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 Brightwater (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 Brightwater. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
Brightwater is located in Sagadahoc 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 Sagadahoc County: Androscoggin, Cumberland, Kennebec & Lincoln.
Below are the counties that are near Brightwater. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Brightwater:
- Sagadahoc County (The home county of Brightwater)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwater, with the one closest to Brightwater listed first.
- Phippsburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sebasco Estates
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Sabino
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sabino is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabino
- West Bath
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Small Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Georgetown
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Arrowsic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Popham Beach
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Popham Beach is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popham Beach
- MacMahan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- MacMahan is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for MacMahan
- Bath
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Woolwich
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Days Ferry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Days Ferry is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Days Ferry
- Murphys Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Murphys Corner is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphys Corner
- Androscoggin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwater, with the one closest to Brightwater listed first.
- Lisbon Falls
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Durham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lisbon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Penley Corner
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Penley Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penley Corner
- Drinkwater Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Drinkwater Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drinkwater Corner
- Sabattus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Danville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Danville is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Rumford Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rumford Junction is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumford Junction
- Wales
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Wales is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,640 people
- Lewiston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Auburn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Littlefield Corner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Littlefield Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlefield Corner
- Nason Beach
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Nason Beach is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nason Beach
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwater, with the one closest to Brightwater listed first.
- Cundys Harbor
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- East Harpswell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- East Harpswell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Harpswell
- Harpswell
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Pennellville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pennellville is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennellville
- Orrs Island
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Harpswell Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Harpswell Center is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpswell Center
- Harding
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Harding is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harding
- West Harpswell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- West Harpswell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Harpswell
- Bunganuc Landing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bunganuc Landing is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunganuc Landing
- Bailey Island
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bailey Island is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Island
- South Harpswell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- South Harpswell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Harpswell
- Merepoint
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Merepoint is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merepoint
- Brunswick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kennebec County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwater, with the one closest to Brightwater listed first.
- Litchfield Corners
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Litchfield Corners is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litchfield Corners
- Litchfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Batchelders Crossing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Batchelders Crossing is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batchelders Crossing
- South Gardiner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- South Gardiner is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gardiner
- South Monmouth
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- South Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Monmouth
- East Pittston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- East Pittston is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Pittston
- Purgatory
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Purgatory is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purgatory
- West Gardiner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- West Gardiner is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gardiner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,376 people
- Gardiner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pittston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pittston is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,819 people
- Randolph
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- East Monmouth
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- East Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Monmouth
- Farmingdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Knox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwater, with the one closest to Brightwater listed first.
- Friendship
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Point
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Point is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Point
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brightwater, with the one closest to Brightwater listed first.
- Mouse Island
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mouse Island is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mouse Island
- Southport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Trevett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Boothbay Harbor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- West Boothbay Harbor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- West Boothbay Harbor is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Boothbay Harbor
- Boothbay
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Westport
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Westport is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 732 people
- Former name for Westport:
- Westport Island
- Bayville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Bayville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayville
- Linekin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Linekin is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linekin
- East Boothbay
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- South Bristol
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Edgecomb
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- East Edgecomb
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Edgecomb is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Edgecomb
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Brightwater, see our County-by-County Page for Brightwater.
Cemeteries Near Brightwater ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brightwater.
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 Brightwater - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Brightwater covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brightwater, with the one closest to Brightwater listed first.
- Harris Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Barlett Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Gilman & Bliston Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Marine Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Drummond Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Cranberryhorn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberryhorn Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Cranberryhorn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in East Harpswell.
- The Cranberryhorn Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hillside Cemetery
- Old Great Island Cemetery
- Sunset Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #89782 <2>
- West Point Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Hillside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- New Meadows Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gatchell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (274 more) ...
- Jewett Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Brunswick.
- The St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90507 <2>
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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.<3>
While we didn't find Brightwater in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Brightwater.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Brightwater, with the one closest to Brightwater listed first.
- Cundys Harbor
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Ashdale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ashdale is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashdale
- Phippsburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Harpswell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- East Harpswell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Harpswell
- Small Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Popham Beach
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Popham Beach is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popham Beach
- Bay Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bay Point is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Point
- Georgetown
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Arrowsic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Winnegance
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Winnegance is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnegance
- North Harpswell
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- North Harpswell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Harpswell
- Orrs Island
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Harpswell Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Harpswell Center is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpswell Center
- West Harpswell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- West Harpswell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Harpswell
- Five Islands
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Five Islands is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Islands
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Brightwater. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brightwater.
Newspapers Published in Brightwater ...
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 80 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brightwater.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brightwater, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brightwater.
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 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 Brightwater:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Sagadahoc County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Androscoggin County
- Cumberland County
- Kennebec County
- Knox County
- Lincoln 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 Brightwater, 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- Brightwater) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |