Friday, May 23, 2008

Free Access to Historic Military Records at Ancestry.com

Every family has its heroes! Discover yours for free through May 31st.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com, recently announced an agreement that makes millions of historical records more easily available to the American public. The agreement allows for the ongoing digitization of a wealth of historical content, including immigration, birth, marriage, death and military records.

To commemorate the NARA-Ancestry.com agreement on the eve of Memorial Day, Ancestry.com is making its entire U.S. Military Collection -- the largest online collection of American military records -- available for free to the public. From May 20 through May 31, people can log on to http://www.ancestry.com/military to view more than 100 million names and 700 titles and databases of military records, the majority of which come from NARA, from all 50 U.S. states.

What could be more inspiring than discovering the heroes in your own family tree? Many of us have ancestors who shaped history by fighting for what they believed in. They sacrificed their time - and possibly even their lives. They deserve to be remembered. Surf on over to ancestry.com and find yours now!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Charles Maxwell and Sarah Williams Chace/Chase

Member Joan B. Brown writes that her longest and most difficult genealogical search has been for her ggg-grandparents:

Charles Maxwell of Wales, ME married, 9 Aug 1845 in Wales, Sarah Williams Chace/Chase of Taunton, MA. Joan says she has never been able to discover how two people, who lived so far apart, met and married. Sarah was the daughter of Thomas Robinson Chase and Sarah Ann Godfrey. The origin of Charles Maxwell is a complete mystery to her.

All suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Joan's e-mail address is mayflower@htwc.biz.

15th Annual Norlands Humanities Conference

June 5 – 7, 2008
Thursday 12:30 p.m. through Saturday 1:00.
Washburn-Norlands Living History Center
Livermore, Maine

“Mainers and Their Neighbors Who Went Into the World”

Join history lovers, researchers, authors, independent scholars and the general public for presentations, lively dialogue and entertainment featuring the stories of Northern New England and Maritime people who ventured beyond the region’s boundaries. Some, like the Washburn family, found fame and fortune. Many did interesting things.

This year’s conference includes a program by Monica Grabin, who will present a singing history. “Everyone will be singing by the end of the program and we’ll raise the roof,” promises organizer and founder of the conference, Billie Gammon of Livermore. Amidst a long list of presentations of intriguing papers, there is time for entertainment. Kevin McShane will show the Last of the Saddle Tramps, a docudrama about the woman from Minot who made history recently by riding her horse to California. It’s a great adventure story of a gutsy Maine woman; adults and children are welcome to this evening program. The full conference program will be posted on our website soon, http://www.norlands.org/.

The conference will be held in the Washburn Memorial Library on the grounds of the historic Washburn Norlands Living History Center in Livermore. Evening programs and meals will be at the North Livermore Baptist Church. This is a relaxed and informal event with plenty of opportunity for interaction with presenters and members of the audience.

The conference is sponsored by the Washburn Norlands Foundation in association with the University of Maine at Farmington and St. Michael’s College, Vermont and through the generous support of the Maine Humanities Council.

Come and bring your friends for one day or all three. Registration is $15.00. Meals are $12 each for dinner and $9 each for lunch. Please contact Billie Gammon at 897-2236 or egammon@exploremaine.com to register or more information. Or you may print and mail the registration form as soon as possible. The registration form is on our website http://www.norlands.org/.

Monday, May 12, 2008

MGS Executive Committee Meeting Postponed

The MGS Executive Committee meeting scheduled for May 17, 2008, has been moved to Saturday, May 31, 2008, and will be held in Waterville.

Any member with an interest in learning about the operation of MGS is invited to attend. Please contact Dale W. Mower, President, for details. His email is dale@mower-family.com.