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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 Penobscot (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 Penobscot. 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 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.

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

  • Hancock County     (The home county of Penobscot)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penobscot, with the one closest to Penobscot listed first.
    • Castine
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • West Brooksville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • West Brooksville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brooksville
    • Harborside
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Cape Rosier
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Cape Rosier is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cape Rosier
    • West Penobscot
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • West Penobscot is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Penobscot
    • Brooksville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Little Deer Isle
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Sargentville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Sargentville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargentville
    • Blue Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Sedgwick
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Blue Hill Falls
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Blue Hill Falls is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Hill Falls
    • North Penobscot
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • North Penobscot is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Penobscot
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penobscot, with the one closest to Penobscot listed first.
    • Pulpit Harbor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Pulpit Harbor is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulpit Harbor
    • Camden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake City is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
    • North Haven
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Hope
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Rockport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • West Rockport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Glen Cove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Glen Cove is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Cove
    • South Hope
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • South Hope is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hope
    • West Appleton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • West Appleton is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Appleton
    • Isle Au Haut
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Appleton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Penobscot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penobscot, with the one closest to Penobscot listed first.
    • Goodale Corner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Goodale Corner is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodale Corner
    • Orrington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • East Dixmont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • East Dixmont is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dixmont
    • Newburgh Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Newburgh Village is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburgh Village
    • South Newburgh
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • South Newburgh is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Newburgh
    • Hampden
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • North Orrington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • North Orrington is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orrington
    • Newburgh
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Newburgh is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburgh
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,530 people
    • Hampden Center
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Hampden Center is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden Center
    • Holden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • North Newburgh
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • North Newburgh is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Newburgh
    • Dixmont
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Dixmont is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,119 people
  • Waldo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penobscot, with the one closest to Penobscot listed first.
    • North Islesboro
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • North Islesboro is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Islesboro
    • Stockton Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Searsport
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Islesboro
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Islesboro is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Islesboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 562 people
    • Sandy Point
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Northport
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • East Northport
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • East Northport is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Northport
    • Belfast
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Prospect
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Bryants Corner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Bryants Corner is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryants Corner
    • Prospect Ferry
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Prospect Ferry is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Ferry
    • Lincolnville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Penobscot ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Penobscot.

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

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

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

  • Castine Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Indian Bar Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • West Brooksville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Bayview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Condon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Wood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Rest Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Douglass Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Westcott Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Perry Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (299 more) ...
    • Camp Stream Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • South Penobscot Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bay Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Penobscot had a population of 220 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Penobscot had a population of 1,220 people.

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

  • Castine
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • West Brooksville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • West Brooksville is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brooksville
  • North Castine
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • North Castine is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Castine
  • Cape Rosier
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Cape Rosier is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cape Rosier
  • South Brooksville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • South Brooksville is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Brooksville
  • North Islesboro
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • North Islesboro is located in Waldo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Islesboro
  • Brooksville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • South Penobscot
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • South Penobscot is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Penobscot
  • West Penobscot
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • West Penobscot is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Penobscot
  • Stockton Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Searsport
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Northport
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Sargentville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Sargentville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargentville
    • East Northport
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • East Northport is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Northport
    • North Deer Isle
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • North Deer Isle is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Deer Isle

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

Newspapers Published in Penobscot ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Penobscot.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Penobscot, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Penobscot.

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 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 Penobscot:

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>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- Penobscot) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Penobscot, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.