My questions were two. Am I related to Col. Jonathan Eddy, for whom the town of Eddington is named? And, am I related to Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science? The answers are 1) Very possibly, and 2) No, but I’m a cousin… Read More
George N. Colby was known for his books of 19th century cadastral maps – town maps which showed not only roads and houses, but the initials and surnames of the owners of each dwelling. Stores, businesses, schools, churches and mills were marked, as well. Here’s… Read More
An adventurous young boy who took his share of tumbles into the water, George Candage nevertheless grew up to be a successful sea captain – one of seven Candage boys who took to the sea. His fascinating story is told in “At Home Around the… Read More
Here is a most interesting opportunity. The New England Regional Genealogical Conference will be held March 31-April 3 at Holiday Inn By the Bay in Portland. The theme is “New England Crossroads 2005.” You’ve heard of Cyndi’s List, the huge Web site of genealogical resources… Read More
If you’ve ever puzzled over the two Thomas Mighills of Windham County, Conn. – both of whom had a wife named Mary – you’ll be interested in the conclusion of Gale Ion Harris’ “John Mighill of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut,” published in the October issue of The… Read More
Robert Marshal used a swallowtail in the left ear, while John J. Bither put a swallowtail on each ear. Those are just two of the sheep marks featured in the fall issue of “Looking Back at Bradford,” published by Bradford Heritage: Museum and Historical Society. Read More
Thanks to Leslie Dow Sanders, whose article “Stampless Letter Concerning the Sewall-Cony Family of Maine, 1828” appears in the November issue of the Maine Genealogist, I am learning about stampless letters. Often collected by philatelists for their postal markings, “these personal and business communications usually… Read More
Joan Pratt wrote to remind us that Thomas Vining, originally from Bar Harbor, did some fine books on Mount Desert Island – and they’re still available. Here they are: googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
Artist Marsden Hartley called Dogtown “a weird stretch of landscape … all boulders and scrub.” Hikers and naturalists have found it to be so, and these days a goodly portion of the landscape in that portion of Gloucester, Mass., is beneath a reservoir. Some of… Read More
If you plug in “baptisms” as a keyword in URSUS, the University of Maine and Bangor Public Library database on the Internet at http://130.111.64.3, you will come up with a most interesting list of resources. They include: . “An Account of the Baptisms and Burials… Read More
Nearly half of those who came over on the Mayflower the summer of 1620 died that first winter during the “great sickness.” Whether “saint” or “stranger,” those who came over on the Mayflower, and especially those who survived, were together known as Pilgrims. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
If you’re into Maine genealogy, you have to meet my favorite “bear” – URSUS, formally known as the shared catalog of the University of Maine System, Bangor Public Library, Maine State Library, Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library. URSUS can be an invaluable tool… Read More
Tilbury House in Gardiner is well-known for its volumes about ships, boats and canoes, as well as for its children’s books. But it also publishes a number of books specific to Maine history. You’ll find they’re as varied as the people who wrote them. . Read More
When I talk about my collection of cousins, I often mention my distant kinship to both Vice President Hannibal Hamlin of Bangor and artist Waldo Peirce of Searsport. The thing is, Hamlin and Peirce are cousins to each other, as well. Like me, they are… Read More
With the presidential election nearly upon us, it’s interesting to ponder some of the roots of those running for office. George W. Bush, like many Americans, is related to Queen Elizabeth II, Henry III and Charles II of England. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
Surely one of the most fascinating chapters in Jasper Stahl’s 1956 “History of Old Broad Bay and Waldoboro” is “The Muster Roll of 1760.” So many of the entries were for pioneers of that time, and such a high percentage were of German origin. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
What wonderful news it is that the Acadian Archives has opened its own building on the University of Fort Kent campus. What started out in 1990 as a small room in the Waneta Blake Library is now a two-story, 7,600-square-foot facility between Powell Hall and… Read More
The third floor of Fogler Library at the University of Maine is a great place to browse Canadian resources. I start by looking for the books cataloged “CS.” One helpful series is Vital Statistics from New Brunswick Newspapers, compiled by D.F. Johnson. The Maine State… Read More
If you’ve been to the Maine State Library in Augusta, you may have noticed several books of census records for counties in New Brunswick. You’ll be interested to know that the University of Maine’s Fogler Library in Orono also has several census books in the… Read More
For all my growing-up years, the five-generation picture hung on the wall of my parents’ bedroom with my great-grandmother Rena Bennett; my grandmother Ione Moore; my dad, Gayland Moore Jr; and in the front, Ga, my great-great-grandmother Mary (Cummings) Bennett Lord holding me as a baby. Read More
In the world of town history, it’s important to know when to print – and also when to reprint. Good for the Morrill Historical Society for reprinting and combining the “History and Genealogy of the Town of Morrill, Maine with new Every Name Index” in… Read More
Come on out to the Sept. 11 meeting of the Maine Genealogical Society, “Coming Home: Using Local Records and Resources,” set for Hermon High School. Activities begin at 9 a.m. with a one-of-a-kind speaker, Ann Smith Lainhart of Boston, speaking on “New England Town Records.”… Read More
In the world of genealogy, mothers can be very mysterious. In the July issue of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, the quarterly of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Sidney Alayne Howk Price goes “In Search of the Mother of Wheelock Bingham: The… Read More
It is so exciting to look up a census record and find our ancestors, not to mention their age, occupation, birth state and family members. The Corinth Historical Society has a computer disk for sale containing Corinth census data for 1820, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900,… Read More
Browsing in the stacks in the Bangor Room at Bangor Public Library, I came upon a couple of interesting resources for researchers Down East, both published by Picton Press. The two-volume “Early Narraguagus River Families of Washington County, Maine,” by Darryl B. Lamson and Leonard… Read More
A Nova Scotia woman is hoping to contact some distant relatives who may live in Bangor. M. Yvonne (Chiasson) Olson writes that Victor Chiasson, son of Laurent Chiasson and Flavie (Boudreau) was born in the mid-1800s at Belle Cote, Inverness County, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, on the famous… Read More
I always look forward to reading Le Forum, published six times a year by the Franco-American Center at the University of Maine. I was particularly interested in “Tracking Down My Lost Family,” which I presume to be only the first part of Dick Michaud’s trip… Read More
The third annual genealogy conference sponsored by Silence Howard Hayden Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution will be held Saturday, July 31, at Williams Elementary School in Oakland. Registration will begin at 8 a.m., with a beginning genealogy class available at that time with… Read More
One of the Web sites I like to browse is www.cyndislist.com, which has more than 150 categories of Web sites. From there, I found that Darlene Walsh maintains a site called York County Genealogy and Virtual Cemeteries at www.knights.hls-inc.net/ googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
Those of you with Revolutionary War ancestors buried in North Berwick will be very interested in the Web site of the Maine Society, Sons of the American Revolution. Just go to messar.org. It so happens that one of the organization’s chaplains, Robert Cole Sr., has… Read More
The Sept. 11 meeting of the Maine Genealogical Society, “Coming Home: Using Local Records and Resources,” set for Hermon High School, will be both convenient for those of us in eastern Maine and full of great speakers. We are so fortunate to have nationally known… Read More
On Wednesday, June 30, the Castine Historical Society will hold the opening ceremony for the Penobscot Expedition exhibit at 5 p.m. at Castine Unitarian Church. This year marks the 225th anniversary of the military engagement. The speaker will be William M. Fowler Jr., director of the Massachusetts Historical… Read More
You may remember Carl McKusick as co-author of “Guilford 2000,” a recent history of that Piscataquis County town. McKusick also has updated “Genealogy Notes on the Descendants of Stephen Pearson of New Mills, Derbyshire, England, and Samuel Warburton of Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.” googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
Delpha Boyden was a 19th century man of varied talents. He could put shoes under a barn, level and move it, repair a clock, fix a cowbell, repair a wagon wheel, repair a sled, make steps, and serve as a hand on the Senator Grimes. Read More
A fascinating entry in the May issue of The Maine Genealogist, the journal of the Maine Genealogical Society, is Robert Carver Brooks’ “The Artificers and Inhabitants Who Built Fort George, Penobscot, 1779-1780.” The accounts, Brooks explained, were kept by the Engineer Department at Majabigwaduce, now… Read More
After my dad died two years ago, I did a picture homage, grouping a photograph of him with one of his ship from World War II and presenting them to my siblings for their birthdays. I’d been wanting to do something else, but am not… Read More
Even more vital records are now available at facilities around the state. The Maine State Archives recently distributed microfilm for 1937-1955 vital records to: . Augusta, Maine State Library. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
Beginning with the 19th century map of town and a lively introduction, I knew I was going to like the latest in Arcadia’s Images of America series – “Orono.” With the help of the Orono Historical Society and several town residents, society president Scott D. Read More
With spring finally here, it’s just the time to plan a trip to Plimoth Plantation, the living museum based on 1627 Plymouth, Mass., which has been in existence for more than a half-century. The plantation is one hour south of Boston, Exit 4 off Route… Read More
With Maine PBS and the Maine State Museum are collaborating on a project called “HOME: The Story of Maine,” we should all be interested. The latest episodes are: . “The Frontier Wars: Violence on Maine’s Frontiers,” a series about six wars spanning nearly a century… Read More
The town of Hampden once was known as 1R1 NWP, not to mention Souadabscook and Wheelersborough. It says so in Stanley Bearce Attwood’s “The Length and Breadth of Maine,” a priceless resource long out of print. It’s important for genealogists to know not only the… Read More
It’s spring if you can get into a cemetery and look around, so I paid a visit to Locust Grove Cemetery on Route 1A in Hampden. According to Bob Hawes, if you take the southernmost driveway by the Sanger Tomb and walk in about 180… Read More
When the ship Ann & Mary coming from Cork, Ireland, landed in 1834 in the city of Saint John, New Brunswick, there was a passel of Sullivans on board – among them Pat, Jonathan, John, Peter, Mary, Catherine, Ann, Frances and even a Eugene O’Sullivan. Read More
Whether or not you know any of the subjects personally, you will enjoy “meeting” the grandparents – the memeres and peperes – of youngsters from Lewiston Middle School in the latest issue of Le Forum. Thanks to the March-April issue, published by the Franco-American Center… Read More
It’s always a treat to peruse a town history and find information on the roots of some of the early settlers. In 1992, the Sidney Bicentennial Committee published “History of Sidney, Maine 1792-1992” through Picton Press, and finished up the 252-page book with brief genealogies of several families:… Read More
As excited as we are that beginning in 1850 the U.S. census lists every person by name, we are disappointed that censuses for 1790-1840 list only heads of household by name, clumping the rest of the family together by gender and by age group. So… Read More
St. Patrick’s Day will find us pondering our Irish heritage, whether our portion be great or small. We know the Irish were vital to the building of cities such as Bangor, Old Town and Portland. Then, too, many of us have Irish ancestors – like… Read More
A couple of weeks ago, we noted that the city of Orono, Minnesota, was named for our own Orono, Maine. Just as interesting is the fact that Otter Tail County, in the western part of Minnesota, is home to Maine Township. According to John Mason’s… Read More
Two years ago, Picton Press came out with “Vital Records of Bangor, Maine Volume 1: Birth Records,” compiled by Michelle Thomas. How fortunate we are that the Bangor genealogist stuck with the project and completed “Vital Records of Bangor, Maine Volume 2: Death Records,” also… Read More
Which city in Minnesota, located just south of the 45th parallel, is named for a town in Maine near the same latitude? That would be Orono, named for the boyhood home of George Brackett, who was among the early settlers to Lake Minnetonka. I learned… Read More
You have only to say the word “Picton,” and genealogists in the know will realize that you’re talking about a very important resource in Maine genealogy. Under its various imprints, Picton Press of Rockport has been publishing and republishing books that are vital to the research we do. Read More
Don’t you just love those romantic old names some of our ancestors have? If I were from the South, I’d just have to have a Beauregard in my family tree. How about General George Custer Pums? And his consort Lady Pepper Francis? They are the… Read More
Much of my interest in Maine history comes from remembering so many of my ancestors – five great-grandparents and one great-great grandmother. Another major influence was my Maine history teacher in eighth grade at Piscataquis Community High School 1964-1965, Leota H. Brown, who died a… Read More
Prove everything, and prove it twice. Use only original source records, nothing that’s been copied over or compiled. That’s what we’d like to do with all of our ancestors – or should hope to, at least. The truth is that we often have to make… Read More
A map of New England, I think, is essential in doing regional genealogy. I like to plot the places my ancestors lived and note migration patterns. The Bennett brothers I mention often – Isaac, John and Nathaniel – were born in Gloucester, Mass., moved to… Read More
Passed by them often, I have, those men of granite. They’re the Civil War statues in Dover-Foxcroft, Abbot and Dexter. Abbot’s Peleg Washburn paid to have them built a while after the Civil War. I couldn’t have guessed that the one in Dover, as we… Read More
Three weeks ago we covered some of the newspaper resources that are out there, focusing on goodies such as microfilmed newspapers at the University of Maine’s Fogler Library in Orono. Valdine Atwood e-mailed Family Ties to remind me of a resource I should have mentioned… Read More
Dear Santa, I’ve tried to be good this year, and I’m hoping you can fill my Christmas stocking with information on some of my beloved, but not-yet-identified, ancestors. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner =… Read More
Newspapers can be great resources for genealogists but challenging. Using them is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but first we have to find the haystack – the newspaper. Fortunately, there are lots of ways these days we can find out where the… Read More
Michelle Thomas, who compiled “Vital Records of Bangor, Maine,” Vol. I and Vol. II, is now working on the update of “The Gray Family of Hancock County, Maine.” The original book, by Almon A. Gray and published in 1976, is available at Bangor Public Library,… Read More
For any family you might be researching, keep in mind that they may have lived in many more locales than you realize. We decided last week that Jeremiah Colburn – an early settler of Orono with Joshua Eayres and John Marsh – was born in… Read More
Even more Maine vital records are on the way – I wouldn’t kid you about that. Better yet, they will be available at even more libraries than I realized. Last week’s column pointed out that Fogler Library at the University of Maine has microfilm reels… Read More
Every time I find something wonderful at the Maine State Archives, I wish it were available a little closer to Bangor. So if, on the afternoon of Nov. 2, you heard the sound of someone jumping up and down in excitement, coming from the area of the University… Read More
Fifty-eight years after Bangor Public Library compiled its Book of Honor to remember Bangor residents who died in World War II, local history librarian Bill Cook still is adding pages. Over the past two years, ceremonies have been held to add photographs and brief biographies… Read More
Suppose there isn’t a nice thick history for the town of your ancestors, and no vital records are available. What could you do? One step would be to check for county histories – and hope the ones you find are nice and thick, each with… Read More
If you have at least one Maine ancestor “way back” – I’m talking 200 years ago or more, there are some publications you’ll probably want to have for your very own, items worth keeping at hand because you’ll use them so often. They are: . Read More
Members and visitors at the Maine Old Cemetery Association fall meeting had a grand time in Dexter. “The weather couldn’t have been better,” wrote Cheryl Patten, MOCA president. “Maurice and Corinne Neal were marvelous hosts and we had a fantastic meal as well as an… Read More
I’m always amazed by the people who find the time not only to do genealogy, but to write or compile books that add to our resources on Maine history. The books Marlene A. Groves has written, compiled or edited include family histories, indexes, church records and vital records. Read More
So often I have turned to the 1882 History of Penobscot County to check out early settlers and the formation of this town or that city. The mammoth tome lists Andrew Webster, clerk, as author of the 1790 petition asking the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to… Read More
A couple of weeks ago, we told you about Anette Rodrigues’ interest in the Hessians, especially those who settled in Maine. Jerry Davis sent along a copy of a note he sent to Anette, saying that his forebear Henry Debus was a Hessian who deserted… Read More
It doesn’t seem possible that Bangor historian Jim Vickery has been gone for six years. How well I remember sitting in the reference room at Bangor Public Library, listening to Jim sort out local history tidbits with another genealogist. How grateful we should be that… Read More
It’s nearly 26 years now since I fell totally in love with genealogy, and I’m recalling some special moments. As the oldest child of an oldest of an oldest of an oldest, I remember five great-grandparents and heard a lot of family history during my growing-up years. But… Read More
You do remember the Mainer who scouted Jackie Robinson for Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey, don’t you? Even if you’re not a baseball fan, many remember the name Clyde Sukeforth, who died three years ago at 98. I know we’re off track already, but I… Read More
Paul Flick has some questions for you: Are you an active genealogist or just starting to trace your family tree? Would you like to learn more about your ancestors? Would you like to learn what it takes to get started? Do you have a brick wall in your… Read More
The two small photos on the back page of the summer issue of The Griot are enough to give you the creeps. Each depicts a round seal with Women of the Ku Klux Klan in lettering across the top. One is marked Bath Klan, the… Read More
Don’t bypass a family reunion because the traveling is more than you had in mind. Think of it as an opportunity to poke around someplace new. Why, if you chose to take in the Harriman reunion Sept. 20 in Manchester, N.H., you could go a… Read More
More than a century after the Civil War, we remain fascinated with that time in our nation’s history, especially with correspondence that brings to life what soldiers and their families endured. A new book published by Broome County Historical Society in Binghamton, N.Y., is “This… Read More
At age 9, Alice McKinstry wrote that she would like to “keep records and read books,” and so she has. Retired from several years as an elementary-school teacher, she has turned her attention to preserving family history. In doing so, Alice (McKinstry) Hawes hasn’t tried… Read More
So many times I’ve pointed out that the walkway of markers at the Maine Korean War Memorial in Bangor’s Mount Hope Cemetery honors veterans from several wars. That’s true, but this week we really need to focus on those who served in the Korean War,… Read More
As a child, Ginny Sand found the French language she didn’t speak to be a barrier between her and her Quebec relatives. She has Albert and Delaroisbil ancestry from Paspebiac. But a recent trip to the Canadian province went much better, Sand wrote in an… Read More
If you could go to a genealogy fair and meet Sharon Howland, Valdine Atwood and Frances Raye, that would be a pretty good lineup. You’re in luck, because these three women, who are very knowledgeable about genealogy Down East and in other locales, will attend… Read More
Noted genealogist and author Patricia Law Hatcher will be the speaker at the fall conference of the Maine Genealogical Society on Sept. 6 at Williamson Center, School Street, Fairfield. Elected last year as a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists, Hatcher has written “Locating… Read More
Baseball, basketball, football and track, to be sure. But swimming and swimming areas? Carnival and circus locations? Roller-skating? Metal detecting? These are just a few of the topics in James Wintle’s “A History: Dexter Sports and Recreation.” Take the Dexter Rockets, for instance. Wintle remembers… Read More
Wondering if your Sampsons or Smarts or Steeveses are buried in the Piscataquis County town of Sangerville? Ask your computer. Listings for people buried in cemeteries there be found at the Sangerville Library Web site, www.sangerville.lib.me.us. Click on cemeteries, and pick the first letter of… Read More
