On Wednesday, September 16, 2009, the Penobscot County Genealogical Society will meet at 6:00 p.m. in the Lecture Hall at the Bangor Public Library.
Joining them will be Maine State Archivist Jeff Brown who will discuss holdings at the Maine State Archives and be available to answer any questions about using their resources.
Jeff Brown has been working at the Maine State Archives since 1980. He began working in the Search Room assisting researchers, being promoted to the Supervisor. He currently serves as Processing Archivist. His duties include processing paper records series, as well as database and web page management. Jeff received his B.A. in History at the University of Maine in 1974 and also attended the Modern Archives Institute at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. He has been researching his own genealogy since the 1970s, so the Archives has been the perfect place for him to work, combining his interest in history and genealogy.
Everyone is invited to attend. Refreshments will be available.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
A Discussion about Adoptee Legislation
The Greater Portland Chapter of MGS will be holding it's regular monthly meeting on Saturday, September 5. Former Maine State Senator Paula Benoit of Phippsburg will speak about legislation she sponsored over a year ago, which became law in January, 2009, allowing adoptees rights to their original birth records in this state. Since leaving the legislature Senator Benoit has become Executive Director of AdopteeCARE (Adoptee Council for Adoption Reform Education), a national non-profit foundation she founded with the goal of educating legislators on the importance of all adult adoptees having access to their original birth records.
The Society meets at 1:00 on the first Saturday of every month at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at 29 Ocean Avenue in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. New members are always welcome. Come early as refreshments are served before the meeting at 12:30 and admission is free.
This month, at 12:30, Will Haskell will be offering a "Tech Tip" presentation on free software that will assist in transcribing old documents and grave marker images.
For more information, visit their website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megpcmgs.
The Society meets at 1:00 on the first Saturday of every month at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at 29 Ocean Avenue in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. New members are always welcome. Come early as refreshments are served before the meeting at 12:30 and admission is free.
This month, at 12:30, Will Haskell will be offering a "Tech Tip" presentation on free software that will assist in transcribing old documents and grave marker images.
For more information, visit their website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megpcmgs.
New Brunswick Genealogical Fair
The New Brunswick Genealogical Society, Saint John Branch will again be hosting a Genealogy Fair and New Brunswick Archives Road Show, September 12, 2009, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m (don't forget they are one hour ahead) at Joachim's Church Hall, Loch Lomond Road, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
The fair is open to all those interested in genealogy and family history. Come early or late or stay all day. Exhibitors will include the New Brunswick Archives with the NB Archives Road Show, New Brunswick Museum, and many local area genealogists with information on Southern New Brunswick families and beyond. Book sales. New publication announcements. Find out about the New Brunswick Genealogical Society Beginners Corner. Do you have a name for our "brick wall?" Internet access available.
Are you interested in exhibiting your family tree information? If you would like to display the results of your genealogical research, this is the place to do it! Are your launching a book? Found a new ancestor? Got a brick wall you need to tear down? Contact Dave Fraser at dfraser@nbnet.nb.ca or call (506) 849-7922.
For more information, visit the Saint John Branch of NBGS on the web at www.nbgssj.ca.
The fair is open to all those interested in genealogy and family history. Come early or late or stay all day. Exhibitors will include the New Brunswick Archives with the NB Archives Road Show, New Brunswick Museum, and many local area genealogists with information on Southern New Brunswick families and beyond. Book sales. New publication announcements. Find out about the New Brunswick Genealogical Society Beginners Corner. Do you have a name for our "brick wall?" Internet access available.
Are you interested in exhibiting your family tree information? If you would like to display the results of your genealogical research, this is the place to do it! Are your launching a book? Found a new ancestor? Got a brick wall you need to tear down? Contact Dave Fraser at dfraser@nbnet.nb.ca or call (506) 849-7922.
For more information, visit the Saint John Branch of NBGS on the web at www.nbgssj.ca.
Query: Eskildson/Eskilson, Marsh, Mitchell
William ESKILSON, of Liverpool, England, was married, by Dummer Sewell, J.P., of Bath, Maine, 1 Jun 1794, to Miss Deborah MITCHELL of Bath. Circumstances imply a relationship to Christopher ESKILDSON, mariner, who married by license 26 Sep 1799, Church of St. Anne, Liverpool, England, to Anne MARSH, a minor. Jenks Portland Gazette, 4 Jun 1804, reported the death "in this town" of Miss Lydia ESKILDSON, aged 16. For other ESKILDSONs, see query in The Maine Genealogist 24 (Feb 2009):44.
I would like to exchange information on the MITCHELL ancestry and any relationship of the various Maine ESKILDSON families.
Louis D. Melnick, 530 Michigan Avenue, Evanston IL 60202-3033
E-Mail: melnicklouis@hotmail.com
I would like to exchange information on the MITCHELL ancestry and any relationship of the various Maine ESKILDSON families.
Louis D. Melnick, 530 Michigan Avenue, Evanston IL 60202-3033
E-Mail: melnicklouis@hotmail.com
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Maine Genealogist - August 2009
The August issue of The Maine Genealogist is now in circulation.
Four of the articles in this and the prior issue have something remarkable in common - the identification of children born to unmarried parents.
Editor Joseph C. Anderson II, FASG, writes:
Illegitimacy in Colonial times was treated as a moral and financial problem. Early church records frequently document confessions of the sin of "fornication" or admonitions against persons having illegitimate children. For example, in 1790 the elders of the Second Church of Berwick felt it their duty to express to Susanna Hamilton their "abhorrence of her conduct as evil by suspending her from their communion & from all special privileges of the same." The John Knight deed shows that the Massachusetts town fathers were more concerned about the support of the illegitimate children, and they took legal steps against the parents to ensure the children would not become town charges. As genealogists facing perplexing lineage problems, we should be aware that children born to unmarried parents was a fairly common event. Though it is often difficult to prove an illegitimacy, when proof is available it will most often be found in original church, town and court records.
A look at this issues Table of Contents shows the following:
Four Jonathan Nuttings of Cushing, Maine by William T. Ruddock
Marriages Performed by Reverend Thomas Gilmore Mitchell in Auburn, West Minot, and Madison, Maine, contributed by Cheryl Willis Patten
John and Mercy (Michener) Dennison of Cutler, Maine by Brent M. Owen
Destitute and Sick, contributed by Leslie Dow Sanders
Holding His Feet to the Fire! contributed by Janice D. Gower
Lemuel Rich Family Letter, Standish, Maine, contributed by Leslie Dow Sanders
Portland, Maine, Marriage Intentions, Volume 4, 1814-1837 (continued), copied by Joseph C. Anderson II
The Maine Genealogist is published quarterly. For more information, visit our website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs.
Four of the articles in this and the prior issue have something remarkable in common - the identification of children born to unmarried parents.
Editor Joseph C. Anderson II, FASG, writes:
Illegitimacy in Colonial times was treated as a moral and financial problem. Early church records frequently document confessions of the sin of "fornication" or admonitions against persons having illegitimate children. For example, in 1790 the elders of the Second Church of Berwick felt it their duty to express to Susanna Hamilton their "abhorrence of her conduct as evil by suspending her from their communion & from all special privileges of the same." The John Knight deed shows that the Massachusetts town fathers were more concerned about the support of the illegitimate children, and they took legal steps against the parents to ensure the children would not become town charges. As genealogists facing perplexing lineage problems, we should be aware that children born to unmarried parents was a fairly common event. Though it is often difficult to prove an illegitimacy, when proof is available it will most often be found in original church, town and court records.
A look at this issues Table of Contents shows the following:
Four Jonathan Nuttings of Cushing, Maine by William T. Ruddock
Marriages Performed by Reverend Thomas Gilmore Mitchell in Auburn, West Minot, and Madison, Maine, contributed by Cheryl Willis Patten
John and Mercy (Michener) Dennison of Cutler, Maine by Brent M. Owen
Destitute and Sick, contributed by Leslie Dow Sanders
Holding His Feet to the Fire! contributed by Janice D. Gower
Lemuel Rich Family Letter, Standish, Maine, contributed by Leslie Dow Sanders
Portland, Maine, Marriage Intentions, Volume 4, 1814-1837 (continued), copied by Joseph C. Anderson II
The Maine Genealogist is published quarterly. For more information, visit our website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs.
Vital Records of Smithfield, Maine
Maine Genealogical Society Special Publication #62 is now available. The Vital Records of Smithfield, Maine has been compiled by Marlene A. Groves.
The town of Smithfield is located in the southwestern part of Somerset County and is ten miles south southwest of Skowhegan, the county seat. The town was originally formed from part of the towns of Dearborn and Mercer and called East Pond Plantation.
This transcription of the vital records of the town of Smithfield was made from the microfilmed original records with verification of any questionable entries made by looking at the original volumes of records located in the Smithfield town office.
368 pages, hard cover, 7,677 entry Every Name Index. 2009.
The book sells for $57.95, but MGS members pay only $49.95! For more information or to place an order, please visit Picton Press, official publisher of Maine Genealogical Society Special Publications at http://www.pictonpress.com.
To learn about other MGS special publications, visit our website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs.
Membership number required to receive the MGS member discount.
The town of Smithfield is located in the southwestern part of Somerset County and is ten miles south southwest of Skowhegan, the county seat. The town was originally formed from part of the towns of Dearborn and Mercer and called East Pond Plantation.
This transcription of the vital records of the town of Smithfield was made from the microfilmed original records with verification of any questionable entries made by looking at the original volumes of records located in the Smithfield town office.
368 pages, hard cover, 7,677 entry Every Name Index. 2009.
The book sells for $57.95, but MGS members pay only $49.95! For more information or to place an order, please visit Picton Press, official publisher of Maine Genealogical Society Special Publications at http://www.pictonpress.com.
To learn about other MGS special publications, visit our website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs.
Membership number required to receive the MGS member discount.
Vital Records of Mercer, Maine
Maine Genealogical Society Special Publication #61 is now available. The Vital Records of Mercer, Maine have been compiled by Marlene A. Groves.
The town of Mercer is located in the southwestern corner of Somerset County and is twelve miles west of Skowhegan. The town is bounded on the West by New Sharon, on the North by Starks, on the east by Norridgewock and Smithfield, and on the South by Rome.
This transcription was made from the digital images of the original records as contained on the CD available from Picton Press. One original volume, the marriage records for the period 1804-1835, had never before been microfilmed but was digitized for this transcription from the original volume located in the Mercer town office. Also included in this transcription are several Delayed Records of Births for years prior to 1892 which were also located inthe town office.
224 pages, hard cover, 5,099 entry Every Name Index. 2009.
The book sells for $39.95, but MGS members pay only $35.50! For more information or to place an order, please visit Picton Press, official publisher of Maine Genealogical Society Special Publications at http://www.pictonpress.com.
To learn about other MGS special publications, visit our website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs.
Membership number required to receive the MGS member discount.
The town of Mercer is located in the southwestern corner of Somerset County and is twelve miles west of Skowhegan. The town is bounded on the West by New Sharon, on the North by Starks, on the east by Norridgewock and Smithfield, and on the South by Rome.
This transcription was made from the digital images of the original records as contained on the CD available from Picton Press. One original volume, the marriage records for the period 1804-1835, had never before been microfilmed but was digitized for this transcription from the original volume located in the Mercer town office. Also included in this transcription are several Delayed Records of Births for years prior to 1892 which were also located inthe town office.
224 pages, hard cover, 5,099 entry Every Name Index. 2009.
The book sells for $39.95, but MGS members pay only $35.50! For more information or to place an order, please visit Picton Press, official publisher of Maine Genealogical Society Special Publications at http://www.pictonpress.com.
To learn about other MGS special publications, visit our website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs.
Membership number required to receive the MGS member discount.
Vital Records of Cornville, Maine
Maine Genealogical Society Special Publication #60 is now available. The Vital Records of Cornville, Maine was compiled by Sally Furber Nelson.
Cornville is a small rural community in Somerset County, located just north of Skowhegan, the county seat. The town was first settled in 1794 by men from Massachusetts and New Hampshire, many of them veterans of the Revolutionary War. The town was first called Bernardstown but, when it was incorporated as the 116th town on February 24, 1798, the name was changed to Cornville.
This transcription was made from a microfilm of the original records. It includes all of the material on that microfilm except an index.
254 pages, hard cover, 7,123 entry Every Name Index. 2009.
The book sells for $49.50, but MGS members save $5.00, paying only $44.50! For more information or to place an order, please visit Picton Press, official publisher of Maine Genealogical Society Special Publications at http://www.pictonpress.com.
To learn about other MGS special publications, visit our website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs.
Membership number required to receive the MGS member discount.
Cornville is a small rural community in Somerset County, located just north of Skowhegan, the county seat. The town was first settled in 1794 by men from Massachusetts and New Hampshire, many of them veterans of the Revolutionary War. The town was first called Bernardstown but, when it was incorporated as the 116th town on February 24, 1798, the name was changed to Cornville.
This transcription was made from a microfilm of the original records. It includes all of the material on that microfilm except an index.
254 pages, hard cover, 7,123 entry Every Name Index. 2009.
The book sells for $49.50, but MGS members save $5.00, paying only $44.50! For more information or to place an order, please visit Picton Press, official publisher of Maine Genealogical Society Special Publications at http://www.pictonpress.com.
To learn about other MGS special publications, visit our website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs.
Membership number required to receive the MGS member discount.
Vital Records of Castine, Maine
Maine Genealogical Special Publication #59 is currently available. Vital Records of Castine, Maine has been compiled by James H. Wick.
Castine, Maine is one of the oldest communities in North America, is located in Hancock County on Penobscot Bay and is thirty miles southwest of Ellsworth, the county seat. It has been occupied continuously since the early 1600s as the site of numerous trading posts, forts, missions and permanent settlement of France, Holland, England and colonial America. Before 1613, and during the course of its long history, Castine has also been home to several nations of Native Americans.
416 pages, hard cover, 12, 457 entry Every Name Index. 2009.
The book sells for $57.95, but MGS members pay only $48.95! For more information or to place an order, please visit Picton Press, official publisher of Maine Genealogical Society Special Publications at http://www.pictonpress.com.
To learn about other MGS special publications, visit our website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs.
Membership number required to receive the MGS member discount.
Castine, Maine is one of the oldest communities in North America, is located in Hancock County on Penobscot Bay and is thirty miles southwest of Ellsworth, the county seat. It has been occupied continuously since the early 1600s as the site of numerous trading posts, forts, missions and permanent settlement of France, Holland, England and colonial America. Before 1613, and during the course of its long history, Castine has also been home to several nations of Native Americans.
416 pages, hard cover, 12, 457 entry Every Name Index. 2009.
The book sells for $57.95, but MGS members pay only $48.95! For more information or to place an order, please visit Picton Press, official publisher of Maine Genealogical Society Special Publications at http://www.pictonpress.com.
To learn about other MGS special publications, visit our website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs.
Membership number required to receive the MGS member discount.
Vital Records of Norridgewock, Maine
Have you picked up your copy of Maine Genealogical Society Special Publication #57? Vital Records of Norridgewock, Maine has been compiled by Marlene A. Groves.
The town of Norridgewock is located in Somerset County on the Kennebec River and lies west of Skowhegan, the county seat. Norridgewock was incorporated on June 18, 1788 as the 54th town and was originally the county seat when Somerset County was incorporated in 1809 before it moved to Skowhegan in 1871. The area was once the territory of the Norridgewock Native Americans, a band of the Abenaki nation, for whom the town was named. Their village was located in the region called Old Point, which is now part of Madison.
There is an early volume of records containing town meeting records along with births, deaths and marriages for which a typescript was made years ago but no indication by whom or when. The town clerk indicates that this original volume stops at page 48 although the typescript contains additional pages. Even though the town was incorporated in 1788, there are earlier events recorded as early as 1774.
448 pages, 13, 124 entry Every Name Index. 2008.
The book sells for $54.50, but MGS members pay only $47.50! For more information or to place an order, please visit Picton Press, official publisher of Maine Genealogical Society Special Publications at http://www.pictonpress.com.
To learn more about other MGS special publications, visit our website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs.
Membership number required to receive the MGS member discount.
The town of Norridgewock is located in Somerset County on the Kennebec River and lies west of Skowhegan, the county seat. Norridgewock was incorporated on June 18, 1788 as the 54th town and was originally the county seat when Somerset County was incorporated in 1809 before it moved to Skowhegan in 1871. The area was once the territory of the Norridgewock Native Americans, a band of the Abenaki nation, for whom the town was named. Their village was located in the region called Old Point, which is now part of Madison.
There is an early volume of records containing town meeting records along with births, deaths and marriages for which a typescript was made years ago but no indication by whom or when. The town clerk indicates that this original volume stops at page 48 although the typescript contains additional pages. Even though the town was incorporated in 1788, there are earlier events recorded as early as 1774.
448 pages, 13, 124 entry Every Name Index. 2008.
The book sells for $54.50, but MGS members pay only $47.50! For more information or to place an order, please visit Picton Press, official publisher of Maine Genealogical Society Special Publications at http://www.pictonpress.com.
To learn more about other MGS special publications, visit our website at www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs.
Membership number required to receive the MGS member discount.
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