Pejepscot to Discuss Christmas Ornaments

Pejepscot Genealogical Society will meet on Sunday, December 13, 2009 at 2PM in the Morrell Meeting Room (entrance on Middle Street), Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick.

Please bring a favorite Christmas tree ornament and a story about it to share with us.

We will be enjoying pot luck desserts for refreshments. If you care, bring a copy of your favorite recipe to share (for a fee, recipes can be duplicated at the library).

FMI, call 207.833.7371

Query: Grace Lufkin

New member Michelle Gatz writes that she has been searching for over three years for any information on a Grace Lufkin and would very much welcome any clues. Below is a summary of what she knows at this point:

Moses Lufkin from Phillips, Maine - his father was James Lufkin and his mother Alice Marrow. Moses is listed as Grace's father and I am not sure who was her mother or where she was born in Maine, it does show her date of birth as 1864 when she is living in Shetck, Murray County, Minnesota. When Moses lived in Phillips, Maine, he was married to one Mary Susan Mitchell on June 19th, 1860. Moses filed for a divorce saying she had run away and she was a bad wife. The date of divorce was May 15th, 1863.

After Moses divorced Mary he would go to revivals and bring women home to convert them in his bedroom. Grace is not listed on the 1870 census with Moses. I cannot find her anywhere under the name of Lufkin, so I figure she has a different name. The newspaper article said that Grace came from Iowa to live with her father, again I can find no Grace Lufkin in Iowa.

Grace had a hard life with Moses, he raped her many times, in 1886 she married one Barney Benjamin only to find out his real name was Chris Nelson and after only 6 days of marriage, she kicked him out of the house. The judge would not grant Grace a divorce as he had had many dealings with her father Moses and did not care for the man. In the denial of the divorce the judge wrote that she had taken a vow for better or for worse and she would not be granted her request based on those grounds.

In February of 1888, one William Rose tried to blow up their house at Shetck, Murray County, the bomb did not go off. In August of 1888 we find that Grace has gone back to Iowa and her father is living with Eli Slover in Redwood County, town of Gales. Here he is shot in the back while leaning against the window. After he is shot he stands up and says, "I've been shot, and I am deader than hay." He falls to the ground dead.

Grace only testifies once at the trial and the jury could not come to a verdict as to William Rose's guilt. So they tried him again and found him guilty this time and he appealed the decision, this went on for two years and when they finally did hang him the rope broke and he had to be hung twice.

During this time Grace has gone to Chicago to live with her sister Minnie Foster. It is here that she cuts her throat with a razor on May 1st 1890. I cannot find any records in Chicago of where she was buried or a death certificate as that time period is lost.

If anyone out there has any information on this woman, please contact me.

Michelle Gatz, 2389 540th Street, Granite Falls MN 56241

E-Mail: bgatz@mvtvwireless.com

Jerry & Janice Gower Receive Award

It was a bit of a wait, but the Gowers finally received their official award at the November 7th meeting of the Greater Portland Chapter of the MGS. Due to illness, they were unable to attend the annual conference back in September where Joe Anderson, chair of the MGS Awards Committee, announced that they were the recipients of the Award of Excellence in Genealogical Research.

We are proud of the efforts both Jerry and Janice have made in furthering the Maine Families in 1790 series, among other research efforts.

For more information on our awards and on the Gowers' contributions, please visit our website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs/awards/awards.htm.

John T. & Melinda W. (Adams) Gilman

Need parents and ancestry of John T. GILMAN and Melinda W. (ADAMS) GILMAN, also the descendants of their children. (Note: this is not John Taylor GILMAN b. 1806, the son of Nathaniel GILMAN & Dorothy FOLSOM). I have worked on this mystery for 21 years.

The family information:

John T. GILMAN, b. abt. 1806-1808 in NH (possibly of Mason, NH), d. after 16 Aug 1882, buried unknown, s. of _____ GILMAN.

married 1) abt 1828 _____ KNOWLES

Child:

1. John T. GILMAN b. abt 1828 ME

married 2) 1 Dec 1830 Wilton, ME, Melinda W. ADAMS of Wilton, ME, d. of Samuel ADAMS, Sr. & Phebe WASHBURN.

Children:

2. Mary Ann GILMAN b. abt. 1833 Farmington ME, d. bet 02 May 1875-13 Dec 1878 Minnesota, buried Wykoff Cemetery, Fillmore Co., MN; m. Cyrus G. CLOUGH of Chesterville ME, s. of Nathaniel CLOUGH & Rebecca W. GREELEY.

3. James Nelson GILMAN b. abt. 1836 Franklin Co. ME, d. 23 Dec 1889 Mellette SD, buried Mellette Cemetery, Mellette SD; m. 1) Mary A. HIGGINS, intentions filed 22 Feb 1869 Farmington ME; m. 2) 17 May 1870 Farmington ME, Susan Elizabeth T. CHASE of New Sharon ME, d. of James CHASE & Eleanor J. MITCHELL.

4. Hannah P. GILMAN b. abt. May 1837 Farmington ME, d. unknown; m. 1) Joshua ROBINSON of Gardiner ME, intentions filed 06 May 1854, s. of John ROBINSON (Divorced 1866); m. 2) 03 Dec 1876 Farmington ME, Moses S. AYER of Farmington ME (Divorced 1877); m. 3) after 1877 _____ LOCKHART.

5. Besty P. GILMAN b. abt. 1840 Maine; d. bet. 1860-1865; m. 1) 11 Jul 1858 Farmington ME, Albert Goodwin AMES of Farmington ME, s. of Rufus K. AMES & Sally H. ARNOLD.

6. Dorcas W. GILMAN b. abt 1843 Maine, d. unknown.

7. Melinda A. GILMAN b. abt. 1845 Maine, d. bef. 07 Jul 1861 probably Gardiner ME; m. 03 Dec 1860 Gardiner ME, Emerson TURNER Jr.

8. Merilla M. GILMAN b. 17 Dec 1846 Farmington ME, d. unknown.

9. Rosealvin P. GILMAN b. abt. 1849, d. 04 Jun 1875 probably Farmington ME, buried Riverside Cemetery, Farmington ME; m. 19 Aug 1869 Farmington ME, Josephine H. BATES of Chesterville ME.

10. Franklin S. GILMAN b. 09 Apr 1851 Farmington ME, d. 06 Jan 1930 Cass Co., MN, buried unknown; m. 1) 28 Feb 1873 Franklin Co. ME, Almeda B. WELCH of New Sharon ME; m. 2) 31 Aug 1912 Aberdeen SD, Alice R. CROSSMAN of Pine River MN.

Thank you,
Del Chausse, 1809 Mesa Road, Paso Robles CA 93446
E-Mail: dchausee@thegrid.net

The Lewis Hine Project

We received an email introducing MGS to The Lewis Hine Project, by historian and author Joseph Manning.

Lewis Hine was an investigative photographer, employed by the National Child Labor Committee 1908-19234. Hine's documentation of child workers includes more than 5,100 photographs which are now part of the Library of Congress' American Memory Project, which can be accessed at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/nclchtml/nclcback.html.

Mr. Manning, asking himself "Didn't history happen to ordinary people, too?", began The Lewis Hines Project to research and document the lives of the children appearing in Hine's photographs, "whose only public persona, for as long as a hundred years, has been a simple snapshot." More information about The Lewis Hine Project is online at: http://www.morningsonmaplestreet.com/aboutlewishine2.html.

Mr. Manning's story of Pheobe Thomas, a child worker in a sardine cannery at Eastport, Maine, whom Lewis Hine photographed in 1911, begins at http://www.morningsonmaplestreet.com/phoebethomas1.html.

As part of Phoebe's story, Mr. Manning included Stephen Robbins' 1976 interview with Minerva (Sharman) Gray, who describes her work in a Robbinston, Maine, sardine cannery and the working conditions in the 1910s. Stephen Robbins' interview with Minerva begins on page 7 (http://www.sevensteeples.com/phoebethomas7.html).

Penobscot County Genealogical Society Cookbook

The Penobscot County Genealogical Society wants to remind everyone that their Family Cookbook is a great gift for any occasion and is available now at a special price: only $7.00 per book, plus $2.50 for shipping & handling.

For more information or to place an order, email bangorblarney2@gmail.com. They can also be purchased at any PCGS meeting (the 3rd Wednesday of every month).

To learn more about Penobscot County Genealogical Society, visit www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mepcgs.

Genealogy For Kids Day in Bangor

Penobscot County Genealogical Society announces that their next Genealogy for Kinds (Gen4Kids) Day will be Tuesday, December 29, 2009, between the hours of 11:00 - 12:30 in the Children's Story Room, Bangor Public Library.

The event is open to all children between the ages of 8-14. Attendees will have a guided tour of the Bangor Room, an introduction of what is available, how to use the Microfilm and Card Catalog, and will learn how to start climbing their family tree and preserving memories today for the future.

Register at the Children's Desk or call (207) 947-8337 Ext 110. Refreshments will be served.

