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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 Sunset (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 Sunset. 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 hospitals 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.

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

  • Hancock County     (The home county of Sunset)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunset, with the one closest to Sunset listed first.
    • Deer Isle
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Mountainville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Mountainville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainville
    • Stonington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Oceanville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Oceanville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oceanville
    • Little Deer Isle
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Sargentville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Sargentville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargentville
    • Brooklin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Haven
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Haven is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haven
    • Sedgwick
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Brooksville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • North Brooklin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • North Brooklin is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Brooklin
    • Cape Rosier
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Cape Rosier is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cape Rosier
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunset, with the one closest to Sunset listed first.
    • Isle Au Haut
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • North Haven
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Pulpit Harbor
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Pulpit Harbor is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulpit Harbor
    • Vinalhaven
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Camden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Rockport
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Owls Head
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Glen Cove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Glen Cove is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Cove
    • Lake City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Lake City is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
    • Rockland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • West Rockport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Hope
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Waldo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunset, with the one closest to Sunset listed first.
    • Islesboro
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Islesboro is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Islesboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 562 people
    • North Islesboro
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • North Islesboro is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Islesboro
    • Northport
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lincolnville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • East Northport
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • East Northport is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Northport
    • Stockton Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Searsport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Lincolnville Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Sandy Point
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Belfast
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bryants Corner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Bryants Corner is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryants Corner
    • Belmont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Belmont is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 911 people

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

Cemeteries Near Sunset ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sunset.

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

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

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

  • Hillside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Mt. Adams Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Forest Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Quinn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Forest Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Witherspoon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Reach Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Blastow's Cove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Eaton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (205 more) ...
    • Browns Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Grays Hill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Frye Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)

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 Sunset had a population of 48 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Deer Isle
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • South Deer Isle
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • South Deer Isle is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Deer Isle
  • Oceanville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Oceanville is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oceanville
  • North Deer Isle
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • North Deer Isle is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Deer Isle
  • Sargentville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Sargentville is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargentville
  • Brooklin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sedgwick
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • South Brooksville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • South Brooksville is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Brooksville
  • Pulpit Harbor
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Pulpit Harbor is located in Knox County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulpit Harbor
  • North Haven
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Cape Rosier
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cape Rosier is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cape Rosier
  • North Brooklin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • North Brooklin is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Brooklin
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Brooksville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • North Sedgwick
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • North Sedgwick is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sedgwick
    • Vinalhaven
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Sunset ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sunset.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sunset, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sunset.

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 Sunset:

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 Sunset, 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- Sunset) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.