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 Bristol (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 Bristol. 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 Bristol ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Bristol: W. Bristol
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Bristol. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Bristol.
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 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 Bristol is located in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County: Kennebec, Knox, Sagadahoc & Waldo.
Below are the counties that are near West Bristol. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Bristol:
- Lincoln County (The home county of West Bristol)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bristol, with the one closest to West Bristol listed first.
- Walpole
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- East Edgecomb
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- East Edgecomb is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Edgecomb
- Pemaquid
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bristol
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pemaquid Harbor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pemaquid Harbor is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemaquid Harbor
- Round Pond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Edgecomb
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- East Boothbay
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- South Bristol
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Chamberlain
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Harbor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pemaquid Beach
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pemaquid Beach is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemaquid Beach
- Androscoggin County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bristol, with the one closest to West Bristol listed first.
- Lisbon Falls
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Durham
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Lisbon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Drinkwater Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Drinkwater Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drinkwater Corner
- Wales
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wales is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,640 people
- Sabattus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wales Corner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wales Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales Corner
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bristol, with the one closest to West Bristol listed first.
- Harding
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Harding is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harding
- East Harpswell
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- East Harpswell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Harpswell
- Cundys Harbor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Brunswick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Pennellville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Pennellville is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennellville
- Harpswell Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Harpswell Center is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harpswell Center
- Harpswell
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Orrs Island
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bunganuc Landing
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bunganuc Landing is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunganuc Landing
- Merepoint
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Merepoint is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merepoint
- Bailey Island
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bailey Island is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Island
- West Harpswell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- West Harpswell is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Harpswell
- Kennebec County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bristol, with the one closest to West Bristol listed first.
- East Pittston
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- East Pittston is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Pittston
- South Gardiner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- South Gardiner is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gardiner
- Pittston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pittston is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,819 people
- Chelsea
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Gardiner
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Randolph
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- South Windsor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- South Windsor is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Windsor
- Farmingdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Litchfield Corners
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Litchfield Corners is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Litchfield Corners
- Litchfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Batchelders Crossing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Batchelders Crossing is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batchelders Crossing
- West Gardiner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- West Gardiner is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gardiner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,376 people
- Knox County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bristol, with the one closest to West Bristol listed first.
- Friendship
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Point is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Point
- South Cushing
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- South Cushing is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cushing
- Port Clyde
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Martinsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Martinsville is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
- Cushing
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tenants Harbor
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Long Cove
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Long Cove is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Cove
- Saint George
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Saint George is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,578 people
- Warren Station
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Warren Station is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren Station
- Warren
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Spruce Head
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Sagadahoc County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Bristol, with the one closest to West Bristol listed first.
- Murphys Corner
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Murphys Corner is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphys Corner
- MacMahan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- MacMahan is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for MacMahan
- Arrowsic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Georgetown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Days Ferry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Days Ferry is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Days Ferry
- Woolwich
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Bath
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Phippsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Harwards
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Harwards is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwards
- West Bath
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Richmond
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Popham Beach
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Popham Beach is located in Sagadahoc County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popham Beach
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Bristol, see our County-by-County Page for West Bristol.
Cemeteries Near West Bristol ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Bristol.
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 Bristol - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Bristol covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Bristol, with the one closest to West Bristol listed first.
- West Bristol Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Main Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Poole - Greenlaw Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ocean View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ocean Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chamberlain Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Wiley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Oaklawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Farnham Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Glidden Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- North Edgecomb Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (248 more) ...
- Loudville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Knight Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Tarbox Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that West Bristol had a population of 200 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Bristol, with the one closest to West Bristol listed first.
- Walpole
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Pemaquid
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- East Edgecomb
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- East Edgecomb is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Edgecomb
- Bristol
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- East Boothbay
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- South Bristol
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Pemaquid Beach
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pemaquid Beach is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemaquid Beach
- New Harbor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Round Pond
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Edgecomb
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Boothbay
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- South Newcastle
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- South Newcastle is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Newcastle
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- North Edgecomb
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Trevett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Boothbay Harbor
(6 miles [9.7 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 West Bristol. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Bristol.
Newspapers Published in West Bristol ...
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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Bristol.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Bristol, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Bristol.
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 West Bristol:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Lincoln County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Androscoggin County
- Cumberland County
- Kennebec County
- Knox 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> | 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 Bristol, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- West Bristol) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |