In 1747, an epidemic of measles hit Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. In 1793, Philadelphia experienced one of the worst epidemics of yellow fever.

These are included in a list compiled by Cherri Melton Flinn, “Historical Epidemics of the Last 300 Years.”

Flinn printed that list in her 2000 book, “Genealogy Basics Online: A Step-by-Step Introduction to Finding Your Ancestors through the Internet.” You can find the book at the Maine State Library in Augusta.

Or, you can look it up as an e-book.

The University of Maine System Libraries have brought online a new database for public use, the Gateway to Digital Collections.

You’ll find the database at http://libraries.maine.edu/gateway/

I plugged in “genealogy” as a keyword, checked “broad search” and found a list including the Flinn book.

Another book available online is “Fort Orange Records, 1656-1678.” Fort Orange was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New York state located in the present-day city of Albany.

I also tried “family history” as a title and found this 1999 entry by Judith Everard and Michael Jones: “The Charters of Duchess Constance of Brittany and Her Family.”

These include the charters for Geoffrey, 1181-1186; Constance, 1181-1201; Margaret, d. 1201; Ranulf, 1188-1189; Arthur, 1187; Guy de Thouars; Eleanor, 1208-1241; and Alice, 1212-1221.

I’m sure that time will reveal many more interesting entries to this database.

Mike Gleason of Bangor wrote in to let us know about the National Park Service Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, online at www.itd.nps.gov.

Entering my Alfred Hart of Dexter, I found that he was a private in Company E of the 22nd Regiment, Maine Infantry.

You can look up an entry by name, or you can type in a regiment and state and get a listing of the entire regiment.

Also available is information on Union soldiers held at Andersonville, Georgia, and Confederate soldiers held at Fort McHenry, Maryland.

You need at least a surname. I entered Smith and the state of Maine and came up with a C. Smith of the 1st Maine Cavalry.

The site also offers information on those buried in Poplar Grove Cemetery at Petersburg National Battlefield in Virginia.

Another interesting database is the Maine State Archives Revolutionary War Land Grants and Pension Applications, available online at www.state.me.us/sos/arc/archives/military/revlist2.htm.

You can browse the entire list if you like. Some of the pension applications can be found in county courthouses. Thus, under “source of application,” you may find references to Hancock County Court Records, Lincoln County Court Records and York County Court Records. Those counties covered a lot more area than they do now.

Let us know about the Web sites you like to use for genealogical research, and we’ll pass on the information.

And remember, we run queries in Family Ties free. One reader wrote that she had received five helpful responses to a recent query, and now can trace her ancestry back to France.

3316. CROSBY-QUAID. Seeking information on relatives who at one time lived in Bucksport – Mrs. Margaret Crosby and her daughter Joan. The last information I have is for 1933. Am attempting to fill in all the branches on our Quaid family tree. Karen Webster, RR3, Auburn, Ontario, N0M 1E0; karewebs@hurontel.on.ca.

3317. COCHRAN-PAINE-WOODWARD-FILLMORE. Looking for help in extending my Cochran line. Grandparents Archibald Benjamin Cochran of Dover-Foxcroft and Grace Eva Fillmore of Sangerville md. Nov. 1, 1924. Great-grandparents were Walter James Cochran, b. Feb. 4, 1868, Dover, d. July 1955, and Lela (Woodward) Cochran. Great-great-grandparents were Jonathan Cochran, b. May 4, 1839, Orono, d. Sept. 18, 1918, and Josephine (Paine) Cochran. After that, I’m lost. The 1880 Census for Dover lists John Cochran, 42, farmer; wife Josephine, 30; and son James W., 12. Anna Godreau Barton, P.O. Box 133, Beals 04611; anna4466882000@yahoo.com.

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