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 Tacoma (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 Tacoma. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Tacoma is located in Kennebec 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 Kennebec County: Androscoggin, Franklin, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Somerset & Waldo.
Below are the counties that are near Tacoma. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Tacoma:
- Kennebec County (The home county of Tacoma)
- The following are listed by their distance from Tacoma, with the one closest to Tacoma listed first.
- Batchelders Crossing
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Batchelders Crossing is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batchelders Crossing
- South Monmouth
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- South Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Monmouth
- Purgatory
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Purgatory is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purgatory
- Litchfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- East Monmouth
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- East Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Monmouth
- West Gardiner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- West Gardiner is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gardiner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,376 people
- Monmouth
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Litchfield Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Litchfield Corners is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litchfield Corners
- North Monmouth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Winthrop
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Winthrop Center
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Winthrop Center is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Center
- Gardiner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- East Winthrop
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Androscoggin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tacoma, with the one closest to Tacoma listed first.
- Wales
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wales is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,640 people
- Wales Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Wales Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales Corner
- Leeds Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Leeds Junction is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds Junction
- Curtis Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Curtis Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis Corner
- Nason Beach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Nason Beach is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nason Beach
- Drinkwater Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Drinkwater Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drinkwater Corner
- Sabattus
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Greene
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Greene Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Greene Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene Corner
- Leeds
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Leeds is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,320 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leeds <1>
- Foggs Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Foggs Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foggs Corner
- Lisbon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lewiston
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tacoma, with the one closest to Tacoma listed first.
- Brunswick
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Harding
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Harding is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harding
- North Pownal
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- North Pownal is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pownal
- Bunganuc Landing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bunganuc Landing is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunganuc Landing
- Pennellville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Pennellville is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennellville
- New Gloucester
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pownal
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Freeport
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Shaker Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Shaker Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- East Harpswell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- East Harpswell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Harpswell
- Merepoint
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Merepoint is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merepoint
- Dry Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dry Mills is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Mills
- East Gray
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- East Gray is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gray
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tacoma, with the one closest to Tacoma listed first.
- Chisholm
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Chisholm is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chisholm
- Chesterville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Chesterville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,348 people
- Jay
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jay is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,598 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jay <1>
- North Jay
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- North Jay is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Jay
- North Chesterville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- North Chesterville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chesterville
- Dryden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dryden is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryden
- Farmington Falls
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- New Sharon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Wilton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Knox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tacoma, with the one closest to Tacoma listed first.
- Globe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Globe is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Razorville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Razorville is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Razorville
- Stickney Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Stickney Corner is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stickney Corner
- Washington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tacoma, with the one closest to Tacoma listed first.
- Dresden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- South Dresden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- South Dresden is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dresden
- Hatchs Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hatchs Corner is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchs Corner
- Head Tide
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Head Tide is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Head Tide
- Whitefield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Alna
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- North Whitefield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- North Whitefield is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Whitefield
- Wiscasset
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- North Newcastle
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- North Newcastle is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Newcastle
- Coopers Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Westport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Westport is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 732 people
- Former name for Westport:
- Westport Island
- Edgecomb
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Damariscotta
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Oxford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tacoma, with the one closest to Tacoma listed first.
- Buckfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hebron
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Hartford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hartford is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,229 people
- East Sumner
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- East Sumner is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sumner
- Canton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Canton is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,097 people
- Gilbertville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gilbertville is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Canton Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Canton Point is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton Point
- Sumner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oxford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Paris
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Paris is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,162 people
- South Paris
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- East Otisfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- East Otisfield is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Otisfield
- Norway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Sagadahoc County
- The following are listed by their distance from Tacoma, with the one closest to Tacoma listed first.
- Richmond Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Richmond Corner is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Corner
- Bowdoin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Bowdoin is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowdoin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,222 people
- Bowdoin Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bowdoin Center is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowdoin Center
- Richmond
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Harwards
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Harwards is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwards
- Bowdoinham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Pejepscot
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Pejepscot is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pejepscot
- Topsham
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Days Ferry
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Days Ferry is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Days Ferry
- Bath
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Woolwich
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Murphys Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Murphys Corner is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphys Corner
- West Bath
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Waldo County
- Palermo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Tacoma, see our County-by-County Page for Tacoma.
Cemeteries Near Tacoma ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Tacoma.
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 Tacoma - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Tacoma covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Tacoma, with the one closest to Tacoma listed first.
- North Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Grant Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Monmouth Ridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Mitchell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Plains Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- East Wales Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Maxwell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pond Road Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fairbanks Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Friends Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Howard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Kimball Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (441 more) ...
- Keenes Corner Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Golder Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Glenside Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenside Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Glenside Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the west of Winthrop.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #89959 <3>
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>
While we didn't find Tacoma in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Tacoma.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Tacoma, with the one closest to Tacoma listed first.
- South Monmouth
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- South Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Monmouth
- Litchfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Litchfield Plains
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Litchfield Plains is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litchfield Plains
- East Monmouth
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- East Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Monmouth
- Wales
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wales is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,640 people
- East Wales
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Wales is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wales
- Litchfield Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Litchfield Corners is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litchfield Corners
- West Gardiner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- West Gardiner is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gardiner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,376 people
- Monmouth
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Leeds Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Leeds Junction is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds Junction
- North Monmouth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Richmond Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Richmond Corner is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Corner
- Continue List (21 more) ...
- Winthrop
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Curtis Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Curtis Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis Corner
- Sabattus
(8 miles [12.9 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 Tacoma. See our List of 1890's Communities around Tacoma.
Newspapers Published in Tacoma ...
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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Tacoma.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Tacoma, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Tacoma.
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 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 Tacoma:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Kennebec County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Androscoggin County
- Cumberland County
- Franklin County
- Knox County
- Lincoln County
- Oxford County
- Sagadahoc 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> | 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- Tacoma) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Tacoma, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |