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 Coos Canyon (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 Coos Canyon. 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 Coos Canyon ...
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 Coos Canyon: Coos Cyn. (or less commonly used: Coos Canyn. or Coos Cnyn.)
- While the name of this community is Coos Canyon, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Coos Canyon may originally have been Coo's Canyon.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Coos Canyon might be written as Coo Canyon.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Coos Canyon is located in Oxford 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 Oxford County: Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin, York, Carroll (NH) & Coos (NH).
Below are the counties that are near Coos Canyon. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Coos Canyon:
- Oxford County (The home county of Coos Canyon)
- The following are listed by their distance from Coos Canyon, with the one closest to Coos Canyon listed first.
- Byron
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Byron is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Roxbury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Andover
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- East Andover
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- East Andover is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Andover
- South Andover
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- South Andover is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Andover
- Mexico
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Rumford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Rumford Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- South Rumford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- South Rumford is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Rumford
- Middle Dam
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Middle Dam is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Dam
- Hanover
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dixfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Androscoggin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Coos Canyon, with the one closest to Coos Canyon listed first.
- Livermore Falls
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- North Livermore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- North Livermore is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Livermore
- Shy Corner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Shy Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shy Corner
- Livermore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Coos Canyon, with the one closest to Coos Canyon listed first.
- Weld
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Bemis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bemis is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bemis
- Berry Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Berry Mills is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry Mills
- Carthage
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Carthage is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
- Population from the 2020 Census: 536 people
- Sandy River Plantation
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Sandy River Plantation is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy River Plantation
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Madrid
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Perkin's Plantation ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Perkin's Plantation is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkin's Plantation
- Phillips
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rangeley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- East Madrid
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- East Madrid is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Madrid
- Avon
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Avon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 438 people
- Mountainview
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Mountainview is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainview
- Somerset County
- New Portland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coos County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Coos Canyon, with the one closest to Coos Canyon listed first.
- Errol
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Second College Grant
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Second College Grant is located in Coos County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Second College Grant
- Dummer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Atkinson and Gilmanton Academy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Milan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Dixs Grant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dixs Grant is located in Coos County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixs Grant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1 people
- Shelburne
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Coos Canyon, see our County-by-County Page for Coos Canyon.
Cemeteries Near Coos Canyon ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Coos Canyon.
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 Coos Canyon - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Coos Canyon covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Coos Canyon, with the one closest to Coos Canyon listed first.
- Stockbridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- West Byron Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Old Frye Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Pineview Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Robertson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Andover Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Farmers Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Newman Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Glover Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Continue List (139 more) ...
- Center Hill Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Berry Mills Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Upper West Ellis Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
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 Coos Canyon in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Coos Canyon.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Coos Canyon, with the one closest to Coos Canyon listed first.
- Byron
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Byron is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Roxbury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Frye
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Frye is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frye
- Andover
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- South Andover
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- South Andover is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Andover
- Berry Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Berry Mills is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry Mills
- Weld
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Bemis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bemis is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bemis
- Mexico
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Rumford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Madrid
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rumford Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- South Rumford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- South Rumford is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Rumford
- Middle Dam
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Middle Dam is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Dam
- North Newry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- North Newry is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Newry
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Coos Canyon. See our List of 1890's Communities around Coos Canyon.
Newspapers Published in Coos Canyon ...
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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Coos Canyon.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Coos Canyon, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Coos Canyon.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Coos Canyon:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Oxford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Androscoggin County
- Franklin County
- Somerset County
- Coos County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Maine
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Coos Canyon, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Coos Canyon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |