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 Surry (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 Surry. 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 Surry ...
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 Surry: W. Surry
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 Surry is located in Hancock 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 Hancock County: Penobscot, Waldo & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near West Surry. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Surry:
- Hancock County (The home county of West Surry)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Surry, with the one closest to West Surry listed first.
- North Penobscot
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- North Penobscot is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Penobscot
- East Orland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Surry
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- North Ellsworth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- North Ellsworth is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ellsworth
- Orland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Blue Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- East Blue Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ellsworth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Blue Hill Falls
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Blue Hill Falls is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Hill Falls
- Verona Island
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Verona Island is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona Island
- Population from the 2020 Census: 555 people
- Former name for Verona Island:
- Verona
- West Penobscot
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- West Penobscot is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Penobscot
- Bucksport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- South Blue Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- South Blue Hill is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blue Hill
- Knox County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Surry, with the one closest to West Surry listed first.
- Pulpit Harbor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Pulpit Harbor is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulpit Harbor
- Isle Au Haut
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lake City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lake City is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
- North Haven
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Penobscot County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Surry, with the one closest to West Surry listed first.
- Goodale Corner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Goodale Corner is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodale Corner
- Holden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- East Eddington
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- East Eddington is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Eddington
- North Orrington
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- North Orrington is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orrington
- Orrington
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Brewer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Hampden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hampden Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hampden Center is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden Center
- Clifton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Clifton is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 901 people
- Eddington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Bangor
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Newburgh Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Newburgh Village is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburgh Village
- Veazie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Waldo County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Surry, with the one closest to West Surry listed first.
- Prospect Ferry
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Prospect Ferry is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Ferry
- Sandy Point
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Prospect
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Stockton Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Frankfort
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Winterport
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- North Winterport
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- North Winterport is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Winterport
- Searsport
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- North Searsport
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- North Searsport is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Searsport
- North Islesboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- North Islesboro is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Islesboro
- Swanville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- East Northport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- East Northport is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Northport
- Belfast
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Surry, see our County-by-County Page for West Surry.
Cemeteries Near West Surry ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Surry.
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 Surry - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Surry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Surry, with the one closest to West Surry listed first.
- West Surry Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Cunningham Ridge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Birch Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Back Ridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hillside Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Front Ridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Leach Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bridges Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bay Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- South Penobscot Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Village Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (265 more) ...
- Hutchins Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Perry Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Westcott Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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.<3>
While we didn't find West Surry in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Surry.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Surry, with the one closest to West Surry listed first.
- North Penobscot
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- North Penobscot is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Penobscot
- West Ellsworth
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- West Ellsworth is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ellsworth
- East Orland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Surry
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- South Penobscot
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- South Penobscot is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Penobscot
- Blue Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- North Ellsworth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- North Ellsworth is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ellsworth
- Orland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- North Orland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- North Orland is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orland
- East Blue Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- East Surry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- East Surry is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Surry
- Ellsworth Falls
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Ellsworth Falls is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth Falls
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- West Penobscot
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- West Penobscot is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Penobscot
- Blue Hill Falls
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Blue Hill Falls is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Hill Falls
- Ellsworth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Surry. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Surry.
Newspapers Published in West Surry ...
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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Surry.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Surry, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Surry.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Surry:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Hancock County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Knox County
- Penobscot 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> | 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> | 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 Surry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Surry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |