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 Manchester (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 Manchester. 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 and hospitals 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.
Manchester is located in Kennebec 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 Kennebec County: Androscoggin, Franklin, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Somerset & Waldo.
Below are the counties that are near Manchester. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Manchester:
- Kennebec County (The home county of Manchester)
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- East Winthrop
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Winthrop Center
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Winthrop Center is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Center
- Augusta
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hallowell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Maranacook
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Maranacook is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maranacook
- Winthrop
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Readfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Gardiner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- West Gardiner is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gardiner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,376 people
- Farmingdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gardiner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Randolph
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Chelsea
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Androscoggin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Curtis Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Curtis Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis Corner
- Leeds
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Leeds is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,320 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leeds <1>
- Leeds Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Leeds Junction is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds Junction
- North Leeds
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- North Leeds is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leeds
- Wales Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wales Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales Corner
- Wales
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wales is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,640 people
- East Livermore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- East Livermore is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Livermore
- Greene
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Greene Corner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Greene Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene Corner
- Nason Beach
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Nason Beach is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nason Beach
- Howes Corner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Howes Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howes Corner
- South Livermore
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- South Livermore is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Livermore
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Brunswick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Harding
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Harding is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harding
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Chesterville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Chesterville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,348 people
- Chisholm
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Chisholm is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chisholm
- Jay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jay is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,598 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jay <1>
- North Chesterville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Chesterville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chesterville
- New Sharon
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Farmington Falls
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Dryden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Dryden is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryden
- North Jay
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- North Jay is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Jay
- East Wilton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- East Wilton is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wilton
- Wilton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- East Dixfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Dixfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dixfield
- Farmington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Knox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Razorville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Razorville is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Razorville
- Globe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Globe is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Stickney Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Stickney Corner is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stickney Corner
- Washington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Burkettville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Burkettville is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkettville
- Lucas Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lucas Corner is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas Corner
- West Appleton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- West Appleton is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Appleton
- Appleton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Union
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Coopers Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- North Whitefield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- North Whitefield is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Whitefield
- Whitefield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dresden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Somerville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Somerville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Head Tide
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Head Tide is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Head Tide
- Hatchs Corner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Hatchs Corner is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchs Corner
- South Dresden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- South Dresden is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dresden
- Alna
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- North Newcastle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- North Newcastle is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Newcastle
- Flanders Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Flanders Corner is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flanders Corner
- Oxford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Canton Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Canton Point is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton Point
- Canton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Canton is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,097 people
- Gilbertville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Gilbertville is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Hartford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Hartford is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,229 people
- Buckfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- East Sumner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- East Sumner is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sumner
- Hebron
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Sumner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Peru
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sagadahoc County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Richmond Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Richmond Corner is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Corner
- Richmond
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bowdoin
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bowdoin is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowdoin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,222 people
- Bowdoin Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Bowdoin Center is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowdoin Center
- Harwards
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Harwards is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwards
- Bowdoinham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Days Ferry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Days Ferry is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Days Ferry
- Pejepscot
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Pejepscot is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pejepscot
- Bath
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Murphys Corner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Murphys Corner is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphys Corner
- Topsham
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Woolwich
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Smithfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Fairfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mercer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Mercer is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 637 people
- Shawmut
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Shawmut is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawmut
- Nyes Corner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Nyes Corner is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nyes Corner
- Norridgewock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hinckley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hinckley is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinckley
- Starks
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Starks is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Waldo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Palermo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- North Palermo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- North Palermo is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Palermo
- Liberty
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Montville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Montville is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,093 people
- South Montville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- South Montville is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Montville
- West Searsmont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- West Searsmont is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Searsmont
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Manchester, see our County-by-County Page for Manchester.
Cemeteries Near Manchester ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Manchester.
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 Manchester - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Manchester covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- Friends Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- East Winthrop Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Scribner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Coombs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Barber Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Forest Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Forest Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Augusta.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #865001 <2>
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Marys Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Marys Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Augusta.
- The St. Marys Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90512 <2>
- Mt. Vernon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Vernon Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Vernon Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Augusta.
- The Mt. Vernon Cemetery has also been known as:
- Burnt Hill Burying Ground
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2237155 <2>
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Hope Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Hope Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Augusta.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90252 <2>
- St. Augustine Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Townsend Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery
- The Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
- Maine Mt. Vernon Road Veterans Memorial Cemetery
- Veterans Memorial Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90186 <2>
- Continue List (446 more) ...
- Metcalf Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Lakeview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Chelsea Heights Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
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 Manchester had a population of 127 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Manchester had a population of 2,555 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Manchester, with the one closest to Manchester listed first.
- East Winthrop
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Winthrop Center
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Winthrop Center is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Center
- Hallowell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Augusta
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Winthrop
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- West Sidney
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- West Sidney is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sidney
- Readfield Depot
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Readfield Depot is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readfield Depot
- Maranacook
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Maranacook is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maranacook
- Readfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Gardiner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- West Gardiner is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gardiner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,376 people
- Gardiner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Randolph
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Farmingdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- East Monmouth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- East Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Monmouth
- Pittston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Pittston is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,819 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Manchester. See our List of 1890's Communities around Manchester.
Newspapers Published in Manchester ...
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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Manchester.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Manchester, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Manchester.
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 Manchester:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Kennebec County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Androscoggin County
- Cumberland County
- Franklin County
- Knox County
- Lincoln County
- Oxford County
- Sagadahoc County
- Somerset County
- Waldo County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Maine
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 Manchester, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Manchester) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |