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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 Shirley Mills (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 Shirley Mills. 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 Shirley Mills ...

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 Shirley Mills: Shirley Mls. (or less commonly used: Shirley Mlls.)

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Shirley Mills is located in Piscataquis 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 Piscataquis County: Aroostook, Penobscot & Somerset.

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

  • Piscataquis County     (The home county of Shirley Mills)
  • Penobscot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shirley Mills, with the one closest to Shirley Mills listed first.
    • Silvers Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Dexter
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dexter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dexter
      • Dexter is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,702 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dexter <2>
    • Russell Corner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Somerset County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shirley Mills, with the one closest to Shirley Mills listed first.
    • The Forks
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Somerset Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Mayfield Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • West Forks Plantation
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Forks Plantation have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Forks Plantation
      • West Forks Plantation is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
    • Caratunk
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • West Forks
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Forks
      • West Forks is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Forks <2>
    • Rockwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
      • Rockwood is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockwood <2>
    • Brighton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Cambridge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cambridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
      • Cambridge is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 457 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cambridge <2>
    • Bingham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Moscow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Mackamp
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mackamp. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackamp
      • Mackamp is located in Somerset County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mackamp
      • From Shirley Mills to Mackamp

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

Cemeteries Near Shirley Mills ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shirley Mills.

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 Shirley Mills covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Shirley Mills Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shirley Mills Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shirley Mills Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greenville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lake Road Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Road Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake Road Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Monson Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Monson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Monson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Abbot Village Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Abbot Village Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Abbot Village Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lawn Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Elmwood Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elmwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elmwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Guilford Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Guilford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Guilford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Foss Hill Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Foss Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Foss Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Parkman Corner Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parkman Corner Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Parkman Corner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (40 more) ...
    • Village Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Village Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Village Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Pingree Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pingree Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pingree Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bowerbank Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bowerbank Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bowerbank Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Shirley Mills had a population of 53 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Shirley
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shirley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
    • Shirley is located in Piscataquis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
  • Greenville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
    • Greenville is located in Piscataquis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,628 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <2>
  • Greenville Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Blanchard
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blanchard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanchard
    • Blanchard is located in Piscataquis County
  • Monson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Willimantic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willimantic have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willimantic
    • Willimantic is located in Piscataquis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
  • Onawa
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Onawa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onawa
    • Onawa is located in Piscataquis County
  • Monson Junction
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Abbot
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • North Guilford
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Guilford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Guilford
    • North Guilford is located in Piscataquis County
  • Moosehead
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Moosehead. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moosehead
    • Moosehead is located in Piscataquis County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Moosehead
    • From Shirley Mills to Moosehead
  • Kingsbury
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingsbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsbury
    • Kingsbury is located in Piscataquis County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Shirley Mills ...

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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shirley Mills.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shirley Mills, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shirley Mills.

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 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 Shirley Mills:

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

The official website for State of Maine: https://www.maine.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 Shirley Mills, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Shirley Mills) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shirley Mills. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3659, Longitude: -69.6188    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025