Ancestors on mind July 4th

Happy birthday to “US.” The United States will be 225 years old come Wednesday.

Particularly during the 25 years since the bicentennial, genealogy has really grown, to the point that it is now the second most popular hobby in the country. That’s no surprise to anyone who has looked around libraries, archives and other facilities that offer records and books on our ancestors.

The bicentennial in 1976 prompted some of the interest in our forebears, as did Alex Haley’s book – and the subsequent miniseries – “Roots.”

For many of us, the period around the Revolutionary War is especially interesting.

In looking for information on the Revolution on the Internet, I found a site on Revolutionary War veteran Moses Dunham at http://members.mint.net/caronfam/heritage.

The site offers a biography, ancestry and descendants of Moses Dunham, born in 1757 in Plymouth, Mass., to John and Mary (Thomas) Dunham.

Moses served in several companies in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York. He married Margaret Morton, and they had eight children in the town of Carver. The family moved to the Maine town of Hartford in 1805.

Moses and Margaret are buried on Meetinghouse Hill, also known as Hayford Hill – the same cemetery where my Revolutionary War ancestor, William Hayford Sr., and wife Betty (Bonney) Hayford are buried.

I really enjoyed reading this Web site, with information compiled by C.L. Dunham and Tammy L. (Caron) Dunham.

Moses was one of those who received a land grant from the state, although he sold it. Thus, he’s listed under Maine’s Land Grants and Pension Applications.

This list is on the Web courtesy of the Maine State Archives at www.state.me.us/sos/arc/archives/military/revintro.htm.

Moses’ ancestry, going back, was: John and Mary (Thomas) Dunham; Ebenezer and Abigail (Smith) Dunham; Samuel and Mary (Harlow) Dunham; Samuel and Martha (Beal) (Fallowell) Dunham; and Deacon John and Abigail (Baillou or Barlow) Dunham.

Descendants of this Dunham line include families named Alley, Gurney, Bryant, Swan, Howard, Stetson, Kidder and Deshon.

My dad has two other Dunham lines, which may be familiar to many other Mainers.

On the Moore-Packard side of his family, he has Revolutionary War soldier James Dunham, who married Mary (Ransom) Carver and came to Hebron. This line goes back through Cornelius and Patience (Barrows) Dunham, Israel and Joanna (Rickard) Dunham, Eleazar and Bathsheba (Pratt) Dunham, Joseph and Mercy (Morton) Dunham, then Deacon John and Abigail.

On the Bennett-Clark side of his family, he is descended from Israel Dunham’s sister, Mercy, who married Samuel Kempton.

Washington County is chock full of capable genealogists, among them Sharon Howland, Valdine Atwood and Frances Raye. They will be sharing research and records during the 12th genealogy fair 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at the Alexander Elementary School on Airline Road.

The fair is an outreach program of the Alexander-Crawford Historical Society. Census records and area cemetery records will be available. Grange members will supply lunch. For information, call John Dudley at 454-7476.

A Miller Family Reunion will be held July 7 at Miller Memorial Park in Monson. This informal get-together is held every year on a weekend near July 4th.

Next week: Unique resources at the University of Maine at Fort Kent’s Acadian Archives.

3019. NASON-DEXTER. Seeking descendants of Nahum Nason, b. April 18, 1806; d. April 16, 1866, Dexter. Was md. to Mary T. (Dexter), also called Polly, b. Nov. 5, 1805; d. March 16, 1890. Their children: Achsah, b. 1829, Dover; Mary, b. 1832, Dover, md. Sewall Lane, lived Ripley and Dover; Louisa, b. 1834, Dover, md. H.A. Ray; Ardelia, b. about 1837; Betsy, b. about 1840, md. John P. Hart in Charleston, lived in Atkinson; Olive A., b. 1841, Dexter, md. Alfred E. Hart in Corinth, d. 1875 in Dexter; Dexter, b. 1844, Dexter, md. Irene Peavey in Dexter; Sarah, b. 1846, md. William H. Allen in Dexter, lived in Parkman; Julia, b. about 1848, md. Lowell Sampson in Dexter, lived at one time in Sangerville; Nahum, b. when? Possibly md. Nellie Gray in Orono. Brenda Miller, 21640 Chalon St., Clair Shores, MI 48080; or Brydekirk@aol.com.

3020. BURSE-BEARCE. Searching for death date, burial place and other info on ancestor Holmes Burse or Bearce, b. 1774, Pembroke, Mass. In Maine, he resided in Bristol, Newcastle and Starks, and served in War of 1812. He was alive in 1855. Gloria Pickard, 2329 Union St., Bangor, ME 04401.

Send queries and family reunion notices to Family Ties, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or e-mail familyti@bangordailynews.net.