It doesn’t seem possible that Bangor historian Jim Vickery has been gone for six years. How well I remember sitting in the reference room at Bangor Public Library, listening to Jim sort out local history tidbits with another genealogist.

How grateful we should be that the notes he compiled have not languished. Jim worked with attorney Stuart M. Cohen to arrange for Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. to take the lead on getting his materials turned into a book on the Vickery family.

Now we have “The Same Great Struggle: The History of the Vickery Family of Unity, Maine 1634-1997,” written by Andrea Constantine Hawkes and published by Tilbury House in Gardiner.

The 306-page book covers 10 generations of Vickerys, not just in Maine, but in Massachusetts, Montana and Wyoming. The first generation was George and Rebecca (Phippen) Vickery, who lived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Cape Cod, Boston, Cape Elizabeth and Calais were other settling places for the family on its way to Unity.

Revolutionary War veteran David Vickery II and Sarah Stone Vickery planted roots in Unity, where several generations of the family lived.

Jim Vickery had begun collecting information on the family in the 1930s, contacting many distant relatives by letter.

Hawkes, a Bangor native who remembers seeing Jim around the library, has preserved his legacy well in this work. The volume begins with a lovely two-page family tree outlining his descent.

The book is well organized by generation, with maps, old photos and other items helping to illuminate the family’s history. The footnotes and index are very useful as well.

One fascinating picture shows Jim with authors Henry Beston and Elizabeth Coatsworth Beston.

And there are wonderful little anecdotes, such as young Jim’s visit to a Pittsfield barbershop, where he chanced to see Col. Walter G. Morrill, Civil War veteran of Gettysburg. Morrill became one of his many research subjects.

Vickery earned degrees at Bates College and the University of Maine, and was a schoolteacher in Dexter and Brewer. He was bestowed many awards for his historical work, received the key to the city of Bangor and enjoyed his 75th birthday celebration at Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor.

Shettleworth, director of the Maine Preservation Commission, said at Vickery’s funeral, “In each generation, it is given to a few to have vision to preserve our cultural heritage. Jim was one of those keepers of the light. We who knew him will deeply miss him, but are consoled that his spirit will live on through his life’s work to illuminate the minds of future generations.”

You’ll find “The Same Great Struggle” at area bookstores, or order by calling (800) 582-1899. By mail, the cost is $15 plus $5 shipping for softcover, or $30 plus $6.50 shipping for hardcover, plus sales tax. Write Tilbury House, 2 Mechanic St. No. 3, Gardiner 04345, or visit www.tilburyhouse.com.

The Mid-Coast Genealogy Society will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, at the LDS Church on Old County Road in Rockport. Bert Snow, retired Rockland police officer, will speak on the great Rockland fire of December 1952, when several downtown businesses were lost. All are welcome. For information, contact Marlene A. Groves at 594-4293 or Diana Overlock Sewell at 273-2722.

An organizational meeting of the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Abbot Town Hall on Route 15 in Abbot. Sally Butterfield, president of the Department of Maine, will attend. Feel free to invite a friend.

Bring any genealogy and other information that would be helpful in proving your connection to your Civil War ancestor. Membership applications are available. If you haven’t determined whether you are eligible, help will be provided on how to do so.

If you’re not able to get to the meeting but are interested in joining, contact Donna Runnels at 876-2171 or e-mail her at donnarun@kynd.net.

The Charlotte branch of the New Brunswick Genealogical Society will meet at 11 a.m. Oct. 4 at the St. Croix Library at 11 King St., Saint Stephen, New Brunswick.

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