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 Benson (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 Benson. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Benson 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 Benson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Benson:
- Piscataquis County (The home county of Benson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Benson, with the one closest to Benson listed first.
- Willimantic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Willimantic is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willimantic
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Bowerbank
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bowerbank is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowerbank
- Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
- Steadman Landing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Steadman Landing is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steadman Landing
- Sebec
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brownville Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Brownville Junction is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownville Junction
- Monson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dover - Foxcroft
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Brownville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Guilford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Howard Corner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Howard Corner is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Corner
- Sangerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Monson Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Monson Junction is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monson Junction
- Penobscot County
- The following are listed by their distance from Benson, with the one closest to Benson listed first.
- Silvers Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Silvers Mills is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silvers Mills
- Charleston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Charleston is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,675 people
- Dexter
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Garland
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Garland is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,046 people
- Russell Corner
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Russell Corner is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Corner
- North Bradford
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- North Bradford is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bradford
- Lagrange
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Maxfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Maxfield is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- Seboeis Plantation
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Seboeis Plantation is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seboeis Plantation
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
- Bradford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Exeter
(27 miles [43.5 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
- Bradford Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bradford Center is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford Center
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Benson, with the one closest to Benson listed first.
- Cambridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Ripley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ripley is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 479 people
- Mayfield Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mayfield Corner is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield Corner
- Mainstream
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Mainstream is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mainstream
- Harmony
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Somerset Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Somerset Junction is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset Junction
- Brighton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brighton is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Brighton has also been known as:
- Brighton Plantation
- Rockwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Benson, see our County-by-County Page for Benson.
Cemeteries Near Benson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Benson.
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 Benson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Benson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Benson, with the one closest to Benson listed first.
- Riverside Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bowerbank Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Monson Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sebec Village Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Road Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hillside Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Guilford Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Rural Grove Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Gray Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Sebec Corner Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Tree Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Abbot Village Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (55 more) ...
- Village Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Foss Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Village Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
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>
While we didn't find Benson in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Benson.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Benson, with the one closest to Benson listed first.
- Onawa
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Onawa is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onawa
- Willimantic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Willimantic is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willimantic
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Barnard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Barnard is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnard
- North Guilford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- North Guilford is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Guilford
- Sebec
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Monson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brownville Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Brownville Junction is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownville Junction
- Monson Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Monson Junction is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monson Junction
- Guilford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Sangerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- East Dover
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- East Dover is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dover
- Brownville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Abbot
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- East Sangerville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- East Sangerville is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sangerville
- South Sebec
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- South Sebec is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sebec
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Benson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Benson.
Newspapers Published in Benson ...
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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Benson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Benson, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Benson.
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 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 Benson:
- 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> | 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 Benson, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Benson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |