Clara Pendleton Blanchard, one of the Searsport Pendletons, had six children in the 19th century – three of them born at sea. John Battick describes Blanchard’s spouse, William H. Blanchard, as “husband, ship captain – and midwife.”

In fact, Blanchard was known for his delivery skills to the point that other captains, if their wives were about to give birth, hoped that Blanchard might be in port when the time came.

Amazing.

Battick spoke recently on “Maine Seafaring Ancestors” at a meeting of Frances Dighton Williams Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.

Four of the Pendleton sisters married sea captains, said Battick, a retired history professor from the University of Maine. I was just fascinated with his slides and talk, to the point that I’m wishing I had Pendletons in my lineage.

(I don’t think I do, but perhaps Clara and her siblings are my cousins through their mother, who was Wealthy Carver – one of my family surnames.)

Battick also talked about Capt. Lincoln Colcord, who wrote the Maine Stein Song, and the letter diaries of Mariah Higgins Murphy.

What really moved me was a slide of the Searsport monument to Capt. Benjamin C. Pendleton, his wife, Mary, and three of their children, who sailed from Hong Kong in 1886 and were lost at sea.

Battick said of such markers, “They do not mark a grave. They are only memorials …”

The Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Maine will hold an open meeting at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 6, at Taste of Maine Restaurant in Woolwich. Prospective members are welcome, and the event will begin with a training session with society historian Syrena Gatewood.

Reservations for the noon lunch – $20.75 for baked stuffed chicken breast or $22 for broiled haddock – are due April 26. Make checks out to the Mayflower Society and send them to Carol Gagnon, 189 Blanchard Drive, Cumberland, ME 04021-0785. No tickets will be sold at the door.

The speaker will be Jeff Brown, an archivist II with the Maine State Archives in Augusta. Brown has worked at the archives for 25 years and gives a most interesting talk about what you’ll find there.

Membership in the Mayflower Society requires proof of direct descent from any passenger on the Mayflower which landed in Plymouth, Mass., in 1620. For information, call 829-4759 or 721-9528.

Here’s a genealogy fair to put on your calendar. It will be held 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, June 17, at the Taconnett Genealogy Library, 10 Lithgow St., Winslow. Some of the talks are:

. “Franco-American Ancestors” with Bob Chenard.

. “Resources on the Woolwich Area” with Janice Gower.

. “Researching New Brunswick Genealogy” with Thelma Brooks.

. “Family Genealogy” with Roland Rhodes of the Rhodes Family.

There also will be representatives from heritage and lineage societies, including Vassalboro, Fairfield and Madison historical societies; the Sons of Union Veterans; Scandinavian research; and the Maine Old Cemetery Association.

More information later.

“Funeral Home Records” will be the topic of the next meeting of the Penobscot County Genealogical Society at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 19, in the Lecture Hall at Bangor Public Library, 145 Harlow St.

Gary Smith from Brookings-Smith will speak on what we can learn from funeral records, and talk about what records he has from past funeral homes.

Speaking of April 19, come on along to Belfast and “Let’s Figure Out Those Cousins.”

I’ll give a talk on that topic at the meeting of the Wawenoc Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Belfast Free Library, 106 High St. We’ll sort out those “second cousins, once removed,” and so forth.

“Gravestone Preservation” will be the program when the Aroostook County Genealogical Society meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 24, in the Lions Building at 111 High St., Caribou.

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

dailynews.net.