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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 Higgins Beach (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 Higgins Beach. 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 Higgins Beach ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Higgins Beach: Higgins Bch.
  • While the name of this community is Higgins Beach, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Higgins Beach may originally have been Higgin's Beach.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Higgins Beach might be written as Higgin Beach.

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 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 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.

Higgins Beach 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 Higgins Beach. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Higgins Beach:

  • Cumberland County     (The home county of Higgins Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins Beach, with the one closest to Higgins Beach listed first.
    • Scarborough
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scarborough have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarborough
      • Scarborough is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,527 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scarborough <3>
    • Prouts Neck
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cape Elizabeth
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Grand Beach
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Beach
      • Grand Beach is located in Cumberland County
    • Danish Village ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danish Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danish Village
      • Danish Village is located in Cumberland County
    • Pleasantdale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasantdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantdale
      • Pleasantdale is located in Cumberland County
    • South Portland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Lone Creek Village ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lone Creek Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Creek Village
      • Lone Creek Village is located in Cumberland County
    • West Scarborough
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Scarborough have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Scarborough
      • West Scarborough is located in Cumberland County
    • Ferry Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ferry Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry Village
      • Ferry Village is located in Cumberland County
    • Stroudwater
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroudwater
      • Stroudwater is located in Cumberland County
    • Peaks Island
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Androscoggin County
    • Durham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Durham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
      • Durham is located in Androscoggin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,044 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Durham <3>
  • Sagadahoc County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins Beach, with the one closest to Higgins Beach listed first.
    • Sebasco Estates
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sebasco Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
    • Small Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Small Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
    • Phippsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phippsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
    • Sabino
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabino
      • Sabino is located in Sagadahoc County
    • Topsham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Topsham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
    • Pejepscot
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pejepscot
      • Pejepscot is located in Sagadahoc County
    • West Bath
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins Beach, with the one closest to Higgins Beach listed first.
    • Old Orchard Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Orchard Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Orchard Beach
      • Old Orchard Beach is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,095 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Orchard Beach <3>
    • Ocean Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ocean Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Park
      • Ocean Park is located in York County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocean Park <3>
    • Kinney Shores
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney Shores
      • Kinney Shores is located in York County
    • Biddeford Pool
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Biddeford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Saco
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saco
      • Saco is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,121 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saco <3>
    • Airport Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Airport Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Village
      • Airport Village is located in York County
    • Buxton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buxton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buxton
      • Buxton is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,368 people
    • Adams Corner
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams Corner
      • Adams Corner is located in York County
    • Bar Mills
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Dayton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dayton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
      • Dayton is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,107 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dayton <3>
    • Arundel
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arundel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arundel
      • Arundel is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,457 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arundel <3>

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

Newspapers Published in Higgins Beach ...

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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Higgins Beach.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Higgins Beach, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Higgins Beach.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Higgins Beach:

Cemeteries Near Higgins Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Higgins Beach.

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

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

  • Riverside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
  • Black Point Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Black Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Black Point Cemetery
  • Highland Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Bay View Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
  • Western Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Western Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Western Cemetery
  • Forest City Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • West Scarboro Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Scarboro Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Scarboro Cemetery
  • Stroudwater Burying Ground
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stroudwater Burying Ground have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stroudwater Burying Ground
  • Brooklawn Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Brooklawn Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Portland.
    • The Brooklawn Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Brooklawn Memorial Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brooklawn Memorial Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #852912 <5>
  • Temple Beth El Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Temple Beth El Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Portland.
    • The Temple Beth El Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Beth El Memorial Park
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Temple Beth El Memorial Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2342716 <5>
  • Continue List   (199 more) ...
    • Old Settlers Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Settlers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Settlers Cemetery
    • Smith Street Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Eastern Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eastern Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eastern Cemetery

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.<6>

While we didn't find Higgins Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Higgins Beach.

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

  • Pine Point Beach
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Point Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Point Beach
    • Pine Point Beach is located in Cumberland County
  • Prouts Neck
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Pine Point
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Point
    • Pine Point is located in Cumberland County
  • Cape Elizabeth
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Cash Corner
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cash Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Corner
    • Cash Corner is located in Cumberland County
  • Old Orchard Beach
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Orchard Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Orchard Beach
    • Old Orchard Beach is located in York County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,095 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Orchard Beach <3>
  • South Portland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Knightville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knightville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightville
    • Knightville is located in Cumberland County
  • Pleasantdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasantdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantdale
    • Pleasantdale is located in Cumberland County
  • West Scarborough
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Scarborough have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Scarborough
    • West Scarborough is located in Cumberland County
  • Stroudwater
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroudwater
    • Stroudwater is located in Cumberland County
  • Woodfords
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodfords have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodfords
    • Woodfords is located in Cumberland County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Bay View
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bay View have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
      • Bay View is located in York County
    • Peaks Island
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Portland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Higgins Beach. 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>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>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Higgins Beach) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Higgins Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.5601, Longitude: -70.2798       In this case, the coordinates for Higgins Beach have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Higgins Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024