RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maine >> Hancock County >> West Penobscot >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Maine

The Commemorative Quarter for Maine





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 Penobscot (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 Penobscot. 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 Penobscot ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Penobscot: W. Penobscot

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 Penobscot is located in Hancock County.

To see how the shape of Maine's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Hancock County: Penobscot, Waldo & Washington.

Below are the counties that are near West Penobscot. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Penobscot:

  • Hancock County     (The home county of West Penobscot)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Penobscot, with the one closest to West Penobscot listed first.
    • Castine
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • West Brooksville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Bucksport
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bucksport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksport
      • Bucksport is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,916 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bucksport <1>
    • Orland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orland
      • Orland is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,173 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orland <1>
    • Verona Island
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • North Penobscot
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Penobscot
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Penobscot have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penobscot
      • Penobscot is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,220 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Penobscot <1>
    • East Orland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Orland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Orland
      • East Orland is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Orland <1>
    • Harborside
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harborside have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harborside
      • Harborside is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harborside <1>
    • Cape Rosier
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Brooksville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooksville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
      • Brooksville is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 910 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brooksville <1>
    • Blue Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bucksport Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Penobscot, with the one closest to West Penobscot listed first.
    • Pulpit Harbor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Lake City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
      • Lake City is located in Knox County
    • Camden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
      • Camden is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,806 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Camden <1>
    • Hope
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • North Haven
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Haven
      • North Haven is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Haven <1>
    • Rockport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport
      • Rockport is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockport <1>
    • West Appleton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Appleton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • West Rockport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Rockport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rockport
      • West Rockport is located in Knox County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Rockport <1>
    • Isle Au Haut
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Isle Au Haut have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isle Au Haut
      • Isle Au Haut is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Isle Au Haut <1>
    • Glen Cove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Cove
      • Glen Cove is located in Knox County
    • Vinalhaven
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Burkettville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Penobscot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Penobscot, with the one closest to West Penobscot listed first.
    • Goodale Corner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Orrington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Hampden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hampden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden
      • Hampden is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,513 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hampden <1>
    • North Orrington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Newburgh Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • South Newburgh
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Hampden Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Holden
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • East Dixmont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Newburgh
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newburgh have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburgh
      • Newburgh is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,530 people
    • Brewer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brewer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewer
      • Brewer is located in Penobscot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,948 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brewer <1>
    • North Newburgh
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bangor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Waldo County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Penobscot, see our County-by-County Page for West Penobscot.

Cemeteries Near West Penobscot ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Penobscot.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Penobscot covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Penobscot, with the one closest to West Penobscot listed first.

  • Hutchins Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hutchins Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hutchins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Whitman Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whitman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whitman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Perry Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Perry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Perry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bridges Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bridges Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bridges Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Leach Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leach Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leach Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bay Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bay Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bay Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Whitman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whitman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whitman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Westcott Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westcott Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westcott Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South Penobscot Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Penobscot Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Penobscot Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Prospect Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Prospect Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Prospect Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Castine Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • West Brooksville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Brooksville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Brooksville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (309 more) ...
    • Gross Point Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gross Point Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gross Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Leaches Point Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leaches Point Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leaches Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Village Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Village Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Village Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that West Penobscot had a population of 27 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from West Penobscot, with the one closest to West Penobscot listed first.

  • North Castine
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Castine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Castine
    • North Castine is located in Hancock County
  • Stockton Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stockton Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton Springs
    • Stockton Springs is located in Waldo County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,640 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stockton Springs <1>
  • South Penobscot
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Penobscot have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Penobscot
    • South Penobscot is located in Hancock County
  • Castine
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • West Brooksville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Prospect Ferry
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Penobscot
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Penobscot have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penobscot
    • Penobscot is located in Hancock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,220 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Penobscot <1>
  • North Penobscot
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Orland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orland
    • Orland is located in Hancock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,173 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orland <1>
  • Prospect
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Bucksport
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bucksport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksport
    • Bucksport is located in Hancock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,916 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bucksport <1>
  • Searsport
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • East Orland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Orland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Orland
      • East Orland is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Orland <1>
    • Cape Rosier
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • South Brooksville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Brooksville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Brooksville
      • South Brooksville is located in Hancock County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Penobscot. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Penobscot.

Newspapers Published in West Penobscot ...

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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Penobscot.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Penobscot, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Penobscot.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Penobscot:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Penobscot. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Hancock County: www.co.hancock.me.us/

The official website for State of Maine: https://www.maine.gov/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>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 Penobscot, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- West Penobscot) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Penobscot. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.4743, Longitude: -68.7794    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025