Call them brick walls, call them dead ends. We all have those ancestors of whom it can be said, “Nothing further is known.” Let’s suppose you had a Dorcas Mitchell somewhere in Maine in the 1830s. You find several Dorcas Mitchells, but not the right one. Where did yours come from?

It turns out that in 1828, Dorcas Twitchell asked the Maine Legislature to change her name to Mitchell. Making the same request were several other people named Twitchell – Betsey, Clarisa, Cynthia, Eliza, James, John E., Lydia, Mark, Moses, Moses Jr., Rachel, Rufus, Sally, Susan and William. Now you have other paths to follow.

This information can be found in what we used to call the Legislative Index Series, published several years ago in five-year increments. You can find the same information online on the state Web site, www.maine.gov. Click on State Agencies, then on Archives, Maine State.

Under Online Services, you will notice a couple of databases we have mentioned here:

. Marriage Database, an index of Maine marriages 1892-1966 and 1977-1996.

. Death Database, an index of Maine deaths 1960-1996.

But new to me is:

. Archives Interactive. I entered Mitchell, Dorcas in the search field and clicked on Legislation Proposed or Enacted 1820-1860. What popped up was “Surname changed from Twitchell 1828.” I entered Twitchell in the search field with no first name specified, and came up with all the other Twitchells who changed their name to Mitchell that year.

I knew about the Legislative Index Series, but didn’t know the index was online until I attended a workshop on the Maine State Archives by Jeff Brown at a recent genealogy conference in Oakland sponsored by the Silence Howard Hayden chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution.

Brown, an archivist II, has been with the Archives for nearly 25 years, and really knows his stuff. Other items in the index, he pointed out, included petitions to obtain a divorce, or to have a marriage validated.

This year’s Acadian Festival, set for June 23-26 in Madawaska, will coincide with the Dionne Family Reunion. The festival also will mark the 250th anniversary of the Acadian deportation by the British.

The family’s immigrant ancestors were Antoine Dionne dit Sanssoucy and wife Catherine (Ivory), who came to Quebec around 1661 and settled on Ile d’Orleans. They lived at what is now 2242 Chemin Royal in St. Pierre, Ile d’Orleans.

Festival events will include a re-enactment of the first Acadian landing in St. David, traditional Acadian supper, a softball tournament, barge rides on Long Lake, entertainment, cultural displays, a festival parade and much more.

For information, contact the Madawaska Chamber of Commerce at 728-7000. The festival is definitely worth the trip. Stop by Madawaska High School to check out the giant family tree of Dionnes.

The Aroostook County Genealogical Society has a new meeting place. The group will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 27, at the Lions Building, 111 High St., Caribou. The society will not meet in July. If you have queries or material to donate, send it to ACGS, P.O. Box 142, Caribou, ME 04736-0142.

The Mullen Family Reunion will be held Saturday, Aug. 20, at the Mars Hill Community Center. Family surnames include Johnson, Gustin, Allen, Ireland, Grass, Griffin, Williams, Kearney, White, Barnes, McPherson, Harmon, York, Robbins, Daley, McDougall, Boulier and Young. Bring stories and photos. For information, contact Lisa Thomas at 942-5898 or lmthomas101@netzero.com.

3329. MULLEN-ROBBINS-GUSTIN. Looking for lost relatives from our family tree, descendants of Minnie Edith Mullen Robbins, 1895-1975, daughter of Christopher Mullen, 1840-1923, and Sarah Jane (Gustin), 1862-1938. They lived in Mars Hill. Minnie married Frank Robbins; they lived in Easton and Bangor area. Children of Minnie and Frank: Granville, Earl, Burnham, Warren and Rita Robbins. Lisa Thomas, 44 Boyd St. Apt. 30, Bangor, ME 04401; 942-5898, lmthomas101@netzero.com.

3330. MCCORMACK-DELONG. Seeking descendants of George and Angeline (DeLong) McCormack, and of George and Augusta (DeLong) McCormack, for Aug. 7 reunion, place to be determined. Family from Danforth, Wytopitlock, Bancroft. Children of George and Angeline: Orin Ashel, Annie Elizabeth, Archibald Percival, Metilda Violet, Edison Frederick, Nelson George, Lester Leonard, Lala Josephine, Raymond Randolph. Children of George and Augusta: Spurgeon, Thomas Edgar, Sadie Jane, Minnie, Charles, Mary Elzora, Eunice Augusta, Amy Josephine. Heidi Jolicoeur, P.O. Box 6332, Hermon, ME 04402; hjolicoeur@hotmail.com.

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