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 West Bowdoin (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 West Bowdoin. 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 West Bowdoin ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Bowdoin: W. Bowdoin
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 doctors and hospitals 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.
West Bowdoin is located in Sagadahoc 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 Sagadahoc County: Androscoggin, Cumberland, Kennebec & Lincoln.
Below are the counties that are near West Bowdoin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Bowdoin:
- Sagadahoc County (The home county of West Bowdoin)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bowdoin, with the one closest to West Bowdoin listed first.
- Bowdoin Center
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Bowdoin Center is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowdoin Center
- Bowdoin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Bowdoin is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowdoin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,222 people
- Bowdoinham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Pejepscot
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Pejepscot is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pejepscot
- Richmond Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Richmond Corner is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Corner
- Topsham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Harwards
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Harwards is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwards
- Richmond
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Days Ferry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Days Ferry is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Days Ferry
- Bath
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- West Bath
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Woolwich
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Androscoggin County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bowdoin, with the one closest to West Bowdoin listed first.
- Lisbon Falls
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lisbon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Drinkwater Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Drinkwater Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drinkwater Corner
- Sabattus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Durham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wales
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wales is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,640 people
- Nason Beach
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Nason Beach is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nason Beach
- Penley Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Penley Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penley Corner
- Wales Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Wales Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales Corner
- Lewiston
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Auburn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Foggs Corner
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Foggs Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foggs Corner
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bowdoin, with the one closest to West Bowdoin listed first.
- Brunswick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Harding
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Harding is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harding
- North Pownal
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- North Pownal is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pownal
- Bunganuc Landing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bunganuc Landing is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunganuc Landing
- Freeport
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Pennellville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Pennellville is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennellville
- Pownal
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- New Gloucester
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Merepoint
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Merepoint is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merepoint
- South Freeport
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- East Harpswell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- East Harpswell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Harpswell
- Bustins Island
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Bustins Island is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bustins Island
- Kennebec County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bowdoin, with the one closest to West Bowdoin listed first.
- Litchfield Corners
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Litchfield Corners is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litchfield Corners
- Litchfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- South Monmouth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- South Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Monmouth
- Batchelders Crossing
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Batchelders Crossing is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batchelders Crossing
- Purgatory
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Purgatory is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purgatory
- East Monmouth
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- East Monmouth is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Monmouth
- Monmouth
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- West Gardiner
(13 miles [20.9 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
- North Monmouth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- South Gardiner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- South Gardiner is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gardiner
- Winthrop
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Gardiner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bowdoin, with the one closest to West Bowdoin listed first.
- South Dresden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- South Dresden is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dresden
- Hatchs Corner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Hatchs Corner is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchs Corner
- Dresden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Wiscasset
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Westport
(18 miles [29 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Head Tide
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Head Tide is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Head Tide
- Trevett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Alna
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Whitefield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- East Edgecomb
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- East Edgecomb is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Edgecomb
- Boothbay
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Oxford County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bowdoin, with the one closest to West Bowdoin listed first.
- Hebron
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Buckfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Oxford
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- East Otisfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- East Otisfield is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Otisfield
- Spurrs Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Spurrs Corner is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurrs Corner
- East Sumner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Sumner is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sumner
- Hartford
(27 miles [43.5 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
- Paris
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Paris is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,162 people
- South Paris
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Norway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Canton
(30 miles [48.3 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
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Bowdoin, see our County-by-County Page for West Bowdoin.
Cemeteries Near West Bowdoin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Bowdoin.
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 West Bowdoin - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Bowdoin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Bowdoin, with the one closest to West Bowdoin listed first.
- Potter Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- St. Cyril Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fisher Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Hewey Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lisbon Center Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- South Bowdoin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coombs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hix Small Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Littlefield Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (444 more) ...
- Hilltop Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Spear Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- 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>
- Davis - Bryant Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, West Bowdoin had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Bowdoin, with the one closest to West Bowdoin listed first.
- Bowdoin Center
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Bowdoin Center is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowdoin Center
- Lisbon Center
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lisbon Center is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon Center
- Lisbon Falls
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lisbon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- South Lewiston
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- South Lewiston is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lewiston
- Bowdoinham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Litchfield Corners
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Litchfield Corners is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litchfield Corners
- Sabattus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Durham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- South Durham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- South Durham is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Durham
- Cathance
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cathance is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cathance
- Richmond Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Richmond Corner is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Corner
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- East Wales
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- East Wales is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wales
- Topsham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Litchfield Plains
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Litchfield Plains is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litchfield Plains
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Bowdoin. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Bowdoin.
Newspapers Published in West Bowdoin ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Bowdoin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Bowdoin, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Bowdoin.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 West Bowdoin:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Sagadahoc County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Androscoggin County
- Cumberland County
- Kennebec County
- Lincoln County
- Oxford 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 from Point A (ie- West Bowdoin) 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 West Bowdoin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |