‘Marble Records’ volumes hold trove of data

loading...

I have “walked” the cemetery in Greenville on more than one occasion, looking for every Hildreth and Cummings ancestor.

So I’ve seen the gravestone listing three of my great-great-great-great-uncles:

James M. Hildreth drowned at Kendall’s Mills June 6, 1842 ae 25

William C. Hildreth (late from Cal) died July 10, 1854 ae 32

Benjamin C. Hildreth died March 6, 1859 ae 45

Sons of Henry T. and Eleanor Hildreth

But it’s quite another thing to see the actual order for the stone, dated Jan. 30, 1860, written up by Baker & Emery of Skowhegan, and to find that the cost of the stone was $18.

It really brings home to me that my forebears lost three sons over 17 years and in 1860 decided to put up their marker.

Greenville is one of numerous Maine towns where a good number of people ordered their gravestones from the firm later known as Baker & Judkins, Baker & Marble and finally, probably in the 1920s, Skowhegan Monumental Works.

The originals of what we now know as the “Marble Records: A Project of the Maine Old Cemetery Association,” cover 1855-1960 and are held at the Maine Historical Society in Portland.

I am so pleased to report that the 13 bound volumes of the copies are also available at:

. Bangor Public Library, Bangor Room.

. Maine State Library, Augusta. This set is bound in 26 volumes rather than 13, as records were copied only on one side of the paper.

. Skowhegan Free Library.

Better yet, each set includes an extra volume with index compiled by Carolyn Tibbetts Ballantine. The index includes name of the deceased, name of cemetery and any other associated names with each order.

Many of the orders include notes about the size of the marker, and some records in the later volumes include drawings. Sometimes there are clues about other relatives and where they live.

For example, there’s an order for a gravestone at Noble’s Ferry Cemetery, Clinton, for:

Sarah, wife of Daniel Eldridge, died Nov. 16, 1887, ae 73. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

The order notes that it was received “by letter,” and that the cost was $14. Further, the order said:

Chg G.W. Eldridge, #28 Howard Place, Brockton, Mass.

So we know where one of her children lived at the time of the order. An order for Daniel’s gravestone, her husband having died in 1874, cost $15, plus 50 cents “verse extra.”

I found the index and books for the Marble Records easy to use, as the index lists the volume and page. Keep in mind that each of the 13 books may have five or so volumes in it.

Everyone I’ve talked to about the Marble Records is very excited to have them available now in libraries.

There used to be eight funeral homes in Bangor, and now there are just three, Gary Smith told a fascinated group attending Wednesday’s meeting of the Penobscot County Genealogical Society at Bangor Public Library.

And where do those funeral home records go when a facility closes or is purchased? That’s hard to say, explained Smith, who runs Brookings-Smith Funeral Homes. Even when ownership of a business is transferred, the seller may choose to keep his records rather than turn them over.

Moreover, Smith said, “funeral records are not kept the same” from business to business. What is regulated is the filing process, and the information that goes on a death certificate – the document Smith says is usually a genealogist’s best resource for death information.

Funeral directors are required to keep records only for seven years – or 15 years in the case of cremations. Many homes keep them longer, and Smith has records that go back to 1923.

How open is a funeral home director about letting someone look at the records?

“It all depends on the funeral director,” Smith said.

Genealogists may find older records more available. In the case of more recent records, funeral directors are concerned about the new privacy laws, and so are reluctant to release information about cause of death.

Smith reminded us that the first Maine law requiring the filing of births, deaths and marriages with the state was enacted in 1864. But there was little interest in it, particularly among town officials, so it was repealed the next year. As we know, the state started collecting these records centrally in 1892.

Town and city clerks vary greatly in the access they give to local records, so I have done most of my research through early town records on microfilm at the Maine State Archives in Augusta.

Also, I use the microfilm of Maine births, marriages and deaths for 1892 to 1955, by surname, available in Augusta and at the University of Maine’s Fogler Library. For some of these records, the microfilm in Augusta is a little clearer, but I have found the microfilm in Orono very useful as well.

Best wishes to the Maine Daughters of the American Revolution for a successful spring conference April 27-29 in Lewiston. The Daughters also will mark the grave of Gen. Henry Knox on Thursday in Thomaston.

Next week, we’ll look at the reprint of Colby’s “Atlas of Hancock County Maine,” and tell you how to purchase a copy.

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