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 Wilton (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 Wilton. 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.
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 hospitals and 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.
Wilton 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 Wilton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wilton:
- Franklin County (The home county of Wilton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilton, with the one closest to Wilton listed first.
- Dryden
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Dryden is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryden
- East Wilton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Wilton is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wilton
- North Jay
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- North Jay is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Jay
- East Dixfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- East Dixfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dixfield
- North Chesterville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- North Chesterville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chesterville
- Jay
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jay is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,598 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jay <1>
- Temple
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Temple is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple
- Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
- Farmington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Farmington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Farmington is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Farmington
- Chesterville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Chesterville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,348 people
- Farmington Falls
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Chisholm
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Chisholm is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chisholm
- Fairbanks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Fairbanks is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
- Androscoggin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilton, with the one closest to Wilton listed first.
- Livermore Falls
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Shy Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Shy Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shy Corner
- North Livermore
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- North Livermore is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Livermore
- East Livermore
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- East Livermore is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Livermore
- Livermore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- South Livermore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- South Livermore is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Livermore
- North Leeds
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- North Leeds is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leeds
- North Turner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- North Turner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Turner
- Howes Corner
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Howes Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howes Corner
- Leeds
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Leeds is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,320 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leeds <1>
- Turner Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Turner Center is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner Center
- Chase Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Chase Mills is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chase Mills
- Curtis Corner
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Curtis Corner is located in Androscoggin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis Corner
- Kennebec County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilton, with the one closest to Wilton listed first.
- Vienna
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- North Fayette
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- North Fayette is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fayette
- Mount Vernon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Fayette
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Locks Corner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Locks Corner is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locks Corner
- Belgrade Lakes
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Rome
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Kents Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- North Wayne
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- North Wayne is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wayne
- Wayne
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Readfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Belgrade
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Maranacook
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Maranacook is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maranacook
- Oxford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilton, with the one closest to Wilton listed first.
- Canton Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Canton Point is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton Point
- Gilbertville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Gilbertville is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbertville
- Peru
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Canton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Canton is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,097 people
- Dixfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- West Peru
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Peru is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Peru
- Dickvale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dickvale is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickvale
- Mexico
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- South Rumford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- South Rumford is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Rumford
- Hartford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hartford is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,229 people
- Rumford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- East Sumner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Sumner is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sumner
- Sumner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilton, with the one closest to Wilton listed first.
- Mercer
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mercer is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 637 people
- Starks
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Starks is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starks
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Smithfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- New Portland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Anson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Madison
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Norridgewock
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- East New Portland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- East New Portland is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East New Portland
- Barron Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Barron Corner is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron Corner
- North Anson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Skowhegan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Embden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Embden is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Embden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 956 people
- East Madison
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Madison is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Madison
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wilton, see our County-by-County Page for Wilton.
Cemeteries Near Wilton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilton.
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 Wilton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wilton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wilton, with the one closest to Wilton listed first.
- Lakeview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Birchland Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- North Jay Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Beans Corner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Intervale Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Borough Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Red Schoolhouse Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Science Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Severy Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jay Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Savage Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Webster Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (266 more) ...
- Butterfield Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Canton Mtn. Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stones Corner Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Wilton had a population of 860 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Wilton had a population of 3,929 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wilton, with the one closest to Wilton listed first.
- Beans Corner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Beans Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Corner
- East Wilton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Wilton is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wilton
- East Dixfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- East Dixfield is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dixfield
- North Jay
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- North Jay is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Jay
- Jay
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jay is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,598 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jay <1>
- North Chesterville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- North Chesterville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chesterville
- Farmington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Chesterville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Chesterville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,348 people
- Farmington Falls
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Dixfield Center
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Dixfield Center is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixfield Center
- Livermore Falls
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Fairbanks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Fairbanks is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Canton Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Canton Point is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton Point
- Peru
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- East Peru
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- East Peru is located in Oxford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peru
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wilton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wilton.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wilton ...
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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilton.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wilton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wilton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wilton.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<4> of Wilton.
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 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 Wilton:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Androscoggin County
- Kennebec County
- Oxford County
- Somerset 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 Wilton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Wilton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |