Recently a friend asked me about the Family Ties column a few years back that covered records of immigrants coming into Maine through Canada in the first part of the 20th century.

The title actually is “Manifest Records of Alien Arrivals (Maine),” and the call number at the University of Maine’s Fogler Library is M314. The microfilm reels are in the Government Documents and Microforms collection on the first floor. The collection covers:

. Alphabetical manifest cards of alien arrivals at Calais, Maine, ca. 1906-1952. Reels M2042, Nos. 1-5.

. Alphabetical manifest cards of alien arrivals at Jackman, Maine, ca. 1909-1953. Reels M2046, Nos. 1-3.

. Alphabetical manifest cards of alien arrivals at Fort Fairfield, Maine, ca. 1909-April 1953. Reel M2064.

. Alphabetical manifest cards of alien arrivals at Van Buren, Maine, ca. 1906-1952. Reel M2065.

. Alphabetical manifest cards of alien arrivals at Vanceboro, Maine, ca. 1906-Dec. 24, 1952. Reels M2072, Nos. 1-13.

The information on these cards is fascinating. It often includes name, age, birth date, birth place, destination in this country, relative the person was going to reside with and where, money the person brought into the country, height, complexion and hair color.

The cards are especially helpful when more than one person of the same name came in through the same port of entry.

Is every person who came into the country at these ports, during these years, listed? Of course not. (Nor do the Ellis Island records have 100 percent coverage, but they offer a lot.)

I had hoped to find my great-grandparents coming through Calais from Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1911, but they don’t have cards.

This resource is great. Every once in a while, one of the cards even has a little picture on it. Don’t you want to check for your relatives?

The Wassebec Genealogical Society will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, in the conference room at Mayo Regional Hospital on Main Street, Dover-Foxcroft.

Nancy Battick will speak on “Brickwalls and Burnout: Some Tips to Ease the Pain.” She will share some serious, and not so serious, advice on tearing down that brick wall and reinvigorating your love of genealogy.

For information or directions, contact Estella Bennett at 876-3073.

My grandfather always called the refrigerator “the icebox,” because he was old enough to remember when that’s what people used to use to keep food cold.

“Early Ice Making in Bangor-Brewer,” with Doug Farnham of Getchell Bros., will be the program of the Brewer Historical Society at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, at the Clewley Museum, 199 Wilson St., Brewer.

This is sure to be a fascinating program. Doug Farnham is the fourth generation of his family to run Getchell Bros., which was started in 1888 by his great-uncles, Calvin and Fred Getchell.

3410. DUNCAN-DONNELL. Looking for information regarding parents of Dr. Samuel Duncan, born about 1745, died June 30, 1784, Brunswick. He married, about May 1770, probably in Georgetown, Hannah Donnell, who was born Oct. 6, 1751; died Feb. 24, 1827, in Bath. They had four children: Philena, born Jan. 24, 1773, Brunswick, died Sept. 19, 1775, Brunswick; Hannah, born Oct. 4, 1775, Brunswick, died 1858, Bath; Samuel Eaton, born Aug. 25, 1779, Brunswick, died May 7, 1855, Bath; and Lydia, born Nov. 10, 1782, Brunswick, died June 21, 1820, probably Bath. Dr. Samuel Duncan served in the Revolutionary War for six months in 1781 as a field surgeon in Col. Samuel McCobb’s regiment of Maine. He also was a member of the General Court of Massachusetts. The source of his medical training is unknown. He is buried in the Witch Spring Cemetery in West Bath. Dr. Samuel Duncan likely had a younger brother, John Duncan, born June 9, 1756, died Feb. 15, 1830, probably Northport. John Duncan married, March 18, 1778, in Bath, Lydia Donnell, born Jan. 20, 1760, York, died March 3, 1827, probably Waldo County. They had nine children. John Duncan is buried in the Duncan-Alexander Cemetery in Northport. Many Duncan researchers have hit a brick wall regarding the parents of Dr. Samuel Duncan and John Duncan, and of the medical training of Dr. Samuel Duncan. Jon A. Duncan, 2503 West Eastwood Ave., 1st floor, Chicago, IL 60625-2909; e-mail JohnADuncan@aol.com

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