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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 Swanville (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 Swanville. 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 and 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.

Swanville is located in Waldo 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 Waldo County: Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Penobscot & Somerset.

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

  • Waldo County     (The home county of Swanville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanville, with the one closest to Swanville listed first.
    • North Searsport
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • North Searsport is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Searsport
    • Monroe Center
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Monroe Center is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe Center
    • Bryants Corner
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Bryants Corner is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryants Corner
    • Searsport
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Waldo
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Waldo is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 872 people
    • Prospect
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Monroe
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Monroe is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 948 people
    • Belfast
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Brooks
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Stockton Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Frankfort
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jackson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jackson is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanville, with the one closest to Swanville listed first.
    • Bucksport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Verona Island
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • West Penobscot
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • West Penobscot is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Penobscot
    • Bucksport Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bucksport Center is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksport Center
    • Orland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Castine
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Penobscot
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Harborside
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • West Brooksville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • West Brooksville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brooksville
    • East Orland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • North Penobscot
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • North Penobscot is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Penobscot
    • Cape Rosier
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Cape Rosier is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cape Rosier
  • Kennebec County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanville, with the one closest to Swanville listed first.
    • Albion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Branch Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Branch Mills is located in Kennebec County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch Mills
    • China
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • China is located in Kennebec County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,339 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for China <1>
    • Clinton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Benton Falls
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Benton Falls is located in Kennebec County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Falls
    • Benton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Benton is located in Kennebec County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,720 people
    • Benton Station
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Benton Station is located in Kennebec County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Station
    • South China
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • East Vassalboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • East Vassalboro is located in Kennebec County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Vassalboro
    • Morrison Corner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Morrison Corner is located in Kennebec County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison Corner
    • North Vassalboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • North Vassalboro is located in Kennebec County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Vassalboro
    • Winslow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanville, with the one closest to Swanville listed first.
    • West Appleton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • West Appleton is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Appleton
    • Lake City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Lake City is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
    • Hope
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Appleton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Camden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Burkettville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Burkettville is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkettville
    • Rockport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Lucas Corner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Lucas Corner is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas Corner
    • South Hope
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • South Hope is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hope
    • West Rockport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Pulpit Harbor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Pulpit Harbor is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulpit Harbor
    • Razorville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Razorville is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Razorville
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanville, with the one closest to Swanville listed first.
    • Somerville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Somerville is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
    • Flanders Corner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Flanders Corner is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flanders Corner
  • Penobscot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanville, with the one closest to Swanville listed first.
    • East Dixmont
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • East Dixmont is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dixmont
    • South Newburgh
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • South Newburgh is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Newburgh
    • Newburgh Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Newburgh Village is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburgh Village
    • Newburgh
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Newburgh is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburgh
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,530 people
    • Dixmont
      (13 miles [20.9 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
    • Hampden Center
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Hampden Center is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden Center
    • North Newburgh
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • North Newburgh is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Newburgh
    • Orrington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Goodale Corner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Goodale Corner is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodale Corner
    • Hampden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • North Orrington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • North Orrington is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orrington
    • Carmel
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Carmel is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,857 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carmel <1>
  • Somerset County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Swanville, with the one closest to Swanville listed first.
    • Detroit
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Houston Corner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Houston Corner is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston Corner
    • Dogtown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Dogtown is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtown
    • Pittsfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Palmyra
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • West Palmyra
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • West Palmyra is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Palmyra
    • Fairfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Shawmut
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Shawmut is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawmut

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

Cemeteries Near Swanville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Swanville.

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

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

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

  • Nickerson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Greenlawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Webster Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Smart Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Seekens Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Harvey Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Solitude Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Robertson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Harding Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Piper Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (330 more) ...
    • Mt. Rest Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Reynolds Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Hadley Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)

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 Swanville had a population of 200 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Swanville had a population of 1,359 people.

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

  • North Searsport
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • North Searsport is located in Waldo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Searsport
  • Waldo
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Waldo is located in Waldo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 872 people
  • City Point
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • City Point is located in Waldo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City Point
  • Monroe Center
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Monroe Center is located in Waldo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe Center
  • Searsport
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Belfast
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Prospect
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Brooks
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Monroe
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Monroe is located in Waldo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 948 people
  • Stockton Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • West Winterport
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • West Winterport is located in Waldo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Winterport
  • Frankfort
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • North Monroe
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • North Monroe is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Monroe
    • Jackson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jackson is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
    • Morrill
      (9 miles [14.5 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 Swanville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Swanville.

Newspapers Published in Swanville ...

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 68 newspapers that have been published in the area around Swanville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Swanville, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Swanville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Swanville:

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 Swanville, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Swanville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.