You’d be hard pressed to say exactly where the main street of Drew used to be many decades ago. It took a couple of young boys to take Eleanor Currie Parsons and her cousin, Helen, through the woods of central Penobscot County to the grown-over spot where the… Read More
At a dance hall in Prospect, back during the Depression, Barry Kane was “the best dancer anywhere around.” Just ask Virgie. Thanks to Karen Saum, who wrote up the dance hall story of Virgie Alley Betts – a woman you may know from the years… Read More
Published last Monday, May 19, just one week before Memorial Day, Wayne Brown’s story in the Bangor Daily News on the restoration in Houlton of the graves of 37 soldiers from the “Aroostook War” was timely. Richard Rhoda and Monument Lodge of Masons No. 96… Read More
The latest issue of “Looking Back at Bradford” offers a nice article about the Boston Post Cane, including a photograph that clearly shows the inscription: “Presented by the Boston Post to the Oldest Citizen …” Isabelle Rice Morrison is the most recent recipient of the… Read More
Wouldn’t it be great if someone would take Francis Prescott’s chronological history of Guilford, add some materials from resources in the sesquicentennial and 175th anniversary books on Guilford, mine “Sprague’s Journal” and Amasa Loring’s history of Piscataquis County, and toss in remembrances of several people?… Read More
Most genealogists don’t need much of an excuse to show up at the Maine State Museum in Augusta, next door to the Capitol and in the same building as the Maine State Library and Maine State Archives. In case you need one, know that the… Read More
A member of Hampden Fire and Rescue for nearly 20 years, Lt. Frank Coombs is “looking hard” for pictures, information and records relating to the fire department, its people and equipment, particularly from the 1920s through the 1940s. Actually, he’s interested in materials from more… Read More
The archives committee established a couple of years ago by the Washington County commissioners has been some old busy, as Tim Sample might put it. The committee went to work on getting the Machias Republican put on microfilm for 1858 through 1920. In addition, the… Read More
It may take me awhile to get through the 232-page “A Centeseptquinary History of Abbot, Maine 1827-2002.” It’s not that I’m a slow reader, but that so many pages bring tears to my eyes, knowing as I do how much my dad would have loved this book. Read More
You say you just can’t remember when Addie Bunker graduated from Hampden Academy? Well, I should think not, because the year was 1889. On the other hand, maybe you remember well that Martha MacCrae – now fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Stepp at Weatherbee School – graduated… Read More
Do you have an Ahnentafel? The word is German, and it’s an important one to genealogists. In English it means ancestors’ table, and many of us find the Ahnentafel a simple way of organizing ancestors. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
There must be a “little million” Greenlaws in Maine. There certainly are hundreds of entries in the International Genealogical Index of the LDS Church’s genealogy Web site at www.familysearch.org. The 1790 Census shows a handful of Greenlaws in Maine that year: the John Greenlaw family… Read More
Never did find my dad’s Irish ancestors, or I should say I haven’t yet. But I’ve been given my marching orders to find them because our family had three generations born on St. Patrick’s Day – my late grandmother, Ione Bennett Moore; my Uncle Roddy; and his son,… Read More
If you mark May 3 on your calendar and head for Williams Junior High School in Oakland, you will find many interesting workshops to help you along your genealogical path. Silence Howard Hayden Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, is host for the second annual… Read More
The University of Southern Maine announced recently that its Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine has received papers belonging to a prominent Jewish family, the late Sumner Bernstein and Rosalyne Bernstein. Added to the center’s Judaica Collection are 7 linear feet of archival… Read More
It’s usually April when Ripley Pond “ices out.” We know this because Sandra Wintle Blaney has included those records for 1966-2002 in her newly published “Entering Ripley.” Of course, we’re more interested in the genealogy in this 200-page volume, including the list of the 48… Read More