With Valentine’s Day nearly here, I’ve been admiring a beautiful wedding certificate at the Bangor Museum and Center for History at 6 State St.

Adrian R. Staples of Bangor and Carrie A. Wilson of Bangor “were united by me in holy matrimony according to the ordinance of God and the Laws of the State of Maine,” wrote George H. Woodward on May 20, 1897. Witnesses were Dora M. Hillman, Harriet Bartlett and Jessie M. Bartlett.

Between now and March 1, I hope you’ll visit “Ruffians, Ruffles, Parasols and Patriots: The Story of Bangor’s History through Costume,” 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at the State Street location. (The museum’s other site is the Thomas Hill House, closed for the winter.)

The costume collection of the women’s organization Quipus is splendid, from glorious clothing used in plays to wedding finery and dresses in a display on a women’s club tea. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such lace.

There are also uniforms – and artifacts, too – from World War II, World War I and the Civil War. Among them are front pages from the Bangor Daily News, including one with a Japanese headline, ration books and a World War I advertisement on a speaking engagement of the McAllister sisters, “just back from the battlefield in France.”

Hanging on one wall is a fascinating topographical map of the “County of Penobscot, Maine, from Surveys under the direction of H.F. Walling. 1859.”

A small gift shop offers items such as “Godfrey’s Journals,” a book of Civil War letters of John Franklin Godfrey, “Woodsmen and Whigs,” and other good books on Bangor.

It’s bad enough that Roff, Rofe, Russ and Rust all looked like Ross in the penmanship of yore. Add to that the confusion from John, Killicress and Fennel Ross giving their children the same names.

It’s lucky for us that Kathleen Canney Barber, Janet Ireland Delorey and Alan Bruce Sherman have sorted out “The Ross Families of Ipswich, Massachusetts” in the January issue of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.

This first installment treats John Ross, who married Margaret Haggett of Wenham, Mass. John was apparently a fellow Scot of Alexander Bravand, who in 1650 was taken prisoner at the Battle of Dunbar. John’s descendants include Southwick, Hoar and Russ families.

The many references in this piece include Stephen P. Carlson’s “The Scots at Hammersmith,” published in 1976; and Col. Charles Banks’ “Scotch Prisoners Deported to New England by Cromwell, 1651-2,” in the 1927-1988 Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings. Also in this issue:

. “Records of the Rev. Samuel Parris, Salem Village, Massachusetts, 1688-1696,” by Marilynne K. Roach.

. “The English Origins of Edmund Quincy of Boston …” by Leslie Mahler.

. “John Rhoades and the Capture of Fort Pentagoet,” by Jeremy Depertuis Bangs.

. Part 3 of “Descendants of ‘King’ David Chesebrough of Newport, Rhode Island,” with clues to identity of son-in-law Alexander Grant, by Michael J. Boonstra.

. “Records of the Suffolk Street Chapel, Boston, 1837-1845,” transcribed by Timothy G.X. Salls.

. A Mills-Deming-Babcock-Ball Family Bible, with references to the Berkshires; Williamstown, Mass.; and Mansfield and Tolland, Conn.

The Washington County Genealogical Society is accepting dues for 2003. To join and receive the newsletter Woods and Weirs, send $10 to WCGS, care of Gwen Lujan, 1 Spear Ave., Eastport, ME 04631.

Meetings move around the county, and will be held 1 p.m. March 22, April 19, May 17 and June 21. Organizers also recommend Washington County genealogical fairs: July 12 at the Alexander-Crawford Historical Society in Crawford or July 26 at the Charlotte Historical Society in Charlotte.

3212. HUGHES-LEWIS. Seeking information on John Hughes family of Brownville. John, born about 1820 in Wales, came to Brownville in 1852 with first wife Catherine and children Hugh, William, Richard, Mary (md. Owen Jones) and John, to work in slate quarry. John md. 2) Jane (Davis) Lewis, also from Wales. Jane’s children were Elizabeth Lewis (md. Wm. Williams), Margaret Lewis and Thomas Lewis. John and Jane’s children together: David, Sarah (md. Lewis Swift), Jane (md. Patrick Somers), Samuel (my great-grandfather), and Anne. Sherry Hughes Harrington, 7 Lilac Lane, Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426.

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