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- South Rumford is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Rumford
- Upton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Andover. See our List of 1890's Communities around Andover.
Newspapers Published in Andover ...
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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Andover.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Andover, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Andover.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Andover:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Oxford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Androscoggin County
- Franklin County
- Coos 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> | 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 Andover, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Andover) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |