New history of Ripley has wealth of detail

It’s usually April when Ripley Pond “ices out.” We know this because Sandra Wintle Blaney has included those records for 1966-2002 in her newly published “Entering Ripley.”

Of course, we’re more interested in the genealogy in this 200-page volume, including the list of the 48 settlers who were in town when the Somerset County town held its first town meeting in 1817.

Where known, the town of origin is also listed – John and Sam Emerys from Canaan; William and Betsy Barnes Hoyt from Bradford, N.H.; Theodore and John Goodale Woodcock from Winthrop; David and Rhoda Maloon from Epping, N.H.; John and Josiah Page from Wakefield, N.H.; and many others.

There are birth records of early families, lists of local veterans from the Revolution through Desert Storm, lists of teachers, school notes, business information, history of clubs and organizations, and even memories of Fush Hill by Don Gordon and Fred Gordon.

Family lines include Buzzell-Bane, William Dunlap, Joseph Butler, Samuel Emery, Josiah Farrar, Levi Gould, Silas Grant, William Hoyt, Nathaniel Jewett, John Lane, Moses Leighton, James Laugton, David Maloon, William Rand, Daniel Randall, Peletiah Raymond, Noah Sampson, Jonathan Sevey, Rogers-Stone, Ebenezer Wing, Theodore Woodcock.

There are also listings for several cemeteries – Fern, West Ripley, Downing, Hale, Fush Hill, John Goodale, North Road, Lane and Sampson.

And, oh, the pictures – from a 1913 picnic at the West Ripley Post Office to Mills School students of 1927 and 1946, Jones School pupils of 1930 and 1931, Head of the Pond School in 1952, the West Ripley School Float of 1916, and many more.

Blaney said she enjoyed doing this book “so much,” and it shows. If you’d like a copy of this nice history, send $21 plus $3 shipping and handling to Sandra Wintle Blaney, 98 Deer Run Lane, Ripley 04930.

Whether your interest is specifically old clothing, or just plain history, do consider attending the Bangor Museum and Center for History’s program, “Historic Fashions on Parade,” at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 2, at 6 State St., Bangor.

Judy Bielecki, director of Washburn-Norlands Living History Center in Livermore, will demonstrate Civil War-era women’s clothing. The talk is designed to complement the museum’s current exhibit of historic costumes, “Ruffians, Ruffles, Parasols, and Patriots.”

The museum will close the next day to prepare for the next exhibit scheduled to open in June. The gift shop will remain open during working hours. Tours of the Thomas A. Hill House on Union Street are available by appointment.

Thanks to a grant from the Maine Humanities Council, the March 2 program is free. Seating is limited, however, and reservations can be made by calling 942-1900.

The Mid-Coast Genealogy Group will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, at the LDS Church on Old County Road in Rockport. Civil War historian and military history author Blake Hines will speak about the Union Army and the culture of the mid-19th century, and about a database he created of 40,000 members of Civil War regiments from Connecticut pension records.

Searching for your ancestors? Get started by attending a genealogy workshop with Phil Getchell from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Monday, March 10, in the AOA Room at the Old Town-Orono YMCA, Stillwater Avenue, Old Town. Katherine Tweedy will give sessions at the same time March 17 and March 24. The workshops are free for YMCA members, $3 a session for others. For info, call 827-9622.

Diana Saucier of Fort Fairfield has been putting together a small book on Stevensville, a sizable town, which was handy to Fort Fairfield – near the intersection of Caribou and Green Ridge roads.

“I remember my mother talking about where she lived, and I decided that I wanted to write about it to keep it alive,” she wrote. There are pictures in the book, in addition to the story.

Those interested in purchasing a copy may write Diana Saucier, P.O. Box 442, Fort Fairfield, ME 04742; e-mail dsaucier@maine.rr.com, or call 473-7466.

3213. SILVA-LANDERS-BARTLETT. Would like to correspond with relatives of John and Agnes R. (Bartlett) Silva of Milo, whose daughter Bertha Silver md. Lowell Landers by 1920 and had: John K., Dorothy E. and Joan A., 1925-1926, my second and third cousins. J.E. Deacon, 111/2 North Van Buren Ave., Apt. 303, Freeport, IL 61302.

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