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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 East Harpswell (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 East Harpswell. 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 East Harpswell ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for East Harpswell: E. Harpswell

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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

East Harpswell is located in Cumberland 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 Cumberland County: Androscoggin, Oxford, Sagadahoc & York.

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

  • Cumberland County     (The home county of East Harpswell)
  • Androscoggin County
  • Kennebec County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Harpswell, with the one closest to East Harpswell listed first.
    • Litchfield Corners
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Litchfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Batchelders Crossing
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • South Monmouth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • South Gardiner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Gardiner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gardiner
      • South Gardiner is located in Kennebec County
    • East Pittston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pittston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pittston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittston
      • Pittston is located in Kennebec County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,819 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pittston
      • From East Harpswell to Pittston
    • West Gardiner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Gardiner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gardiner
      • West Gardiner is located in Kennebec County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,376 people
    • East Monmouth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Gardiner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Monmouth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Randolph
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Randolph have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
      • Randolph is located in Kennebec County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,710 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Randolph <2>
    • Farmingdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmingdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmingdale
      • Farmingdale is located in Kennebec County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,925 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmingdale <2>
  • Knox County
    • Friendship
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
      • Friendship is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,143 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Friendship <2>
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Harpswell, with the one closest to East Harpswell listed first.
    • Southport
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Southport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southport
      • Southport is located in Lincoln County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Southport <2>
    • Trevett
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trevett have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trevett
      • Trevett is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trevett <2>
    • Mouse Island
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • West Boothbay Harbor
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Boothbay Harbor have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Boothbay Harbor
      • West Boothbay Harbor is located in Lincoln County
    • Westport
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Boothbay Harbor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Boothbay
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Bayville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayville
      • Bayville is located in Lincoln County
    • East Boothbay
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Boothbay have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Boothbay
      • East Boothbay is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Boothbay <2>
    • Linekin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Edgecomb
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgecomb have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgecomb
      • Edgecomb is located in Lincoln County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,265 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edgecomb <2>
    • East Edgecomb
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hatchs Corner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Sagadahoc County
    • The following are listed by their distance from East Harpswell, with the one closest to East Harpswell listed first.
    • Sabino
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • West Bath
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bath
      • West Bath is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,932 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Bath <2>
    • Phippsburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phippsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phippsburg
      • Phippsburg is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,275 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Phippsburg <2>
    • Sebasco Estates
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sebasco Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebasco Estates
      • Sebasco Estates is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sebasco Estates <2>
    • Arrowsic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arrowsic have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowsic
      • Arrowsic is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arrowsic <2>
    • Bath
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Georgetown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
      • Georgetown is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,078 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Georgetown <2>
    • Woolwich
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woolwich have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woolwich
      • Woolwich is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,218 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woolwich <2>
    • Topsham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Topsham have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topsham
      • Topsham is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,942 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Topsham <2>
    • Popham Beach
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Small Point
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Small Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Small Point
      • Small Point is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Small Point <2>
    • MacMahan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Days Ferry
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near East Harpswell ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of East Harpswell.

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

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

  • Cranberryhorn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cranberryhorn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cranberryhorn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Meadows Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Meadows Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Meadows Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Barlett Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barlett Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barlett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gatchell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gatchell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gatchell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harris Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harris Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harris Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Marine Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Marine Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Marine Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Drummond Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Drummond Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Drummond Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Point Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Point Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gilman & Bliston Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gilman & Bliston Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gilman & Bliston Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (293 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that East Harpswell had a population of 73 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Cundys Harbor
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • North Harpswell
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Harpswell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Harpswell
    • North Harpswell is located in Cumberland County
  • Harpswell Center
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Phippsburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phippsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phippsburg
    • Phippsburg is located in Sagadahoc County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,275 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Phippsburg <2>
  • Winnegance
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winnegance have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnegance
    • Winnegance is located in Sagadahoc County
  • Ashdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashdale
    • Ashdale is located in Sagadahoc County
  • Harding
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Orrs Island
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Arrowsic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arrowsic have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowsic
    • Arrowsic is located in Sagadahoc County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arrowsic <2>
  • Brunswick
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Bath
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • West Harpswell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Small Point
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Small Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Small Point
      • Small Point is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Small Point <2>
    • Popham Beach
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Georgetown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
      • Georgetown is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,078 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Georgetown <2>

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

Newspapers Published in East Harpswell ...

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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around East Harpswell.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of East Harpswell, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for East Harpswell.

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 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 East Harpswell:

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

The official website for Cumberland County: www.cumberlandcounty.org/

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 East Harpswell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- East Harpswell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in East Harpswell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.8323, Longitude: -69.8978       In this case, the coordinates for East Harpswell have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025