December meeting of Greater Portland Chapter

The Greater Portland Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society will meet for a social time at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 5th at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 29 Ocean House Road, Cape Elizabeth. Program begins at 1 p.m., business meeting to follow. These meetings are free and open to the public.

This month's speaker, author Matthew Barker, will explore Irish Maine history. He is working in fertile territory as 15% of Maine's 1.3 million residents claim Irish ancestry, according to the 2000 Census. Plan to join us as he has much to share about the Portland Irish.

For more information, contact Linda Aaskov, (207) 490-5709.

Town of Washington, Maine, photos?

The Town of Washington (formerly Putnam), Maine, will be celebrating its bicentennial in 2011.

If any has any photos, documents, articles, etc., about the town or any of its inhabitants they would be willing to donate, share, scan, loan, etc., Cindy Beane would love to hear from you. Her email address is megsateennow@aol.com.

You can visit the town on their website at http://washingtonme.govoffice.com.

"The County" to meet November 23rd

The November meeting of the Aroostook County Genealogical Society will be at the usual time 6:30 p.m, November 23rd, 209, at Cary Medical Center in the Chan Building. Please look for the sign at the entrance that will direct you and tell you the room we are meeting in.

The November meeting will consist of annual elections, followed by helping you out of any road blocks that you have! What an opportunity - bring your questions.

And mark your calendar now for their next meeting which will be held on January 25, 2010.

Think DAR for Free Online Research

The Daughters of the American Revolution has added its Genealogical Research System to its website, providing free access to the public.

This addition offers a combination of several databases created in recent years to organize the large quantity of information that the DAR has collected since its inception in 1890. This system of databases will continue to expand as new information is added.
The Ancestor Database is not a comprehensive list of all individuals who served in the Revolutionary War - new patriots are added as they are proven through DAR membership applications.

The Member Database is limited in order to protect the privacy of the Society's members, but it is possible to search for basic information on a member's ancestor record.

The Descendants Database is an every-name index of the names found on the lineage page of DAR applications and supplementals (this database is currently still under construction).

This is a wonderful resource and it is free! To learn more about the various databases and to launch your search, visit www.dar.org/library/online_research.cfm.

190,000 Welsh Wills Online

The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com.

The BBC recently published an article about the end of a five-year project to make 190,000 wills available online has been completed. The project is complete and the wills are available now. About 800,000 pages of documents have been placed on the National Library of Wales' website.

The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth said the wills dated from the 14th Century until 1858, when civil probate was introduced, and 1,000 of them were written in Welsh.

It said the project was "good news for family historians, social historians…and the inquisitive".

You can read more at the BBC web site at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/mid_/8316533.stm and on the National Library of Wales web site at http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=1514&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=2640&tx_ttnews[backPid]=2&cHash=adbaf61688.

The wills are available http://cat.llgc.org.uk/cgi-bin/gw/chameleon?skin=profeb&lng=en.

My thanks to Michael Kinsey for telling me about this resource.

Mary B. Young

Last week we lost a good and dear friend. It is my understanding that she was the 1st President of the Greater Portland Chapter of MGS.

Mary B. Young, 94, of South Portland, died Friday, Oct. 30, 2009, at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House. Mary was born in South Portland, the daughter of Sidney J. and Mae (Willis) Young, where she was educated and a graduate of South Portland High School. She was also a graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts and Simmons College as a graduate of Library and Information. She was a member of the Maine Genealogical Society, Maine Society of Mayflower Descendants, Maine Old Cemetery Association, Appalachian Mountain Club and the American Notaries. Mary worked as a librarian in the Portland Public Libraries until her retirement. She is survived by her sister Laura A. Matz of Westbrook; a niece Martha V. Wright of Cumberland, and a nephew S. John Young of Ayer, Mass.

A graveside service was held November 4, 2009, at Forest City Cemetery, South Portland. Memorial contributions may be made to: The Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Square, Portland ME 04101

SOURCE: Portland Press Herald, Nov. 1, 2009.

Penobscot Nation Museum Curator to Talk

This past August, the members of the Penobscot County Genealogical Society very much enjoyed a visit to the Penobscot Nation Museum. Through the efforts of Elizabeth Stevens, that group has the pleasure of having James Neptune, museum curator, scheduled for its next meeting.

Penobscot County Genealogical Society will meet Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at the Bangor Public Library (3rd floor lecture hall), starting at 6:00 p.m.

Everyone, member or not, is invited to attend. We are sure that Mr. Neptune will hold your interest just as he did in August for the members. Refreshments will be available.

For more information, visit the society's website at
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mepcgs.

To learn more about the Penobscot Nation Museum, visit www.penobscotnation.org.