My great-great-great-great-grandfather, Ebenezer Comins, is buried in that little cemetery near the bend in the road between Guilford and Parkman. Some of my Briggs forebears are buried there as well.

Ebenezer, a farmer, served in the War of 1812, in Capt. Moses Sprague’s Company, Col. Sweat’s Regiment, in the Massachusetts Militia.

In 1878, wife Tamar Lander Comins deposed that when he enlisted, Ebenezer was 5 feet, 7 inches tall, with black eyes, black hair and a dark complexion.

I found this information on page 300 of one of my favorite new genealogies, “The Descendants of John Comins (ca. 1668-1751) and his wife Mary, of Woburn and Oxford, Massachusetts and Windham County, Connecticut.”

The newly published book by Newbury Street Press was written by Abbott Lowell Cummings, an architectural historian, antiquarian and genealogist. He has two degrees from Oberlin College, a doctorate from Ohio State University, and is the Charles F. Montgomery Professor Emeritus of American Decorative Art at Yale University.

Newbury Street Press is a special publications imprint of New England Historic Genealogical Society, a worthy endorsement indeed.

This 715-page book proves without a doubt what a fine and devoted researcher Cummings is. The volume is both indexed and “sourced” – you can easily tell where he found what.

My Cummings ancestors – I have two lines from “Woburn John” – were early in both Parkman and Greenville. And, of course, Greene. Deacon Lemuel Comins was the second settler of Greene, which is why one of the first town histories I obtained years ago was Mower’s “History of Greene.”

Other Maine towns mentioned frequently in the book include Bangor, Biddeford, Brewer, Eddington, East Eddington, Guilford, Lewiston and Saco.

Abbott Cummings’ book includes a photograph by F. Berkley Hobart of the gravestone of Rachel Stevens Comins, carved by her husband in Valley Cemetery in Greene. It reads:

In memory of Rachel. Comins. Who died. March. 31. 1822 Aged. 74. Wife of Lemuel. Comins done. By. my. own. hand., now. 77

The cost is $65, plus $4 shipping. You can order it on line at www.newenglandancestors.org, or e-mail sales@nehgs.org, or call (508) 877-5790. I received my copy in about one week.

On another note, the New Century Community Program, funded by the Maine Legislature, and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission made it possible for the Maine State Archives to provide 35 grants to community organizations for preservation to historic items, and access to them.

The first round of grants totaled $30,000, and $23,000 more will be awarded in March. The next deadline for grant applications is June 1. Obtain an application by calling Janet Roberts at 287-5791 or Anne Ball at 287-7591, or check the Web, www.state.me.us/sos/arc/mhrab.grant.htm.

A few of the recent grant recipients are: Calais Free Library, College of the Atlantic, George Stevens Academy, Great Cranberry Island Historical Society, Harmony Historical Society, Ladies of the Lake – Eastport/Quoddy Bay Collection, Moosehead Marine Museum, and the Town of St. Agatha.

The Dennys River Historical Society in Washington County was chosen a recipient to help preserve Lincoln family papers, for example.

Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky said of such projects, “Cultural tourism has become an important component of the hospitality industry. We must provide quality service in the form of easily accessible, well-preserved material to encourage use, ensure an improved understanding of Maine’s heritage, and to protect our basic documents.”

I agree. I hear from many, many people who come to Maine specifically to work on genealogy and visit the hometowns of their forebears. It is encouraging that more communities are realizing we should be touting historical resources and attractions alongside fishing, hunting, skiing, snowmobiling, camping, leaf peeping and other Maine activities.

. . .

3171. CATE-CATES-KATE-FOSS. Seeking parents of Jonathan Cate/Cates/Kate and Sarah Foss, who md. Nov. 11, 1824, Strafford, N.H. They moved about 1820-1830 to Embden, Somerset County. In the 1840 census, they are listed in Maine town of Concord, with six children; moved to Strong before 1850. Alice Price Merriam, 89 Briarwood Circle, Worcester, Mass. 01606.

3172. GATCHELL-STINSON. Seeking anything related to Abigail or Abbie E. (Gatchell), 1850-1935, wife of William Stinson of Webster Plantation or Springfield, where they are buried in Cole Cemetery. Patricia Smith Ranzoni, HC 78, Box 173, Bucksport, Maine 04416; or e-mail pranzoni@aol.com, or call 469-2225.

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