Cemetery association offers tours

We can spend 24 hours a day searching the Internet, libraries, graveyards and repositories, and it won’t replace that serendipitous moment that so often happens when we’re in the midst of other genealogists.

Try the Sept. 28 meeting of the Maine Genealogical Society, or an upcoming gathering of the Maine Old Cemetery Association – July 20 in Parsonsfield, or Oct. 19 in Turner.

Saturday, July 20, would be a great time for a jaunt down to York County, the gateway to Maine for many of our ancestors. Parsonsfield is the land of sooooo many cemeteries.

Grace Gilpatrick and the Friends of Parsonsfield Seminary will host the meeting at the Parsonsfield Seminary, with registration and coffee 9-10 a.m. The fee is just $3.

MOCA President Cheryl Patten will welcome those attending at 10 a.m., and at 10:15 a.m. there will be talks by Gilpatrick on the history of the seminary, and by Jose Spenderson on the cemeteries in town.

The business meeting begins at 11 a.m., with lunch at noon for $5. The day concludes with tours of Parsonsfield cemeteries by Bob Calnan and Spenderson of the Ancient Landmark Society of Parsonsfield.

Take Route 25 into Porter, then go left onto Route 160. The seminary, about three miles down the road, is a group of white buildings on the left.

MOCA has done a lot of work in preserving cemeteries and their records. I often use the records in book form at the Maine State Library in Augusta, and on microfilm at the University of Maine, among many locations.

The June newsletter tells us that MOCA recently recognized: Richmond Town Manager Jay Robbins, for ongoing work to restore Richmond graveyards; to fourth-graders in Sullivan, for working with teacher Ann McCann to clean up the old Hawkins-Salter yard; to Don Simoneau and volunteers for restoration and erecting a fence around the Everett Carver Cemetery in Leeds, where Revolutionary War soldier Abner Phillips is buried.

MOCA’s fall meeting is scheduled for Oct. 19 in Turner, and the spring 2003 meeting may be held in Richmond.

To join MOCA, send $5 for an annual membership, $20 for five years, or $100 for a lifetime membership to MOCA in care of Doreen Jordan, P.O. Box 641, Augusta, ME 04332-0641.

The 26th annual meeting and conference of the Maine Genealogical Society is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28, at Jewitt Hall, Southern Maine Technical College in South Portland.

Early registration is recommended because facilities are limited. Registration will be held from 8 to 9:30 a.m. The cost prior to Sept. 10 is $17 for MGS members, and $22 for non-members.

If you want lunch, the total cost, in advance, is $25 for MGS members, $30 for non-members. No lunch tickets may be purchased the day of the event. Send registration to Greater Portland Chapter MGS, in care of Lynne Holland, 184 Spurwink Ave., Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107. After Sept. 10, the conference fee, without lunch, is $30.

Early workshops, 8:15-9:15 a.m., will be “Beginning Genealogy” and “Archiving Your Legacy.” Some splendid keynote talks have been scheduled:

. 9:30 a.m. “Gems, Jewels, or Fool’s Gold? Mining the U.S. Census,” with Ruth Q. Wellner, reference librarian and research services coordinator at New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston.

. 11 a.m. “Boston State Migration Project,” with Sharon Sergeant, looking at families migrating among the Canadian eastern provinces, New England and New York.

. 3 p.m. “Researching in New England,” with Wellner.

At 1:45 p.m., choose from several workshops: Internet genealogy, with Kathy Amoroso, Maine Historical Society; “Archiving Your Legacy,” with Ellen Dwyer, Camden Public Library; Italian genealogy success stories, with Joseph Summers; Irish genealogy; Franco-American genealogy; or a panel on problem-solving.

To join the Maine Genealogical Society, send $27 for the first year to MGS, Box 221, Farmington, ME 04938. The cost includes the newsletter and the quarterly. Renewals are $20 a year. The Web site is www.rootsweb.com/~megs/MaineGS/htm.

The Hancock County Genealogical Society will meet at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20, in the Riverview Room of the Ellsworth Public Library. Author and genealogist Janet Rourke will talk about her work on the Candage/Cavendish family. For more information, contact Richard Spinney at 667-8728.

The Old Canada Road Historical Society has an exhibit through July 19 at the Bingham Chamber of Commerce. Included are photographs of area men in uniform from the Civil War through World War I.

The annual Bowden Family Reunion will be held at noon Saturday, July 22, at Kings Mountain, 1330 Center Drive, Orrington. For info, call Marguerite Eckert at 825-3722.

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