July 11th Genealogy Fair - Brick Wall Busters

Just 2 days left before our first FREE Genealogy Fair in Augusta, Maine.  We're excited to be offering an informal gathering of experts on Maine history and genealogy from around the State, including our friends at the Maine State Historical Society, among others.  Visitors to this event will be able to get information about the State Archives, The Maine State Library and can enjoy free admission to the Maine State Museum.

MGS will have many of our books available for sale, as will other groups.  The Cross Cafe will be open most of the day and the weather is going to amazing, so you can sit outside and enjoy some beautiful Maine weather, if you're so inclined.

On top of it all, we've assembled some folks who will be available for consultations to help YOU take another chunk out of that brick wall that's been plaguing you for years...  Or maybe you're just getting started in your genealogical journey - or don't even know where to start...  Our volunteers are here to help you get going, no matter what phase of research you are in.

Our current list of volunteers and their areas of expertise are included below. If you would like to reserve some time with one of these volunteers, please email mainegenealogicalsociety@gmail.com and we'll make sure we have some space reserved for you. If possible, please include some specifics about what you would like to talk about and we'll forward it along to the appropriate person.

Don't see what you're looking for in an area of expertise?  Send us your questions and let us know if you'll be attending the fair. We'll do our best to match you up with someone we think may be able to help you.

Our panel of experts:

Jerry Gower - Washington County Research & Maine Families in 1790
Bob Chenard - Franco American Research
Craig Siulinski - Recording Oral Histories & Sharing your Research Online
Helen Shaw - Census and Cemetery Research, Lineage Society Applications & Accessing Maine Vital Records
Nancy Milliken Mason - DNA for Genealogy
BJ Jamieson- Scottish and Irish Research

In addition MGS Officers and members will be available throughout the day to discuss getting started in your family history research and other general research related questions.

Email mainegenealogicalsociety@gmail.com with your Maine family or general genealogical queries and we'll work hard to get you with the right person on Saturday. If you can't make this event, you can still email us your Maine genealogy questions and we'll work to get an answer back to you as soon as possible!

July 11th - FREE Genealogy Fair

Join MGS and more than a dozen other organizations from across the State of Maine for this FUN, FREE event and learn about all the great resources available for researching your Maine roots.

Vital Records of Woolwich, Maine now available EXCLUSIVELY through MGS!

Maine Genealogical Society Special Publication #71
Vital Records of Woolwich, Maine

The Maine Genealogical society has some exciting news, and it's NOT just for members!  We are very excited to announce our latest Vital Records of Woolwich, Maine, special publication #71 of the society.

This book is available exclusively through the Maine Genealogical Society.  As our first self-published publication, you can't find Vital Records of Woolwich, Maine anywhere else.

Unlike other MGS special publications, which we could only sell to members due to contractual obligations with our publisher, this new title is available, from our website, for anyone with an interest in their Woolwich ancestry.  You do not need to be a member of MGS to purchase this title!  As with our other titles, MGS members still receive a generous discount when identifying themselves as a member at checkout. In addition, as our first self-published work we were able to continue to bring you the same high quality standards of our previous books while keeping a lower price - and we are able to offer both a paperback and hardcover edition.

 The town of Woolwich is located in Sagadahoc County, Maine, on the east side of the Kennebec River. The early name of the town was Nequasset, the Indian name of a local pond. The first settlers were John Bateman and Edward Brown who resided there in 1638. They purchased from Robin Hood, an Indian chief, most of the territory now comprised by Woolwich.

The town was incorporated 23 August 1775 as the 32nd town in Maine. The population of the town increased slightly from the first census in 1790 when there were 787 residents to its high point in 1830 when there were 1,495 residents. Since then, it dropped each year to a low point in 1930 of 671 residents, rising in 1940 to 1,144 residents.

Vital Records of Woolwich includes Birth, Marriage, and Death records as transcribed from images of microfilms held at the Maine State Archives. Also included are town meeting and miscellaneous records of interest to genealogists as well as ear marks.

With over 650 pages of information, including an Every Name Index of more than 17,000 individuals, if you have families living in Woolwich prior to the 1890s, you're sure to find something of interest in this book.

If you would like to order a copy of Vital Records of Woolwich, Maine it is only available through the Maine Genealogical Society. 

Purchases can be made through our online store using one of the following links:

Hardcover (*$49.95 for non MGS members/$39.95 for members)
http://tinyurl.com/nrozb2l
Paperback (*39.95 for non MGS members/$29.95 for members)
http://tinyurl.com/narozbd

*MGS membership is $25 per calendar year.  In addition to superb discounts on publications and conferences, your MGS membership gets you a quarterly newsletter with information about genealogical events and MGS chapter news from across the State, our quarterly scholarly journal, The Maine Genealogist, and a number of other benefits.  Consider joining MGS today and save on this and other upcoming publications.  http://maineroots.org/index.php/about/membership/

ANNOUNCING: 2015 Southern Maine Genealogical Conference - Registration is Open

The Greater Portland Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society wants everyone to know about the 2nd Annual Southern Maine Genealogical Conference which will be held on Saturday, May 30, 2015 at Keeley's Banquet Center at 178 Warren Ave., Portland, Maine.

This year's Keynote Speaker is Margaret Dube.  Her Keynote Address is: A Home Among Yankees: turn of the century immigrants along the Maine Coast. Join her as she delves into the lives of immigrants who, at the turn of the last century, settled in seacoast Maine. Learn the challenges involved in studying those who ventured far from home and forged a new life.  Margaret is a Certified Genealogist who lives in Kittery, ME.  Through her website, Common Folk Ancestry, she connects with people who are searching for information on their ancestors.

In addition to Margaret's address there will be 9 workshops/sessions throughout the day as well as a delicious luncheon.  The workshops/sessions include DNA Genetic Genealogy, Franco-American, Italian, Irish and Scottish genealogy resources, help in preparing for a genealogical site visit, working with immigration files, organizing your research, and using deeds in genealogy research.

The cost for the conference is $55 which includes the luncheon and other refreshments throughout the day.

To register either online or through a mail-in registration, go to: http://www.gpcmgs.org
For more information, please contact Paul Doucette at pdoucette3@gmail.com.

Query: Redford Dennis TALLMAN

Philip Smith is hoping someone can help:

Looking for some evidence that might be acceptable to Mayflower Society that Redford Dennis Tallman, born Oct. 17, 1800, was the son of Holder Tallman (1766-1830) and Drusilla Taber Tallman (1767 - 1852).

If you have some information that may help Philip, email him at  pfsmith66@att.net

February TMG Is In Homes Now

By now members of The Maine Genealogical Society should have received their February 2015 edition of The Maine Genealogist (TMG). The TMG is the Society's quarterly scholarly journal and is always packed with interesting articles concerning different problems (and resolutions) faced during genealogical research of our Maine ancestors, and sometimes we are lucky enough to see some transcription projects as well. 

The February 2015 Issue of the TMG is nearly 50 pages in length and includes the following articles:

• Clark Drew of Maine and Vermont
  by: Carole Gardner
• A Tidbit From the Massachusetts Archives: Lucretia Larrabee, First Wife of John Owen (d. 1753) of Falmouth, Maine
  by: Brent Owen
• Assembling The Pieces Of The Puzzle: The Family of Ebenezer Day Jr. of Wells and Kennebunk, Maine
  by:Edward G. Hubbard
• The Parentage of Solomon Bray of Polan, Harrison, and Monson, Maine
  by: Joseph C. Anderson III
• Nineteenth-Century Records of the First and Second COngregational Churches of Wells, Maine (continued)
  submitted by: Priscilla Eaton

If you are an MGS Member and have not received your copy ofThe Maine Genealogistyet, let us know.  If you are not already a member, its not too late to join to take advantage of this and other benefits that come only by joining our organization.

Roots 2015 : Quebec Family History Conference

Many of Maine's French speaking communities can tie their roots back through Canada to France. Names like Morin, Trepanier, Theriault and Bouchard all straddle both side of the border. If you're interested in Franco-American research, you may be interested in attending Roots 2015 in beautiful Montreal, Quebec.  This is a 3 day international conference on family history in the Quebec area being held from June 19-21 on the campus of McGill University.  For those of us not fluent in French, we're in luck. Roots 2015 is described as the largest English language genealogical conference held in Quebec.

For more information about the conference and the Quebec Family History Society, who will be hosting the event, go to http://www.qfhs.ca

Query: John OWEN and Polly WATSON

The following query came in from one of our members:

I'm a descendant of John Owen b. 19 MAR 1759 Cumberland, ME d. 1844 Litchfield, ME.  married Polly Watson  1769-1837  John Jr. is son of John Sr. of b. Falmouth 1723 - d 1787 Topsham, Me

Any assistance on family records, deeds, trying to document family group.  Have looked at Cumberland Co. Deeds online.

If you can help, comment here, or email sandrafisher@msn.com

Query: Henry PUTNAM of Reading, MA

One of our newest members has asked us to post the following query:

Does anyone have documentation on Henry Putnam, born 1778/85 in Reading, MA, and died after 1850 in (probably) Harrington? His lineage is Deacon Henry Putnam, Deacon Daniel Putnam, Rev. Daniel Putnam, Capt. Benjamin Putnam, Deacon Nathaniel Putnam to John Putnam, born 1579 or 80 in England. I have extensive information on Maine Putnam/Ficketts and most of these Salemite Putnams which I'd love to share.

Responses can be sent to M. Steward at NoseyParker@comcast.net

MGS 2015 Conference Call For Papers

Proposals for talks are now being accepted for the MGS Fall Conference, September 19, 2015, at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer. There are three openings for one-hour presentations. Speaker compensation is $100 plus registration and lunch the day of the conference.

The theme this year is “Records & Resources.” Proposals should focus on how to locate and use a particular type of record including those that are digitized and on-line. The emphasis should be on original material. Types of records might be newspapers, military & pension records, church records, cemetery records, probate documents, land records & deeds. Proposals for other, less known & used records are encouraged. Records need not be Maine specific.

Proposals should include the following:
1. Speaker’s name
2. Contact information (including mailing address, e-mail, & phone number)
3. Prior speaking experience
4. Brief biography (about 50 words)
5. Title of the talk
6. Summary or outline of the talk (about 200 words)
7. Intended audience level (beginner, intermediate, advanced, or all levels)

Please send proposals to Helen A. Shaw either by mail (77 Pascal Ave., Rockport, ME 04856) or as a pdf attachment (hashaw@earthlink.net). Proposals must be received by 1 March 2015.