Lecture to focus on middle name clues

Paris, Merrill, Bradbury, Yale, Stoddard and Field.

These were the middle names of six of the children of Isaac and Hannah (Bradbury) Sturtevant of Sumner. Bradbury was obviously a family name, but what about the others?

Joseph C. Anderson II, the editor of The Maine Genealogist, quarterly publication of the Maine Genealogical Society, tells a fascinating tale about middle names and other clues in the August issue, “The Search for Olive, Amanda and Mary, Daughters of Isaac Sturtevant of Sumner, Maine.”

In particular, he discusses the use of census indexes available through the Web site Ancestry.com. This is a subscription database, but public libraries in Bangor, Ellsworth and Oakland, for example, have subscriptions so that patrons may use Ancestry.com at the library.

An interesting feature of the database is the ability to look up a person by first name only. Adding the state and approximate year of birth, Anderson came up with an Amanda Bullard whose children included son Eliab, the same name as her oldest brother, Eliab Sturtevant.

There’s more to the article, of course, and finding the right Amanda is easier than finding the right Mary or some other very common name.

“The census-searching techniques demonstrated in this case illustrate the power and scope of the new online indexes for locating lost people. While these techniques will identify potential candidates, it is then necessary to gather additional evidence to provide the necessary proof of relationships,” Anderson wrote.

Anderson is a top-notch genealogist and author, and he’ll be in Maine to give talks on problem solving and deeds research for the 30th anniversary conference of the Maine Genealogical Society on Saturday, Oct. 14, at Verrillo’s in Portland.

The keynote speaker will be John Philip Colletta, who does workshops for the National Archives in Washington, and there also will be beginners’ sessions.

For information on the conference and registration, visit www.maineroots.org. Sign up by Aug. 31 to get a discount on the registration fee.

The Brooklin Keeping Society will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31, at 23 Bay Road, behind the town office, in Brooklin.

After the business meeting, Arthur Wood will present his collection of Indian arrowheads and tools he has unearthed over 36 years of amateur archaeology in Brooklin.

Various hunting grounds have yielded stone arrowheads, spear points, knives, hide scrapers, a hoe, an adz and pottery shards. Most of Wood’s finds date back to the late Archaic period, 3000 B.C. to A.D. 30. Some are from the Ceramic period, A.D. 30 to A.D. 1676 .

The Hampden Historical Society will meet at 7 p.m. today at the Kinsley House on Main Road in Hampden. Jean Lyford will talk about the 19th century diaries of her grandfather William Thompson.

Didn’t get around to having that family reunion this summer? Keep in mind that fall in Maine is a lovely time of year for a get-together – or maybe you want to start planning for a gathering next year.

The descendants of George Herbert Ames and wife Lillian May Lane of Blanchard held their reunion on Aug. 19 at the home of granddaughter Lillian Ames Herring and great-granddaughter Anne Herring Cress in Dover-Foxcroft.

It wasn’t a huge event, but it did draw relatives from as far away as Connecticut, California and Arizona. A potluck luncheon, exchange of family news and photos and letters from absent family members were featured. And yes, they’re going to do it again next year, same time and place!

3374. CUSHING-BURRILL. Need birth and marriage information for William P. Cushing and wife Sarah Ward (Burrill), residents of Brewer-Holden-Dedham before 1850. Son LaForest Cushing b. Oct. 11, 1828, town of China, also son Lugreen. Granddaughter Emeline Cushing (my grandmother) was told she descended from Abraham Burrell, b. Aug. 20, 1750, and Hannah Cushing, b. Nov. 10, 1753, who moved to Harlem (China) and had 15 children born there, per Burrill genealogy. Need to know which of Abraham and Hannah’s children might have been the missing link. In 1833, a John C. Burrill and William P. Cushing, blacksmiths, purchased land with a triphammer shop with water privileges in Eddington near Davis Mills. Would appreciate any information. Mary D. Holmes, 41 Woodmont St., Portland, ME 04102.

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