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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 Aurora (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 Aurora. 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 and doctors 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.

Aurora is located in Hancock 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 Hancock County: Penobscot, Waldo & Washington.

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

  • Hancock County     (The home county of Aurora)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Amherst
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Amherst is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
    • Great Pond
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Great Pond is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Pond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Osborn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Osborn is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
    • Waltham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Waltham is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 340 people
    • Mariaville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Mariaville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariaville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 540 people
    • Otis
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Otis is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
    • Eastbrook
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Franklin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Dedham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • North Ellsworth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • North Ellsworth is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ellsworth
    • Ellsworth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Franklin Road
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Franklin Road is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Road
    • Hancock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Penobscot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Clifton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Clifton is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 901 people
    • East Eddington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • East Eddington is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Eddington
    • Greenfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenfield is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Bradley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Milford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Old Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Orono
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Orono is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orono
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,636 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orono <1>
    • Webster
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Webster is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Eddington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Stillwater
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Stillwater is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwater
    • Costigan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Costigan is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Costigan
    • Holden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Holden is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holden <1>
    • Veazie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Veazie is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veazie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,824 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Veazie <1>
  • Waldo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • North Winterport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • North Winterport is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Winterport
    • Winterport
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Prospect Ferry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Prospect Ferry is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Ferry
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aurora, with the one closest to Aurora listed first.
    • Beddington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Deblois
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Deblois is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deblois
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
    • Cherryfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Steuben
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Columbia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Columbia is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 469 people
    • Epping
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Epping is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epping
    • Harrington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Milbridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Aurora ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Aurora.

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 Aurora - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Aurora Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Amherst Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Hadley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Penny Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Great Pond Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Frost Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Pyles Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Crimmins Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Pine Tree Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (130 more) ...
    • Beech Hill Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Number 2 Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sunnyside Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)

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 Aurora had a population of 108 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Aurora had a population of 112 people.

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

  • Amherst
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Amherst is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
  • Great Pond
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Great Pond is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Pond
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
  • Clifton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Clifton is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 901 people
  • Waltham
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Waltham is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 340 people
  • Eastbrook
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • East Eddington
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • East Eddington is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Eddington
  • Beddington
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Greenfield
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenfield is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
  • Bradley
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Great Works
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Great Works is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Works
  • East Holden
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • East Holden is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Holden
  • Green Lake
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Green Lake is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lake
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Milford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Old Town
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Webster
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Webster is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people

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

Newspapers Published in Aurora ...

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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Aurora.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Aurora, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Aurora.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Aurora:

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 Aurora, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Aurora) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.