| |
Maine Public Records
| How
To Search Public and Vital Records -
Vital records are records of life events important enough that
some level of government acquires, organizes, and preserves
them. While the term "vital records" is often applied
to a wide variety of life events... Read
more |
Maine Vital Records
By the eighteenth century, over 200 towns were recording the vital
events of birth, marriage, and death. They continued reasonably well
until Maine became a separate state in 1820. Following statehood,
records were not consistently kept at first, but most towns do have
good records of marriage intentions and births. After 1864, state
legislation required that town clerks forward births, deaths, and
marriages to the secretary of state, though there was not total compliance.
By 1892, the State Board of Vital Statistics was established and mandatory
recording became a reality. In addition to records available at the
town clerk's office, vital records are now divided between the following
repositories:
For birth, marriage and death records from 1923, write:
Maine Department of Human Services, Office of Vital Records, State
House Station 11, Augusta, ME 04333-0011
For earlier records, write:
Maine State Archives, LMA Building, State House Station 84, Augusta,
ME 04333
Maine Land Records
Maine is a state-land state. Lands were generally acquired by proprietor
grants, deeds from proprietors, or deeds from other individuals.
Maine originally obtained provincial status in New England under
royal grants from England. In 1677 the Massachusetts Bay Colony
purchased the area in Maine below the Kennebec River. The area east
of the river became part of Massachusetts in 1691. All deeds before
1737 for the settled area in present-day Maine have been transcribed
verbatim and published in eighteen volumes titled York Deeds, 1642–1737
(Portland: Maine Historical Society, 1887–1910).
Following the revolution in 1783, under the auspices of the Massachusetts
General Court, a Committee for the Sale of Eastern Lands began to
survey and sell remaining unorganized portions of the state to help
pay for the cost of the war. Land was disposed of in lotteries,
a few war grants, tax sales, street grants, and patents. All the
original papers for the eastern lands are held in the Massachusetts
State Archives, and there is a limited card index. Additionally,
they have been published in The Maine Historical and Geneological
Recorder, vols. 4–8. Between 1824–91, the Maine Land Office
took over the work of the Massachusetts Committee for the Sale of
Eastern Lands and distributed public land after separation from
Massachusetts. Records for the land office are located at the Maine
State Archives and include maps, field notes, and deeds (starting
with 1794 as Massachusetts deeds). A brochure titled "Land
Office Records in the Maine State Archives" is available from
the that institution. Land grant applications from Revolutionary
War veterans are also available there.
Land transactions between individuals are recorded on the county
level and available at the county deed office.
Maine Court Records
Court records include probate records (which include wills) and
guardianship, naturalization, and a wide variety of other sources,
ranging from criminal trials to simple road orders. All contain
information about individuals within the area. It should be remembered
that there are different levels of jurisdiction for courts in the
United States, all of which should be considered for research under
various circumstances. Court of Common Pleas, Orphan's Court, Probate
Court, District Court, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and other
titles are among those encountered. To study more about court records
in general, see "Research in Court Records," by Arlene
H. Eakle, in:
Szucs, Loretto Dennis, and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, eds. The
Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Rev. ed. Salt Lake City:
Ancestry, 1997.
Maine Military Records
For service in wars before statehood, refer to Massachusetts. However,
a few printed sources have attempted to extract Maine soldiers from
the Massachusetts holdings, notably Charles J. House's Names of
Soldiers of the American Revolution who Applied for State Bounty...in
Land Office (1893; reprint; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co.,
1967); Charles A. Flagg's An Alphabetical Index of Revolutionary
Pensioners Living in Maine (1920; reprint; Baltimore: Genealogical
Publishing Co., 1967); and Carleton and Sue Fisher's Soldiers, Sailors
and Patriots of the Revolutionary War‹Maine (Louisville, Ky.:
National Society Sons of the American Revolution, 1982).
The Maine State Archives has a card index of each Civil War soldier
and grave records for Revolutionary, Civil War, and War of 1812
soldiers as well as service records through World War I. More recent
records can be found at the Bureau of Veterans Services, State House
Station no. 117, Augusta, Maine 04333. The adjutant general's holdings
for Maine, which include militia on state service in wars, state
yearly published reports on Civil War soldiers. World War I and
II reports are held at the Maine State Archives. The Spanish-American
War service records are held but not published.
For further information, consult:
Neagles, James C. U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and
State Sources. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1994.
Additional Sources
Denis, Michael J. Maine Towns and Counties: What Was What, Where
and When. Oakland, Maine: Danbury House Books, 1981. An indexed,
updated survey of place-names.
Frost, John E. Maine Genealogy: A Bibliographic Guide. Portland:
Maine Historical Society, 1985. A superb listing including printed
probate records, maps, town histories, and numerous other sources.
Organized by topic with thorough citations to expedite interlibrary
loan research.
Haskell, John D. Maine: A Bibliography of its History. 1977. Reprint.
Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1983. Excellent
focus on printed and published historical materials.
A guide to research in the state can be found in John Eldridge Frost,
"Maine Genealogy: Some Distinctive Aspects," New England
Historical and Genealogical Register 131 (October 1977): 243–66.
It is reprinted in Ralph J. Crandall, ed., Genealogical Research
in New England (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1984).
Maine Vital Records:
Event: Birth or Death
Cost of copy: Certified $10.00, Uncertified $6.00
Address:
Office of Vital Statistics
Maine Department of Human Services
State House Station 11
Augusta, ME 04333-0011
Remarks: State office has had records since 1892.
Records for 1892-1922 are available at the Maine State Archives.
For earlier records, write to the municipality where the event occurred.
Additional copies of same record ordered at same time are $4.00
each.
Check or money order should be made payable to Treasurer,
State of Maine. Personal checks are accepted. To verify current
fees, the telephone number is (207) 287-3184.
Search All Maine Records
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Event: Marriage, Divorce
Cost of copy: $10.00
Address:
Office of Vital Statistics
Maine Department of Human Services
State House Station 11
Augusta, ME 04333-0011
Remarks: State office has had records since 1892.
Records for 1892-1922 are available at the Maine State Archives.
For earlier records, write to the municipality where the event occurred.
Additional copies of same record ordered at same time are $4.00
each.
Check or money order should be made payable
to Treasurer, State of Maine. Personal checks are accepted. To verify
current fees, the telephone number is (207) 287-3184.
Search All Maine Records
|
|
