Vital records accessible in several ways

It was probably 1977 or thereabouts when I discovered the wooden drawer marked “Registers” at the Bangor Public Library.

I was so pleased to find that the library had three volumes of “Vital Records of Gloucester, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849” – births, marriages and deaths.

I was flabbergasted to learn it was possible to look up my Bennetts and Haskells and Wharffs and Milletts and Lanes without going all the way to Massachusetts.

In short order I realized the library had numerous vital record compilations for cities and towns in Massachusetts, and several for other states, too.

These days, many vital records are available on the Mormon Web site, www.familysearch.org. Put in the name of the person you’re looking for, and the country or state if you know it.

The first category of records offered comprises entries from Ancestral Records – those that are submitted by church members or other people. They have not been verified by the church, and are only as accurate as the work of the individual who submitted them.

The most accurate of the records on the site are those listed under the IGI, the International Genealogical Index. These have been copied from municipal records, for example.

This resource is tremendous, but there are also advantages to using the books themselves.

Researching in books is a tactile experience – the feel of the cover and the pages. And while a computer brings up information handily by name, there’s nothing quite like turning the pages of a book and knowing you’re getting incrementally closer to the page where your ancestor may be listed.

Then, of course, there’s the serendipity of browsing – having some bit of information catch your eye when you hadn’t even thought of it.

Many vital records books also contain a real treasure – notes on where the data came from. Let’s look at the “Vital Records of Pembroke, Massachusetts to the Year 1850,” for example.

The listings for William Hayford, my Revolutionary War ancestor, include his marriage to Betty Bonney on March 11, 1762.

The note for the marriage entry is P.R. 191, which the key in the book explains is a “private record, from a copy of marriages by Rev. Thomas Smith, now in the possession of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.” “Now” would be 1911 in this case, the year the book was published.

The note on the May 18, 1777, baptism of one of William and Betty’s sons, Levi, is C.R. 2 – Second Church of Christ.

William and Betty are buried in the Maine town of Hartford in Androscoggin County, but had they died in Pembroke, we might find their deaths referenced there with “G.R.” and a number.

A glance at the book’s key shows me that records were taken from nine graveyards in this Massachusetts town: Pembroke Centre, Stetson Burying Ground, Mount Pleasant in Bryantville, Two Mile, Briggs, East Pembroke, High Street, Chapel Ground and Friends Burying Ground in North Pembroke. That’s handy information to have.

The “Registers” drawer, and the vital records books listed there, may be found in the Bangor Room on the third floor of the Bangor Public Library.

Another way to use such resources is through computer databases.

Membership in the New England Historic Genealogical Society brings access to its Vital Records database, among many others. The advantage there, of course, is that you can plug in the name and find all the “William Hayford” entries without having to know all the towns where Hayfords lived.

Membership includes the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, a much respected quarterly; the very useful New England Ancestors magazine; access to the circulating library by mail; and other benefits.

Memberships start at $60 for an individual. Write NEHGS Membership Dept., P.O. Box 5089, Framingham, Mass. 01701; or check out the Web site at www.newenglandancestors.org.

The 70th Moody Family Reunion will be held at 1 p.m. Sept. 29 at the North Nobleboro Community Hall in Nobleboro. Bring a dish to share for the luncheon; beverages will be provided. Tom Moody will give the program. Bring photos, genealogy, books or articles of interest. For information, contact Gail Kennedy, 54 Greenwood Ave., Wakefield, MA 01880; or e-mail gkennedy@rcn.com.

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