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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 Clifton (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 Clifton. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Clifton is located in Penobscot 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 Penobscot County: Aroostook, Hancock, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo & Washington.

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

  • Penobscot County     (The home county of Clifton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • East Eddington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Eddington
      • East Eddington is located in Penobscot County
    • Webster
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Webster. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Webster is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Eddington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Bradley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Orono
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orono have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orono
      • Orono is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,636 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orono <2>
    • Holden
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden
      • Holden is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holden <2>
    • Veazie
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Veazie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veazie
      • Veazie is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,824 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Veazie <2>
    • Milford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Old Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
      • Old Town is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,404 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Town <2>
    • Stillwater
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stillwater have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwater
      • Stillwater is located in Penobscot County
    • Brewer
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brewer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewer
      • Brewer is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,948 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brewer <2>
    • Bangor
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
      • Bangor is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,998 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangor <2>
    • Costigan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Costigan have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Costigan
      • Costigan is located in Penobscot County
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • Amherst
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
      • Amherst is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
    • Otis
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
      • Otis is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
    • Mariaville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mariaville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariaville
      • Mariaville is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 540 people
    • Aurora
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurora have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
      • Aurora is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurora <2>
    • Waltham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waltham have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
      • Waltham is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 340 people
    • Dedham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dedham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham
      • Dedham is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,666 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dedham <2>
    • Osborn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osborn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborn
      • Osborn is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
    • Great Pond
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Pond have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Pond
      • Great Pond is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Eastbrook
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eastbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastbrook
      • Eastbrook is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eastbrook <2>
    • Ellsworth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • East Orland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Orland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Orland
      • East Orland is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Orland <2>
    • Franklin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Franklin is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,567 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <2>
    • Bucksport Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksport Center
      • Bucksport Center is located in Hancock County
  • Waldo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • North Winterport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for North Winterport. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Winterport
      • North Winterport is located in Waldo County
    • Winterport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winterport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterport
      • Winterport is located in Waldo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,028 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winterport <2>
    • Frankfort
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frankfort have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort
      • Frankfort is located in Waldo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,196 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frankfort <2>
    • Prospect Ferry
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Ferry
      • Prospect Ferry is located in Waldo County
    • Prospect
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sandy Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Point
      • Sandy Point is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sandy Point <2>
    • Monroe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Monroe is located in Waldo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 948 people
    • North Searsport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Searsport
      • North Searsport is located in Waldo County
    • Stockton Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stockton Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton Springs
      • Stockton Springs is located in Waldo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,640 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stockton Springs <2>
    • Monroe Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Monroe Center. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe Center
      • Monroe Center is located in Waldo County
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Clifton, with the one closest to Clifton listed first.
    • Beddington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beddington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beddington
      • Beddington is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beddington <2>
    • Deblois
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deblois
      • Deblois is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people

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

Cemeteries Near Clifton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clifton.

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 Clifton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Pine Tree Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Tree Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Tree Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Frost Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Frost Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Frost Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hadley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hadley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hadley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Amherst Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Amherst Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Amherst Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pyles Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pyles Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pyles Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Penny Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Penny Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Penny Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clewleyville Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clewleyville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clewleyville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eastern Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eastern Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eastern Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Aurora Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Aurora Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Aurora Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • RNOP Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the RNOP Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the RNOP Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (185 more) ...
    • North Eddington Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Eddington Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Eddington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Meadowbrook Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Meadowbrook Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Meadowbrook Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Forest Hill Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Clifton had a population of 60 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Clifton had a population of 901 people.

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

  • East Eddington
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Eddington
    • East Eddington is located in Penobscot County
  • Amherst
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
    • Amherst is located in Hancock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
  • East Holden
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Holden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Holden
    • East Holden is located in Penobscot County
  • Webster
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Webster. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Webster is located in Penobscot County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
  • Basin Mills
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Basin Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Basin Mills
    • Basin Mills is located in Penobscot County
  • Eddington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Holden
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden
    • Holden is located in Penobscot County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,120 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holden <2>
  • Aurora
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurora have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
    • Aurora is located in Hancock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurora <2>
  • Bradley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Great Works
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Works have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Works
    • Great Works is located in Penobscot County
  • Orono
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orono have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orono
    • Orono is located in Penobscot County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,636 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orono <2>
  • Veazie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Veazie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veazie
    • Veazie is located in Penobscot County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,824 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Veazie <2>
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Green Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lake
      • Green Lake is located in Hancock County
    • Milford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Old Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
      • Old Town is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,404 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Town <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Clifton ...

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 128 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clifton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clifton, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clifton.

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 websites either 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 Clifton:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>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 Clifton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Clifton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Clifton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.8167, Longitude: -68.5111       In this case, the coordinates for Clifton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025