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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 Brighton (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 Brighton. 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 Brighton ...

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 have occurred.

Brighton has also been known as: Brighton Plantation.

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.

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.

Brighton is located in Somerset County.

To see how the shape of Maine's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Somerset County: Franklin, Kennebec, Penobscot, Piscataquis & Waldo.

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

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Brighton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brighton, with the one closest to Brighton listed first.
    • Mayfield Corner
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Athens
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Harmony
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harmony have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
      • Harmony is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 895 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harmony <2>
    • Bingham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Moscow
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Cambridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cambridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
      • Cambridge is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 457 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cambridge <2>
    • Mainstream
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Solon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Solon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solon
      • Solon is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,078 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Solon <2>
    • Embden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Embden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Embden
      • Embden is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 956 people
    • East Madison
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Cornville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cornville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornville
      • Cornville is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,389 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cornville
      • From Brighton to Cornville
    • Pleasant Ridge Plantation
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Ridge Plantation have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge Plantation
      • Pleasant Ridge Plantation is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brighton, with the one closest to Brighton listed first.
    • Kingfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Industry
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Industry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Industry
      • Industry is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 927 people
    • New Vineyard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Carrabassett Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carrabassett Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrabassett Valley
      • Carrabassett Valley is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 788 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carrabassett Valley <2>
    • Strong
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bigelow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Kennebec County
  • Penobscot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brighton, with the one closest to Brighton listed first.
    • Dexter
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dexter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter
      • Dexter is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,702 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dexter <2>
    • Russell Corner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Silvers Mills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Corinna
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corinna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinna
      • Corinna is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,135 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corinna <2>
    • Newport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
      • Newport is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,248 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newport <2>
    • Garland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • North Newport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Exeter
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • East Newport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Newport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Newport
      • East Newport is located in Penobscot County
    • Stetson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • East Exeter
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Exeter. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Exeter
      • East Exeter is located in Penobscot County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to East Exeter
      • From Brighton to East Exeter
    • Plymouth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Piscataquis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brighton, with the one closest to Brighton listed first.
    • Wellington
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Kingsbury Plantation
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingsbury Plantation have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsbury Plantation
      • Kingsbury Plantation is located in Piscataquis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
    • Parkman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkman
      • Parkman is located in Piscataquis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 804 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parkman <2>
    • Abbot
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Monson Junction
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Guilford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sangerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sangerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sangerville
      • Sangerville is located in Piscataquis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,285 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sangerville <2>
    • Monson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • East Sangerville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Howard Corner
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Lower Shirley Corner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Shirley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shirley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
      • Shirley is located in Piscataquis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
  • Waldo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brighton, with the one closest to Brighton listed first.
    • Burnham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Winnecook
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Winnecook. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnecook
      • Winnecook is located in Waldo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Winnecook
      • From Brighton to Winnecook

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

Cemeteries Near Brighton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brighton.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Taylor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Taylor Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Taylor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Foss Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Foss Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Foss Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dore Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dore Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dore Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Klondike Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Klondike Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Klondike Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lords Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lords Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lords Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Leighton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leighton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leighton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Road Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Road Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Road Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chadborne Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chadborne Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chadborne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Athens Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Athens Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Athens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Rest Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Rest Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Rest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Libby Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Libby Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Libby Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Baker Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (111 more) ...

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Brighton had a population of 112 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Brighton had a population of 67 people.

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

  • Wellington
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Kingsbury
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingsbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsbury
    • Kingsbury is located in Piscataquis County
  • West Athens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Athens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Athens
    • West Athens is located in Somerset County
  • Athens
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Harmony
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harmony have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
    • Harmony is located in Somerset County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 895 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harmony <2>
  • Bingham
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Solon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Solon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solon
    • Solon is located in Somerset County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,078 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Solon <2>
  • South Solon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Solon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Solon
    • South Solon is located in Somerset County
  • Mainstream
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Cambridge
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cambridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
    • Cambridge is located in Somerset County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 457 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cambridge <2>
  • Embden
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Embden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Embden
    • Embden is located in Somerset County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 956 people
  • East Madison
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Cornville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cornville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornville
      • Cornville is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,389 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cornville
      • From Brighton to Cornville
    • Parkman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkman
      • Parkman is located in Piscataquis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 804 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parkman <2>
    • Abbot
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Brighton ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brighton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Brighton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Brighton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Brighton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4> of Brighton.

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 Brighton:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Brighton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Maine: https://www.maine.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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- Brighton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Brighton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.0460, Longitude: -69.6948    
<5>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.
<6>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 Brighton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025