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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 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.

Clifton 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 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)
      • East Eddington is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Eddington
    • Webster
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Webster is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • 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)
      • Orono is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orono
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,636 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orono <1>
    • Holden
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Holden is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holden <1>
    • Veazie
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Veazie is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veazie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,824 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Veazie <1>
    • Milford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Old Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Stillwater
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Stillwater is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwater
    • Brewer
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Brewer is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,948 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brewer <1>
    • Bangor
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Bangor is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,998 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangor <1>
    • Costigan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Costigan is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Costigan
  • 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)
      • Amherst is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
    • Otis
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Otis is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
    • Mariaville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Mariaville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariaville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 540 people
    • Aurora
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Waltham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Waltham is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 340 people
    • Dedham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Osborn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Osborn is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
    • North Ellsworth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • North Ellsworth is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ellsworth
    • Great Pond
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Great Pond is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Pond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Eastbrook
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Ellsworth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • East Orland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Bucksport Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Bucksport Center is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksport Center
  • 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)
      • North Winterport is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Winterport
    • Winterport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Frankfort
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Prospect Ferry
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Prospect Ferry is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Ferry
    • Prospect
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sandy Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Monroe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Monroe is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 948 people
    • North Searsport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • North Searsport is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Searsport
    • Stockton Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Monroe Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Monroe Center is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe Center
  • 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)
    • Deblois
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Deblois is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deblois
      • 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.

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 Clifton - one of the links might be able to help.

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)
  • Frost Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hadley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Amherst Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Pyles Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Penny Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Clewleyville Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Eastern Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Aurora Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • RNOP Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (186 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.<3>

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)
    • East Eddington is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Eddington
  • Amherst
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Amherst is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
  • East Holden
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • East Holden is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Holden
  • Webster
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Webster is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
  • Basin Mills
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Basin Mills is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Basin Mills
  • Eddington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Holden
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Holden is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,120 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holden <1>
  • Aurora
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Bradley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Great Works
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Great Works is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Works
  • Orono
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Orono is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orono
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,636 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orono <1>
  • Veazie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Veazie is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veazie
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,824 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Veazie <1>
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Green Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Green Lake is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lake
    • Milford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Old Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)

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]<4>. 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 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:

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 Clifton, 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 from Point A (ie- Clifton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.