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 Kennebunk (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 Kennebunk. 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 Kennebunk ...
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 Kennebunk: W. Kennebunk
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
West Kennebunk is located in York 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 York County: Cumberland, Oxford, Carroll (NH), Rockingham (NH) & Strafford (NH).
Below are the counties that are near West Kennebunk. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Kennebunk:
- York County (The home county of West Kennebunk)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Kennebunk, with the one closest to West Kennebunk listed first.
- Wells Branch
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Wells Branch is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Branch
- Kennebunk
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Days Mill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Days Mill is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Days Mill
- Elms
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Elms is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elms
- Kennebunk Landing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kennebunk Landing is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennebunk Landing
- Arundel
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Town House Corners
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Town House Corners is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town House Corners
- Wells
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Airport Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Airport Village is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Village
- Lyman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lyman is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,536 people
- Kennebunkport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kennebunkport is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennebunkport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,672 people
- Lower Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lower Village is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Village
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Kennebunk, with the one closest to West Kennebunk listed first.
- Grand Beach
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Grand Beach is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Beach
- West Scarborough
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Scarborough is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Scarborough
- Prouts Neck
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Danish Village ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Danish Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danish Village
- Scarborough
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- North Scarborough
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- North Scarborough is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Scarborough
- Gorham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Lone Creek Village ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lone Creek Village is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Creek Village
- Cape Elizabeth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cash Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cash Corner is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Corner
- Stroudwater
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stroudwater is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroudwater
- Pleasantdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasantdale is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantdale
- Carroll County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Kennebunk, with the one closest to West Kennebunk listed first.
- East Wakefield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wakefield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Woodman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Woodman is located in Carroll County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodman
- Brookfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Brookfield is located in Carroll County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 688 people
- South Effingham
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rockingham County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Kennebunk, with the one closest to West Kennebunk listed first.
- Newington Station
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Newington Station is located in Rockingham County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newington Station
- New Castle
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Portsmouth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Newington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Seacrest Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Seacrest Village is located in Rockingham County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seacrest Village
- Rye
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Rye is located in Rockingham County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,478 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rye <1>
- Greenland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Newmarket
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Stratham Station
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stratham Station is located in Rockingham County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratham Station
- West Rye
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- West Rye is located in Rockingham County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rye
- Strafford County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Kennebunk, with the one closest to West Kennebunk listed first.
- Rollinsford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Somersworth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Somersworth is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somersworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,286 people
- Former names for Somersworth:
- Great Falls
- Summersworth
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Somersworth <1>
- East Rochester
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- East Rochester is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rochester
- Dover
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dover is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 32,443 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dover <1>
- Milton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Milton is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,614 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milton <1>
- North Rochester
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- North Rochester is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Rochester
- Pickering
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Pickering is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickering
- Rochester
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Place
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Place is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Place
- Madbury
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Madbury is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,879 people
- Farmington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Durham
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Durham is located in Strafford County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,441 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Durham <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Kennebunk, see our County-by-County Page for West Kennebunk.
Cemeteries Near West Kennebunk ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Kennebunk.
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 Kennebunk - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Kennebunk covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Kennebunk, with the one closest to West Kennebunk listed first.
- Mitchell - Hatch Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Russell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Hope Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Home Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Arundel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Ocean View Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Josephs Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Josephs Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Biddeford.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90506 <2>
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Littlefield Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (259 more) ...
- Jackson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the south of Alfred.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #89862 <2>
- Clay Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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 West Kennebunk had a population of 112 people in 1895 with railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Kennebunk, with the one closest to West Kennebunk listed first.
- Wells Branch
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Wells Branch is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Branch
- Kennebunk
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Elms
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Elms is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elms
- Wells
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Kennebunk Beach
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Kennebunk Beach is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennebunk Beach
- Arundel
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Goodwins Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Goodwins Mills is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Mills
- Kennebunkport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kennebunkport is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennebunkport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,672 people
- Wells Beach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Wells Beach is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Beach
- Cape Porpoise
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cape Porpoise is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cape Porpoise
- Biddeford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Alfred
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- South Sanford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- South Sanford is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sanford
- Saco
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sanford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Kennebunk. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Kennebunk.
Newspapers Published in West Kennebunk ...
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 102 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Kennebunk.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Kennebunk, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Kennebunk.
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 websites either 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 Kennebunk:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to York County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cumberland County
- Carroll County
- Rockingham County
- Strafford 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> | 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. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- West Kennebunk) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Kennebunk, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |