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 Atkinson (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 Atkinson. 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.
Atkinson is located in Piscataquis 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 Piscataquis County: Aroostook, Penobscot & Somerset.
Below are the counties that are near Atkinson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Atkinson:
- Piscataquis County (The home county of Atkinson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Atkinson, with the one closest to Atkinson listed first.
- Atkinson Mills
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Atkinson Mills is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson Mills
- South Dover
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- South Dover is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dover
- Dover South Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dover South Mills is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover South Mills
- Milo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Milo is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,314 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milo <1>
- Boyd Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Boyd Lake is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd Lake
- Sebec
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Dover - Foxcroft
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Steadman Landing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Steadman Landing is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steadman Landing
- Brownville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Bowerbank
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bowerbank is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowerbank
- Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
- East Sangerville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- East Sangerville is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sangerville
- Howard Corner
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Howard Corner is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Corner
- Medford Center
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Medford Center is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford Center
- Penobscot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Atkinson, with the one closest to Atkinson listed first.
- Charleston
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Charleston is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,675 people
- North Bradford
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- North Bradford is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bradford
- Bradford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bradford Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bradford Center is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford Center
- Garland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Garland is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,046 people
- Lagrange
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Silvers Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Silvers Mills is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silvers Mills
- Corinth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- South Lagrange
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- South Lagrange is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lagrange
- East Exeter
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- East Exeter is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Exeter
- Exeter
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Exeter is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,098 people
- Hudson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hudson is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,499 people
- Russell Corner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Russell Corner is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Corner
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Atkinson, with the one closest to Atkinson listed first.
- Ripley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ripley is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 479 people
- Cambridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Albans
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mainstream
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mainstream is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mainstream
- Palmyra
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Harmony
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hartland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Detroit
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dogtown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dogtown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtown
- Houston Corner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Houston Corner is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston Corner
- West Palmyra
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- West Palmyra is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Palmyra
- Pittsfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Atkinson, see our County-by-County Page for Atkinson.
Cemeteries Near Atkinson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Atkinson.
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 Atkinson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Atkinson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Atkinson, with the one closest to Atkinson listed first.
- Hart Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Gould Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Farnham Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- North Atkinson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- South Dover Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Orneville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Foss Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sebec Corner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hillside Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (131 more) ...
- Sebec Village Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Corner Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- McAllister Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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 Atkinson had a population of 127 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Atkinson had a population of 311 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Atkinson, with the one closest to Atkinson listed first.
- South Dover
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- South Dover is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dover
- South Sebec
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- South Sebec is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sebec
- Charleston
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Charleston is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,675 people
- North Bradford
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- North Bradford is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bradford
- East Dover
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- East Dover is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dover
- Dover South Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dover South Mills is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover South Mills
- West Charleston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- West Charleston is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Charleston
- Milo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Milo is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,314 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milo <1>
- Sebec
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bradford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Boyd Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Boyd Lake is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd Lake
- Garland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Garland is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,046 people
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Bradford Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bradford Center is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford Center
- Silvers Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Silvers Mills is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silvers Mills
- East Corinth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Atkinson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Atkinson.
Newspapers Published in Atkinson ...
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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Atkinson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Atkinson, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Atkinson.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Atkinson:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Piscataquis County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Penobscot County
- Somerset 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 Atkinson, 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- Atkinson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |