At age 9, Alice McKinstry wrote that she would like to “keep records and read books,” and so she has. Retired from several years as an elementary-school teacher, she has turned her attention to preserving family history.

In doing so, Alice (McKinstry) Hawes hasn’t tried to reinvent the wheel. William Willis had already written “Genealogy of the McKinstry Family: With a Preliminary Essay on the Scotch-Irish Immigration to America.” That book from 1858 is available at Bangor Public Library and at Maine State Library in Augusta.

Nor did she supersede what’s been done on Chicopee, Mass., the hometown of her branch of the McKinstrys. Her dad, Winthrop McKinstry, wrote “Glimpses of the Past” in 1976, and the University of Maine’s Fogler Library in Orono has a copy.

Rather, Hawes has plowed new territory with “The Mc-Kinstrys of Chicopee: Eliza’s Legacy,” based on several generations of letters, documents and photos saved by an aunt who lived in the homestead.

Hawes’ immigrant ancestor was the Rev. John McKinstry, born 1677 in Broad Isle Parish, County Antrim, Ireland, the son of parents from Scotland. John I came to Ellington, Conn., in 1718, and later married Elizabeth Fairfield – a first cousin, twice removed, of Maine’s Gov. John Fairfield.

Hawes’ ancestor is John II, who attended Yale and, like his father, was a Congregational minister. McKinstrys served on both sides in the American Revolution, and a McKinstry female married Col. John Stark of New Hampshire. Noted lawyer Clarence Darrow also is a Mc-Kinstry descendant.

This genealogy is great, and shows the organizational capabilities of a teacher. I always say, if you’re looking for an example to follow for writing your own family history, pick one you like for a pattern.

Most importantly, the book shows Hawes’ talent for bringing history to life, making it about real people.

Included are excerpts from a 1750 sermon by John I, the memorial from his Estate Account Book after he died, and a portion of his will. Other gems include a notation by John II regarding the Chicopee area in 1755: “The snow did not Go off from North Side of Great Hill until July 20th. We did not raise any corn that year only oats and Potatoes of which there was a Great Yeald.”

There are Grace McKinstry’s recipe for “Christmas Cakes,” and a 1941 “chalk talk” – “The Christmas Tree That Didn’t Get Trimmed” – based on Luke 6:43-45. The chalk talk, with drawings, was from the sketchbook of artist Marion (Hunter) McKinstry, Hawes’ mother.

Several generations of Mc-Kinstrys were poultry keepers, and that chapter was penned by Hawes’ husband, Robert, professor emeritus of animal science at the University of Maine.

“The McKinstrys of Chicopee,” printed by Penobscot Press, is available through BookMarc’s on Harlow Street in Bangor. Or, you may order it by mail for $27 plus $3 shipping, sent to Alice Hawes, 8 Short Wharf Road, Hampden 04444-1629. You may e-mail her at rohawes@maine.edu.

You also may see the book in the Bangor Room at Bangor Public Library. Hawes donated a copy of her book to that library, and also to the library at the Congregational Christian Historical Society in Boston.

David S. King of the CCHS called the book “not only a sterling family history, but a record of Congregational churches’ ministry for nearly 300 years.”

If you write a family history, do consider donating copies to widely used genealogical libraries such as Bangor Public Library, Fogler Library in Orono at the University of Maine, Maine State Library in Augusta, and the Maine Historical Society in Portland. And don’t forget your local library and historical society.

The 91st Dow family reunion, for descendants of Lyford and Eunice (Parsons) Dow, will be held Saturday, Aug. 16, at the home of Daniel and Gail Dow, 809 Sebec Village Road, Sebec, just north of Bowerbank Road. Dinner will be at 1 p.m.

The Thornton family reunion, for descendants of George and Whelimina Thornton, will be held Sunday, Aug. 3, at the reunion grounds on Farrar Lake in Topsfield. Bring auction items.

3232. LEWIS-MARSHALL. Seek info on Thirza (Marshall) Lewis, b. Feb. 23, 1826, daughter of Walter and Abigail Marshall. Was in Lee in 1840. Between 1879 and 1889, Thirza md. Samuel Lewis of Springfield as his second wife. She d. Dec. 7, 1898, Springfield. Believe she married young, had five children, was widowed in 1850s, perhaps in Lee. Who were her first husband and their children, and where was Thirza 1840-1880? Sarah Crockett, 113 Enfield Road, Lincoln 04457; e-mail graves@linc-net.net.

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