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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 Peru (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 Peru. 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 Peru ...

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 Peru: W. Peru

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 northeast 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 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 east 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 Peru is located in Oxford 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 Oxford County: Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin, York, Carroll (NH) & Coos (NH).

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

  • Oxford County     (The home county of West Peru)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Peru, with the one closest to West Peru listed first.
    • Dixfield
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Dickvale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dickvale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickvale
      • Dickvale is located in Oxford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dickvale
      • From West Peru to Dickvale
    • Peru
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Peru. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
      • Peru is located in Oxford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,509 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peru <1>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Peru
      • From West Peru to Peru
    • South Rumford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Mexico
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mexico have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
      • Mexico is located in Oxford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,635 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mexico <1>
    • Rumford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Rumford Center
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Canton Point
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Sumner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Canton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
      • Canton is located in Oxford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,097 people
    • Gilbertville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodstock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodstock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
      • Woodstock is located in Oxford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,308 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodstock <1>
  • Androscoggin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Peru, with the one closest to West Peru listed first.
    • North Livermore
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Livermore Falls
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Shy Corner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Livermore
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Livermore have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
      • Livermore is located in Androscoggin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,131 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Livermore <1>
    • North Turner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Turner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Turner
      • North Turner is located in Androscoggin County
    • South Livermore
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • East Livermore
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Livermore have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Livermore
      • East Livermore is located in Androscoggin County
    • Howes Corner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Chase Mills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • North Leeds
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Turner Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Turner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
      • Turner is located in Androscoggin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,878 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Turner <1>
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Peru, with the one closest to West Peru listed first.
    • Harrison
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrison have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
      • Harrison is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,819 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harrison <1>
    • Otisfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otisfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisfield
      • Otisfield is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,819 people
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Peru, with the one closest to West Peru listed first.
    • Berry Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Carthage
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carthage have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
      • Carthage is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 536 people
    • East Dixfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Dixfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dixfield
      • East Dixfield is located in Franklin County
    • North Jay
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Jay have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Jay
      • North Jay is located in Franklin County
    • Perkin's Plantation ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jay
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Weld
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Wilton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Wilton is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,929 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilton <1>
    • Chisholm
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chisholm have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chisholm
      • Chisholm is located in Franklin County
    • Dryden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • East Wilton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Wilton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wilton
      • East Wilton is located in Franklin County
    • Temple
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Temple have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple
      • Temple is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
  • Kennebec County
  • Somerset County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Peru, with the one closest to West Peru listed first.
    • Mercer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Starks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Starks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starks
      • Starks is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
    • New Portland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near West Peru ...

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

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 Peru covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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 Peru had a population of 112 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Dixfield
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Dickvale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dickvale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickvale
    • Dickvale is located in Oxford County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Dickvale
    • From West Peru to Dickvale
  • Peru
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Peru. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
    • Peru is located in Oxford County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,509 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peru <1>
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Peru
    • From West Peru to Peru
  • South Rumford
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • East Peru
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Peru have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peru
    • East Peru is located in Oxford County
  • Dixfield Center
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dixfield Center have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixfield Center
    • Dixfield Center is located in Oxford County
  • Mexico
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mexico have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
    • Mexico is located in Oxford County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,635 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mexico <1>
  • Rumford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Berry Mills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Rumford Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • East Dixfield
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Dixfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dixfield
    • East Dixfield is located in Franklin County
  • Frye
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frye have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frye
    • Frye is located in Oxford County
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Sumner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Canton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
      • Canton is located in Oxford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,097 people
    • Gilbertville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in West Peru ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Peru.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Peru, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Peru.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Peru:

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

The official website for Oxford County: www.oxfordcounty.org/

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 Peru, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Peru) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Peru. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.5211, Longitude: -70.4677    









 

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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.

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025