I’ve been doing Maine genealogy for some 30 years, but I never heard the surname Lincolnlue – until now.

Glenn D. Nasman, a mechanical engineer who resides in Massachusetts, wrote the fascinating article “The Origin of the Lincolnlue Sisters of Bowdoin, Maine” in the February issue of The Maine Genealogist, the quarterly journal of the Maine Genealogical Society.

He introduces readers to Susanna Lincolnlue, wife of John Ridley; Ruth Lincolnlue, who married Taylor Small; and Lydia Lincolnlue, wife of William Thompson. Ridley, Small and Thompson are all old Maine names.

Nasman sorts out census records and other records from Eastham, Mass., as well as naming patterns, to place the girls as the daughters of Joseph and Ann (Ridley) Linckhornew of Eastham.

Joseph, born 1745, was the son of James, born 1716, and Rebecca (Brown) Linckhornew, and the grandson of James and Lydia (Snow) Linckhornew.

So where is the surname now? Five men of the family in Eastham changed their name to Lincoln in 1808, Nasman wrote.

Editor Joseph C. Anderson II includes in this issue of The Maine Genealogist marriage intentions from Portland for 1814-19, and the article will continue in future issues of The Maine Genealogist. Good news, indeed.

Also in this issue are “Doctor’s Bills, 1774-1788: Asa Phillips’ Account with Dr. Stephen Barton of Vassalboro, Maine,” by Stephen L. Robbins, and the Samuel Gibson Bible Record submitted by Janice L. Gower. The Bible record includes Huntress and Lowell items, too.

To receive The Maine Genealogist, join the Maine Genealogical Society for $20, sent to MGS, Box 221, Farmington, ME 04938. Add $5 to have publications sent first class.

Canadian residents add $9, and residents outside the U.S. and Canada add $14 a year.

Just how many men named Thomas Betterley were there in London in the early 1700s?

Maybe you’ll have your own opinion after studying the three Thomas Betterley signatures on page 11 of the January issue of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, the quarterly journal of the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston.

Perhaps you’ll decide that all three signatures – from a 1710 marriage intention, a 1721 deed and a 1729 will – were made by the same man. Or is it clear that only two of the three match?

You’ll want to read the accompanying article, “The Probable English Origins of Thomas Betterley” by Lawrence McGrath, Esther Whitney Mott and Phylicia Salisbury.

Betterley, a feltmaker, lived in North Carolina, but had business dealings in Boston, where he married in 1720 a woman named Elizabeth Alden, great-granddaughter of Mayflower passengers John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden.

In this same issue are:

. “Identification of the Unnamed Daughter of John and Elizabeth (Thomson) Cogswell Who Remained in England,” by Priscilla Colstad Greenlees.

. “Mary Hemenway, Wife of George Lawrence of Watertown, Massachusetts,” by Michael J. Leclerc.

. “Jeremiah Rogers of Dorchester and Lancaster, Massachusetts,” by Henry B. Hoff, Michael J. Leclerc and Helen Schatvet Ullman.

. “Dorcas ( ) Lippitt of Providence, Rhode Island, and Her Descendants,” by Cherry Fletcher Bamberg.

. “Wolston Brockway of Lyme, Connecticut, with Further Analysis of His Associations,” by Gale Ion Harris.

. “A Jordan-Silvester Connection Revealed,” by Ernest Hyde Helliwell III.

. “Joseph and Phoebe (Millington) Rounds of Clarendon and Monkton, Vermont,” by John Bradley Arthaud and Marcia (Yannizze) Melnyk. Many readers may remember hearing Marcia Melnyk speak at a meeting of MGS in Maine.

. “Ancestry of Bennet Eliot of Nazeing, Essex, Father of Seven Great Migration Immigrants to Massachusetts,” by William Wyman Fiske, (continued).

Membership in New England Historic Genealogical Society brings not only The Register and New England Ancestors publications, but full research privileges in Boston and online, www.NewEnglandAncestors.org

You may join online or send $75 to NEHGS, 101 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116-3007.

3418. YORK-COOKSON. Looking for information about ancestors from The Forks area. My grandfather was Walter Irving York from The Forks, who married Ada Aralyn Cookson from Newburgh. Walter was born April 10, 1876, son of Charles E. and Esther M. York. Charles also had a previous wife, Mary J. York, Would like to ascertain the maiden names of Mary J. and Esther M., also names of parents, grandparents, etc. of Charles E. York. Joyce E. Kenney, 4127 Kennebec Road, Dixmont, ME 04932. JEKenney38@peoplepc.com.

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