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 Bradford Center (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 Bradford Center. 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.
Name Variations for Bradford Center ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Bradford Center: Bradford Ctr. (or less commonly used: Bradford Cen., Bradford Cent. or Bradford Cntr.)
- You might see Bradford Centre instead of Bradford Center.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bradford Center. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bradford Center.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.
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.
Bradford Center is located in Penobscot 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 Penobscot County: Aroostook, Hancock, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Bradford Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bradford Center:
- Penobscot County (The home county of Bradford Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bradford Center, with the one closest to Bradford Center listed first.
- Bradford
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- South Lagrange
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Lagrange is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lagrange
- North Bradford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Bradford is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bradford
- Hudson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hudson is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,499 people
- Lagrange
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Charleston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Charleston is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,675 people
- Alton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- West Old Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- West Old Town is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Old Town
- Corinth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- South Corinth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- South Corinth is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Corinth
- Kenduskeag
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Old Town Landing
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Old Town Landing is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town Landing
- Hancock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bradford Center, with the one closest to Bradford Center listed first.
- Dedham
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bucksport Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Bucksport Center is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksport Center
- Amherst
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Amherst is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
- Piscataquis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bradford Center, with the one closest to Bradford Center listed first.
- Boyd Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Boyd Lake is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd Lake
- Atkinson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Atkinson is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
- Atkinson Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Atkinson Mills is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson Mills
- Medford Center
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Medford Center is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford Center
- South Dover
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- South Dover is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dover
- Milo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- 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>
- Medford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Medford is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
- Dover South Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Dover South Mills is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover South Mills
- Adams
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Adams is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Brownville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dover - Foxcroft
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sebec
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bradford Center, with the one closest to Bradford Center listed first.
- Ripley
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Ripley is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 479 people
- Detroit
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Palmyra
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Albans
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Cambridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dogtown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dogtown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtown
- Hartland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Palmyra
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Palmyra is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Palmyra
- Mainstream
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Mainstream is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mainstream
- Waldo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bradford Center, with the one closest to Bradford Center listed first.
- North Winterport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- North Winterport is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Winterport
- Winterport
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bradford Center, see our County-by-County Page for Bradford Center.
Cemeteries Near Bradford Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bradford Center.
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 Bradford Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bradford Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bradford Center, with the one closest to Bradford Center listed first.
- Mills Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Williams Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Trask Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Corner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hillside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Orneville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Corinthian Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Alton Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Gould Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Boutell Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (154 more) ...
- Lucas Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hemlock Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Farnham Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
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 Bradford Center had a population of 72 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bradford Center, with the one closest to Bradford Center listed first.
- Bradford
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hudson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hudson is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,499 people
- South Lagrange
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Lagrange is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lagrange
- North Bradford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Bradford is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bradford
- Lagrange
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- East Corinth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Boyd Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Boyd Lake is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd Lake
- Charleston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Charleston is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,675 people
- Corinth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- South Corinth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- South Corinth is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Corinth
- West Old Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- West Old Town is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Old Town
- Alton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- West Charleston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- West Charleston is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Charleston
- Atkinson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Atkinson is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
- West Corinth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- West Corinth is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Corinth
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bradford Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bradford Center.
Newspapers Published in Bradford Center ...
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 107 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bradford Center.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bradford Center, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bradford Center.
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 Bradford Center:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Penobscot County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hancock County
- Piscataquis County
- Somerset County
- Waldo 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 Bradford Center, 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- Bradford Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |