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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 Otis (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 Otis. 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 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.

Otis is located in Hancock 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 Hancock County: Penobscot, Waldo & Washington.

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

  • Hancock County     (The home county of Otis)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
    • Mariaville
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Mariaville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariaville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 540 people
    • Waltham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Waltham is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 340 people
    • North Ellsworth
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • North Ellsworth is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ellsworth
    • Eastbrook
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Amherst
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Amherst is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
    • Osborn
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Osborn is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
    • Dedham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Aurora
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ellsworth
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Franklin Road
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Franklin Road is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Road
    • Franklin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Surry
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Surry is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,504 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Surry <1>
    • East Orland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Penobscot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
    • Clifton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Clifton is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 901 people
    • East Eddington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • East Eddington is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Eddington
    • Holden
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Eddington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Brewer
      (14 miles [22.5 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>
    • Goodale Corner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Goodale Corner is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodale Corner
    • Orono
      (15 miles [24.1 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
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Webster
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Webster is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Bradley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bangor
      (16 miles [25.7 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>
    • Old Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • North Orrington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • North Orrington is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orrington
  • Waldo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
    • North Winterport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • North Winterport is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Winterport
    • Winterport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Prospect Ferry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Prospect Ferry is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Ferry
    • Frankfort
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Sandy Point
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Prospect
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Stockton Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • North Searsport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • North Searsport is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Searsport
    • Monroe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Monroe is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 948 people
    • Searsport
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Swanville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Monroe Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • 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 Otis, with the one closest to Otis listed first.
    • Deblois
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Deblois is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deblois
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
    • Beddington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cherryfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Steuben
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • East Steuben
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • East Steuben is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Steuben
    • Milbridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Otis ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otis.

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

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Otis covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Pyles Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Beech Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Frost Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Penny Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Nicolin Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • North Ellsworth Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Hadley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Pine Tree Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Eastern Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (201 more) ...
    • Juniper Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Union Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Amherst Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)

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.<2>

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

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

  • Green Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Green Lake is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lake
  • Waltham
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Waltham is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 340 people
  • North Ellsworth
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • North Ellsworth is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ellsworth
  • Clifton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Clifton is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 901 people
  • East Eddington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • East Eddington is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Eddington
  • Eastbrook
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Amherst
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Amherst is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
  • East Holden
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • East Holden is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Holden
  • North Orland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • North Orland is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orland
  • Ellsworth Falls
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Ellsworth Falls is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth Falls
  • Dedham
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • West Ellsworth
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • West Ellsworth is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ellsworth
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Ellsworth
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Aurora
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Holden
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • 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>

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

Newspapers Published in Otis ...

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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otis.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otis, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otis.

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 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 Otis:

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>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 Otis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Otis) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.