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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 Vinalhaven (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 Vinalhaven. 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 Vinalhaven ...

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.

Another variation: Vinal Haven.

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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Vinalhaven is located in Knox 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 Knox County: Lincoln & Waldo.

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

  • Knox County     (The home county of Vinalhaven)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vinalhaven, with the one closest to Vinalhaven listed first.
    • North Haven
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Haven
      • North Haven is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Haven <2>
    • Pulpit Harbor
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Isle Au Haut
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Isle Au Haut have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isle Au Haut
      • Isle Au Haut is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Isle Au Haut <2>
    • Matinicus Isle Plantation
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Matinicus Isle Plantation have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matinicus Isle Plantation
      • Matinicus Isle Plantation is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Owls Head
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Matinicus
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Glen Cove
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Cove
      • Glen Cove is located in Knox County
    • Criehaven
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Rockland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • South Thomaston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Thomaston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Thomaston
      • South Thomaston is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,642 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Thomaston <2>
    • Spruce Head
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spruce Head have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Head
      • Spruce Head is located in Knox County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spruce Head <2>
    • Camden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
      • Camden is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,806 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Camden <2>
    • Rockport
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport
      • Rockport is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockport <2>
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vinalhaven, with the one closest to Vinalhaven listed first.
    • Stonington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonington
      • Stonington is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,033 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stonington <2>
    • Sunset
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
      • Sunset is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sunset <2>
    • Deer Isle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer Isle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Isle
      • Deer Isle is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deer Isle <2>
    • Oceanville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Mountainville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Little Deer Isle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Cape Rosier
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Sargentville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sargentville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargentville
      • Sargentville is located in Hancock County
    • Minturn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Swans Island
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swans Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swans Island
      • Swans Island is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swans Island <2>
    • Harborside
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harborside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harborside
      • Harborside is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harborside <2>
    • Brooklin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Sedgwick
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sedgwick have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedgwick
      • Sedgwick is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,175 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sedgwick <2>
  • Lincoln County
  • Waldo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vinalhaven, with the one closest to Vinalhaven listed first.
    • Islesboro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Islesboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Islesboro
      • Islesboro is located in Waldo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 562 people
    • Lincolnville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincolnville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
      • Lincolnville is located in Waldo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,252 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lincolnville <2>
    • North Islesboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Northport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northport
      • Northport is located in Waldo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,593 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Northport <2>
    • Lincolnville Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • East Northport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Belmont
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belmont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
      • Belmont is located in Waldo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 911 people
    • Bickfords Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Greers Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Belfast
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Slab City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slab City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab City
      • Slab City is located in Waldo County
    • Bryants Corner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Belmont Corner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Vinalhaven ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vinalhaven.

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

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

  • Lane Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lane Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lane Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cummins Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cummins Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cummins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • John Carver Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the John Carver Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the John Carver Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Roberts Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roberts Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roberts Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pooles Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pooles Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pooles Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Browns Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Browns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Browns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Seaview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seaview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seaview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fuller Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fuller Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fuller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Seaview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seaview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seaview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Leadbetter Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leadbetter Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leadbetter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kent Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kent Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kent Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (147 more) ...
    • Frye Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Frye Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Frye Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Browns Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Browns Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Browns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Turners Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Turners Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Turners 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 Vinalhaven had a population of 1,250 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Vinalhaven had a population of 1,128 people.

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

  • North Haven
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Haven
    • North Haven is located in Knox County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Haven <2>
  • Pulpit Harbor
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Owls Head
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Matinicus
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Sunset
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
    • Sunset is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sunset <2>
  • Ash Point
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ash Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Point
    • Ash Point is located in Knox County
  • South Deer Isle
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Deer Isle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Deer Isle
    • South Deer Isle is located in Hancock County
  • Oceanville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Deer Isle
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer Isle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Isle
    • Deer Isle is located in Hancock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deer Isle <2>
  • Rockland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • South Thomaston
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Thomaston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Thomaston
    • South Thomaston is located in Knox County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,642 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Thomaston <2>
  • Spruce Head
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spruce Head have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Head
    • Spruce Head is located in Knox County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spruce Head <2>
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Camden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
      • Camden is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,806 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Camden <2>
    • Rockport
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport
      • Rockport is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockport <2>
    • Rockville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
      • Rockville is located in Knox County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Vinalhaven ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vinalhaven.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Vinalhaven. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Vinalhaven and those printed in the larger area surrounding Vinalhaven.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<5> of Vinalhaven.

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 helpful 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 Vinalhaven:

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

The official website for Knox County: www.knoxcounty.midcoast.com/

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 Vinalhaven, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Vinalhaven) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vinalhaven. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.0468, Longitude: -68.8361    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025