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 Wales (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 Wales. 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.
Wales is located in Androscoggin 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 Androscoggin County: Cumberland, Franklin, Kennebec, Oxford & Sagadahoc.
Below are the counties that are near Wales. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wales:
- Androscoggin County (The home county of Wales)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
- Wales Corner
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Wales Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales Corner
- Leeds Junction
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Leeds Junction is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds Junction
- Nason Beach
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Nason Beach is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nason Beach
- Drinkwater Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Drinkwater Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drinkwater Corner
- Sabattus
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Greene
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Greene Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Greene Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene Corner
- Foggs Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Foggs Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foggs Corner
- Curtis Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Curtis Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis Corner
- Lisbon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Auburn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lewiston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Leeds
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- 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>
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
- Brunswick
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- North Pownal
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- North Pownal is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pownal
- New Gloucester
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Pownal
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Harding
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Harding is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harding
- Bunganuc Landing
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Bunganuc Landing is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunganuc Landing
- Shaker Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shaker Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- Freeport
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Pennellville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Pennellville is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennellville
- Dry Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dry Mills is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Mills
- East Gray
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Gray is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gray
- East Harpswell
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- East Harpswell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Harpswell
- Cobb Cove
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Cobb Cove is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb Cove
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
- Chisholm
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Chisholm is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chisholm
- Jay
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- 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>
- Chesterville
(26 miles [41.8 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
- North Jay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- North Jay is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Jay
- Dryden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Dryden is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryden
- North Chesterville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- North Chesterville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chesterville
- Kennebec County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
- South Monmouth
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- South Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Monmouth
- Litchfield Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Litchfield Corners is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litchfield Corners
- Batchelders Crossing
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Batchelders Crossing is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batchelders Crossing
- Litchfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Monmouth
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- East Monmouth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Monmouth
- Purgatory
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Purgatory is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purgatory
- North Monmouth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- West Gardiner
(8 miles [12.9 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
- Winthrop
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Winthrop Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Winthrop Center is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winthrop Center
- Wayne
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- East Winthrop
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
- South Dresden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- South Dresden is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dresden
- Dresden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Hatchs Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hatchs Corner is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchs Corner
- Whitefield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Head Tide
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Head Tide is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Head Tide
- Wiscasset
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Alna
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- North Whitefield
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- North Whitefield is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Whitefield
- Westport
(23 miles [37 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
- North Newcastle
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- North Newcastle is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Newcastle
- Coopers Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Edgecomb
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- East Edgecomb
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- East Edgecomb is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Edgecomb
- Oxford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
- Buckfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hebron
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Hartford
(20 miles [32.2 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
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Sumner is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sumner
- Oxford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Canton
(23 miles [37 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
- Paris
(23 miles [37 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
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Canton Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Canton Point is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton Point
- Gilbertville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gilbertville is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Sumner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- East Otisfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- East Otisfield is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Otisfield
- Norway
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Sagadahoc County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
- Bowdoin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bowdoin is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowdoin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,222 people
- Richmond Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Richmond Corner is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Corner
- Bowdoin Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bowdoin Center is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowdoin Center
- Bowdoinham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Richmond
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Pejepscot
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Pejepscot is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pejepscot
- Harwards
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Harwards is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwards
- Topsham
(16 miles [25.7 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 southeast)
- Woolwich
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- West Bath
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Murphys Corner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Murphys Corner is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphys Corner
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wales, see our County-by-County Page for Wales.
Cemeteries Near Wales ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wales.
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 Wales - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wales covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
- East Wales Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Mitchell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Pond Road Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Maxwell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Golder Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Furbush Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Monmouth Ridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Peare Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Eaton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Spear Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spear Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Spear Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the southeast of Sabattus.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90576 <3>
- Keenes Corner Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (446 more) ...
- Moss Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sanborn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fisher Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
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 Wales had a population of 43 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Wales had a population of 1,640 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wales, with the one closest to Wales listed first.
- East Wales
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- East Wales is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wales
- Leeds Junction
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Leeds Junction is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds Junction
- South Monmouth
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- South Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Monmouth
- Sabattus
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Litchfield Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Litchfield Corners is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litchfield Corners
- Litchfield Plains
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Litchfield Plains is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litchfield Plains
- Litchfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Monmouth
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Greene
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Greene Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Greene Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene Corner
- East Monmouth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Monmouth
- Curtis Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Curtis Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis Corner
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- South Leeds
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- South Leeds is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Leeds
- South Lewiston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- South Lewiston is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lewiston
- West Bowdoin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- West Bowdoin is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bowdoin
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wales. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wales.
Newspapers Published in Wales ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wales.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wales, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wales.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Wales:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Androscoggin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cumberland County
- Franklin County
- Kennebec County
- Lincoln County
- Oxford County
- Sagadahoc 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Wales) 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 Wales, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |