It’s an intriguing question: What lies in the archives of the Ellsworth home of Col. John Black and his family?

The person to ask, no doubt, would be Earle Shettleworth Jr., director of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.

Shettleworth has been studying photographs that have been discovered at The Black House, also known as Woodlawn Museum. He will share his research during a talk at 7 p.m. Thursday at The Black House on Route 172, the Surry Road in Ellsworth. Shettleworth is an expert on Maine’s historic houses, so this should be a wonderful presentation.

His research covers a century, from the Blacks’ moving in during the winter of 1827-1828, to the death of Col. Black’s grandson, George Nixon Black Jr., in 1928. The grandson left the home to the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations.

A reception will be held after the talk. Admission is free, but of course donations are welcome.

For next year, make a note of the fact that the mansion is open Tuesday-Sunday, May-October. For information on the lecture, call 667-8671.

I hope you’ve seen the September issue of Le Forum, published by the Franco-American Center at the University of Maine. As always, some of the articles are in French and some in English.

Those in English include: “Uncovering a Franco-American Past,” a story by Greg Davis, reprinted from the Franklin Journal and Farmington Chronicle in Farmington; Robert Chenard’s “The French Connection,” focusing in this issue on Bolduc genealogy; and a piece on the St. Pierre family by Jim Belanger.

And although they don’t pertain to Maine specifically, I also enjoyed reading “French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan News,” and “Memories of the Homestead of Theophile Onesime Rivard,” an article Catherine Rivard wrote for the newsletter of La Societe Canadienne Francaise du Minnesota. Another story highlights the Museum of Work and Culture in Woonsocket, R.I.

Subscriptions to Le Forum are $15, sent in care of Franco-American Center, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5719.

Thursday, I’ll be going to Dover-Foxcroft to speak to the Wassabec Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society at 6:30 p.m. at the Penquis CAP building.

The topic will be “Cousins.”

You know you’re getting older when you ask for directions according to where things “used to be.” I had to ask that about the Penquis CAP building, and found that it used to be the A&P in Dover-Foxcroft.

A century ago, a small group of Pilgrim descendants met at Lithgow Library in Augusta. Today there are more than 1,200 members of the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the state of Maine.

Whether you’re already a member or simply thinking about joining, do attend the birthday luncheon for the society on Saturday, Nov. 17, at Verrillo’s Convention Center in Portland.

The speaker will be Mark L. Sargent, provost at Gordon College, Fulbright scholar and author of several articles on the Pilgrims. His topic will be “The Kennebec Trial: Liberty, Conscience and the Pilgrims.”

Reservations are needed by Nov. 10. Send $17 for the luncheon, roast turkey or baked haddock, in care of Anne Deletetsky, 22 Cleaves St., Auburn, ME 04210. Tickets are not available at the door.

Sunday is Veterans Day. Do say thank you to the veterans in your life.

3154. DUNBAR-LAPHAM. Sophia Dunbar, daughter of Asa Dunbar, was b. July 19, 1781, Keene, N.H. She md. March 10, 1805, in Boston, Luther Lapham. Sophia d. July 6, 1868, in Haverhill, Mass. They had one son, Charles Howard Lapham. In 1821 Sophia petitioned to have her name changed to Dunbar, and in that document is referred to as a widow. Am interested in date and circumstances of Luther Lapham’s death, and whether there was any other reason for her petition. Geneva Frost, 157 River Road, Mariaville, ME 04605.

3155. COOPER-BLACKMORE. Need information on James Cooper of Fox Islands and wife Huldah Blackmore. She was b. about 1735, Rochester, Mass., daughter of William and Sarah (Holland) Blackmore. James and Huldah’s daughter, Eunice Cooper, md. Nathaniel Crockett Jr. between 1771 and 1775 in Maine. They are my ancestors. Mary Ann Knack, 316 Southview Drive, Toledo, OH 43609.

Send queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or send e-mail to familyti@bangordailynews.net.