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 Mills (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 Mills. 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 Mills ...
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 Mills: W. Mills
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 southwest 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 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.
West Mills is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Androscoggin, Kennebec, Oxford & Somerset.
Below are the counties that are near West Mills. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Mills:
- Franklin County (The home county of West Mills)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Mills, with the one closest to West Mills listed first.
- Industry
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Industry is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Industry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 927 people
- New Vineyard
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- New Vineyard is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Vineyard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 777 people
- New Sharon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Fairbanks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fairbanks is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
- Farmington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Farmington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Farmington is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Farmington
- South Strong
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- South Strong is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Strong
- Farmington Falls
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Strong
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Temple
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Temple is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple
- Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
- North Chesterville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- North Chesterville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chesterville
- Avon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Avon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 438 people
- East Wilton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- East Wilton is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wilton
- Androscoggin County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Mills, with the one closest to West Mills listed first.
- Livermore Falls
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Shy Corner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Shy Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shy Corner
- North Livermore
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- North Livermore is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Livermore
- East Livermore
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- East Livermore is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Livermore
- South Livermore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- South Livermore is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Livermore
- Livermore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- North Leeds
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- North Leeds is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leeds
- Kennebec County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Mills, with the one closest to West Mills listed first.
- Rome
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Vienna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Belgrade Lakes
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Mount Vernon
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- North Belgrade
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- North Belgrade is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Belgrade
- Locks Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Locks Corner is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locks Corner
- North Fayette
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- North Fayette is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fayette
- Oakland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Morrison Corner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Morrison Corner is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison Corner
- Belgrade
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Waterville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Fayette
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Benton Station
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Benton Station is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Station
- Oxford County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Mills, with the one closest to West Mills listed first.
- Canton Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Canton Point is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton Point
- Gilbertville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gilbertville is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Canton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Canton is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,097 people
- Dixfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Peru
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- West Peru
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Peru is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Peru
- Dickvale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dickvale is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickvale
- Mexico
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Roxbury
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Rumford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- South Rumford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- South Rumford is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Rumford
- Byron
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Byron is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Piscataquis County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Mills, with the one closest to West Mills listed first.
- Wellington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wellington is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
- Kingsbury
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kingsbury is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsbury
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Mills, with the one closest to West Mills listed first.
- Starks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Starks is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Anson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Madison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mercer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mercer is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 637 people
- North Anson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- East New Portland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- East New Portland is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East New Portland
- Barron Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Barron Corner is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron Corner
- New Portland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Norridgewock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Embden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Embden is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Embden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 956 people
- Smithfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Skowhegan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- East Madison
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- East Madison is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Madison
- Waldo County
- Burnham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Burnham is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,243 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Mills, see our County-by-County Page for West Mills.
Cemeteries Near West Mills ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Mills.
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 Mills - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Mills covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Mills, with the one closest to West Mills listed first.
- Boardman - True Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Shaw Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Center Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pike Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Locke Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Frederic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Greenleaf Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Athearn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Emery Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hardy Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Holley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Weeks Mills Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (195 more) ...
- Old Point Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Swan Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Land of Rest Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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>
While we didn't find West Mills in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Mills.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Mills, with the one closest to West Mills listed first.
- Starks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Starks is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Allens Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Allens Mills is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Mills
- New Vineyard
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- New Vineyard is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Vineyard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 777 people
- Anson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mercer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mercer is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 637 people
- Madison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Fairbanks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fairbanks is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
- New Sharon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- East Mercer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- East Mercer is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Mercer
- North Anson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Farmington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- New Portland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- East New Portland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- East New Portland is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East New Portland
- South Strong
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- South Strong is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Strong
- Farmington Falls
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Mills. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Mills.
Newspapers Published in West Mills ...
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 109 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Mills.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Mills, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Mills.
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 Mills:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Androscoggin County
- Kennebec County
- Oxford County
- Piscataquis County
- Somerset County
- Waldo 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 Mills, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- West Mills) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |