Acadian Archives has new building

What wonderful news it is that the Acadian Archives has opened its own building on the University of Fort Kent campus.

What started out in 1990 as a small room in the Waneta Blake Library is now a two-story, 7,600-square-foot facility between Powell Hall and the library.

The archives has a conference room, reference desk, reading room, computer area, collections area and even space for visits from local students.

I visited the Acadian Archives a few years ago, and even in its smaller space, was amazed at what it had to offer. A few of the treasures on site include:

. A microfilm of a manuscript titled “Premieres Familles Acadiennes et Canadiennes,” French language genealogical and biographical notices of families settled in the upper St. John Valley before 1831; and early baptisms, marriages and burials from the upper St. John Valley.

. Beatrice Chevalier Craig’s “reconstitutions” of families in the St. John Valley. Craig wrote up these notes – family sheets – when she was a graduate student at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

. The St. John Valley Times on microfilm from 1957 on.

. The French language newspaper Le Madawaska on microfilm.

Members of the New England Historic Genealogical Society receive not only the quarterly The Register – the New England Historical and Genealogical Register – but a second quarterly magazine, New England Ancestors.

Features of the fall issue of New England Ancestors include:

. “Truth and Fashion: Edward Winslow,” by Jeremy Dupertuis Bangs.

. “Bringing Early Plymouth to Life at Plimoth Plantation,” by Lynn Betlock. I hope you’ve had an opportunity to visit Plimoth Plantation. It is fascinating. Visit the plantation online at www.plimoth.org.

. “Fraternal Organizations of Our Ancestors,” by Joyce S. Pendery.

. “One Among Several: Looking for Prince Hall the Freemason in the Early American Republic,” by Chernoh M. Sesay Jr.

. “The Origins of Samuel Rose of Manchester, Vermont are Elucidated by DNA,” by David W. Brown and Kathleen C. Rose.

Keep in mind that there are two levels of membership in NEHGS. The $60 subscription membership includes both publications and ability to borrow from the circulating library, while the $75 research membership also includes unlimited onsite use of the research library and members-only databases.

For member assistance, write NEHGS Member Services, One Watson Place, Building 4, P.O. Box 5089, Framingham, MA 01701. Or call (888) 296-3447.

Visit NEHGS in person at 101 Newbury St. in Boston.

The next meeting of the Washington County Genealogical Society will be held at 1 p.m. (U.S. time) Saturday, Oct. 16, at the St. Croix Public Library, St. Stephen, New Brunswick.

WCGS was organized in 1992 with the purpose of collecting, exchanging and preserving related documents and information, as well as promoting and encouraging interest and scholarship in genealogy and family history in Washington County.

Membership in WCGS is open to anyone interested in learning more about their family genealogy and history, especially in Washington County and neighboring Charlotte County, New Brunswick.

The group meets on the third Saturday of the month from March to November, with the exception of July and August. Dues are $10 a year.

For more information, contact president Francis Raye, 853-6630; secretary Valdine Atwood, 255-4432; or treasurer Connie Ferguson, 726-9690.

The Aroostook County Genealogical Society will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12, at the Presque Isle Historical Society, Vera Estey House, 16 Third St., Presque Isle. For directions, call Allen at 496-5521.

If you have queries or material to donate, write ACGS, P.O. Box 142, Caribou, ME 04736-0142.

The Penobscot County Genealogical Society will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20, in the Lecture Hall at Bangor Public Library, with V. Ann Files speaking on property deed research.

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