Suppose there isn’t a nice thick history for the town of your ancestors, and no vital records are available. What could you do?

One step would be to check for county histories – and hope the ones you find are nice and thick, each with a useful chapter of its own for every town and city.

I’ve been perusing information on the town of Orono, and find that a couple of libraries have a typescript history from years ago. Haven’t seen it yet.

What we can check easily, in many libraries, is the “History of Penobscot County Maine, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches,” published by Williams, Chase & Co. in 1882.

In addition to a list of land parcels for 1794-1795, and who owned them, Orono’s 11-page chapter contains a paragraph or two on many of its early settlers who were “white men,” acknowledging that the Penobscots were in the area first.

The first white settlers were Jeremiah Colburn and Joshua Eayres.

Colburn, according to grandson William Colburn Jr., built his house on what is now Mill Street in Orono, an area that was part of Conduskeag in the 1790 Census.

“It is believed that he was born in Dracut, Massachusetts, in 1726,” the county history says. “His wife’s maiden name was Fanny Hodgkins. … He died in 1808 and was buried in the old cemetery near South Water Street.”

So we have Colburn’s wife’s name, and his grandson’s name – and if his grandson was William Jr., possibly that child’s father was also William. I say possibly, because back in those days the term Jr. didn’t always indicate that a man was named for his father.

We also are interested in the fact that Jeremiah came from Dracut, Mass., then to Pittston in Maine. I think of Dracut along with Dighton, Duxbury, Taunton and other towns in the Plymouth, Mass., area. Maybe he’ll have Mayflower connections. It’s always a valid question when you find somebody a ways back in the Plymouth Colony area.

We’ll tell you more about Jeremiah Colburn in another column, but first let’s mention a few of Orono’s other early settlers, and what the county history says of their roots:

. Capt. David Reed, from Topsham.

. John Marsh, “the Interpreter,” b. 1749, Mendon, Mass., married Sarah Colburn.

. Capt. Abram Tourtellotte, b. 1744, came from Rhode Island, first settled on Bangor Road.

. Samuel White, b. 1760, Mendon, Mass., married Fannie Colburn.

. Capt. Daniel Jameson, Freeport.

. Joseph Page, from Rhode Island.

. Antoine Lachance, b. 1750-1751, Quebec, married 1782 Sarah Buzze, d. 1839.

. Robert, John, Joshua and Joseph Treat, from Frankfort.

. Abram, John, Retire W. and Isaac Freese, from Bangor.

. Andrew Webster, Salisbury, Mass., to Castine to Bangor to Orono.

. Capt. Francis Wyman, Phippsburgh.

. Ard Godfrey, Taunton, Mass.

. George S. Ring Sr., Georgetown.

Other county histories I’ve seen include: Androscoggin, Cumberland, Kennebec, Piscataquis and York.

Hope to see you at the meeting of the Orono Historical Society at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, at the Page Farm and Home Museum in the middle of the University of Maine campus.

I’ll be talking about Orono history, and specifically about what census records tell us about this town on the Penobscot River. Also, I’ll give an example of an Orono family from the census, and tell you what steps I would take to trace the family’s genealogy.

Visitor parking permits are available in the museum office. Society members and guests are encouraged to bring a bag lunch. Drinks and refreshments will be provided. Do stay for the 1 p.m. business meeting also, if you’d like.

Looking to learn how to use the Internet for genealogical research? Then write down Nov. 13 on your calendar. Dale Mower, president of the Penobscot County Genealogical Society, will speak in Dover-Foxcroft at 6:30 p.m. at the Penquis Higher Education Center on Mayo Street. This is a meeting of the Wassebec Genealogical Society, and all are welcome. Moreover, the computer room will be available at the center. For information, contact Estella Bennett at 876-3073.

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