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 South Orrington (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 South Orrington. 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 South Orrington ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for South Orrington: S. Orrington
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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
South Orrington is located in Penobscot 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 Penobscot County: Aroostook, Hancock, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near South Orrington. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to South Orrington:
- Penobscot County (The home county of South Orrington)
- The following are listed by their distance from South Orrington, with the one closest to South Orrington listed first.
- Orrington
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Goodale Corner
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Goodale Corner is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodale Corner
- Hampden
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- North Orrington
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- North Orrington is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orrington
- Hampden Center
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hampden Center is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden Center
- Bangor
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Brewer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Holden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Newburgh Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Newburgh Village is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburgh Village
- North Newburgh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- North Newburgh is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Newburgh
- Snow Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Snow Corner is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Corner
- Hermon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Newburgh
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Newburgh is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburgh
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,530 people
- Hancock County
- The following are listed by their distance from South Orrington, with the one closest to South Orrington listed first.
- Bucksport Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bucksport Center is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksport Center
- Dedham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bucksport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Verona Island
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Verona Island is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona Island
- Population from the 2020 Census: 555 people
- Former name for Verona Island:
- Verona
- Orland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- East Orland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- North Penobscot
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- North Penobscot is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Penobscot
- North Ellsworth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- North Ellsworth is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ellsworth
- West Penobscot
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- West Penobscot is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Penobscot
- Otis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Otis is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Mariaville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Mariaville is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariaville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 540 people
- West Brooksville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- West Brooksville is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brooksville
- Surry
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from South Orrington, with the one closest to South Orrington listed first.
- Detroit
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Houston Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Houston Corner is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston Corner
- Dogtown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Dogtown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtown
- Palmyra
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pittsfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- West Palmyra
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- West Palmyra is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Palmyra
- Waldo County
- The following are listed by their distance from South Orrington, with the one closest to South Orrington listed first.
- North Winterport
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- North Winterport is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Winterport
- Winterport
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Frankfort
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Prospect Ferry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Prospect Ferry is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Ferry
- Prospect
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Monroe
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Monroe is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 948 people
- North Searsport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- North Searsport is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Searsport
- Sandy Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Monroe Center
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Monroe Center is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe Center
- Stockton Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Swanville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jackson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Jackson is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
- Brooks
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to South Orrington, see our County-by-County Page for South Orrington.
Cemeteries Near South Orrington ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Orrington.
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 South Orrington - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for South Orrington covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from South Orrington, with the one closest to South Orrington listed first.
- Pine Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Cove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Village Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Riverview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Twining Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Locust Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- North Orrington Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ellingwood Corner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Neallys Corner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Clark Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (271 more) ...
- Wiswell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cottle Cemetery
- The Cottle Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottle Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2438532 <2>
- Copeland Hill 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that South Orrington had a population of 300 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from South Orrington, with the one closest to South Orrington listed first.
- North Winterport
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- North Winterport is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Winterport
- Orrington
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- North Bucksport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- North Bucksport is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bucksport
- Orrington Center
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Orrington Center is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrington Center
- Hampden
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Goodale Corner
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Goodale Corner is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodale Corner
- East Orrington
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- East Orrington is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Orrington
- North Orrington
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- North Orrington is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orrington
- Winterport
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bucksport Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bucksport Center is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksport Center
- Ellingwood Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ellingwood Corner is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellingwood Corner
- East Bucksport
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- East Bucksport is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bucksport
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- South Brewer
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- South Brewer is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Brewer
- East Hampden
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- East Hampden is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hampden
- Hampden Center
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hampden Center is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden Center
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around South Orrington. See our List of 1890's Communities around South Orrington.
Newspapers Published in South Orrington ...
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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Orrington.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Orrington, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for South Orrington.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 South Orrington:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Penobscot County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hancock 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 South Orrington, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- South Orrington) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |