June 2011 Blog Posts (7)

From Miramichi, New Brunswick to Maine

Many of my ancestors lived in the Miramichi, New Brunswick area. This includes the area along the Miramichi River. Some originally came from Essex County, Massachusetts before the revolutionary war. Their surnames were Mooer, Mitchell and Mountain. They were involved in farming and lumbering along the Miramichi River. They were there during the great Miramichi fire of 1825. After the fire, they managed to put their lives back together, but a few years later the economy took a nose…

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Added by Kyla Sandberg on June 24, 2011 at 1:00pm — 1 Comment

A Love of Obituaries - Maine State Library

I still remember my grandmother getting the paper and the first thing she turned to was the obituary page. She wanted to see if it contained anyone she knew.

I use obituaries in a similar way, to learn more about the family members that I wished I had known.

For my family research, obituaries have been invaluable. I use a wide variety of…

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Added by Chris Harvey on June 21, 2011 at 10:26am — 2 Comments

Tales of Sea Serpents

We all know that Sea Serpents don't really exist. Just like we know there are no dragons, no mermaids, and no monsters. But 120 years ago, things may have been a lot less certain.

It is said that when you are at sea that your mind can play tricks on you…how else can you explain sailors thinking that manatees, so homely they border on being cute, being confused for mermaids.

However, when the men…

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Added by Chris Harvey on June 18, 2011 at 10:11am — No Comments

New England Naturalization Records Resource - The National Archives

I thought I knew where my 2nd Great-grandfather, James H Fuller, had been born and I wanted to see if I could find a record that definitively named his parents. So, I decided to see if I could get a copy of his naturalization records.

Naturalization records (petitions for our ancestors to become citizens) are one of the best resources to find the birthplace of an ancestor and when they arrived in the US, but they can also be difficult to obtain. Ancestry.com has numerous…

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Added by Chris Harvey on June 13, 2011 at 5:00pm — No Comments

Thomas Woodbury Last Will and Testament (1700-1757)

Thomas Woodbury is my 5th Great-grand uncle. He was born 9/5/1700 in Beverly, Massachusetts and died 10/3/1757 in Falmouth (now Portland), Maine. I believe this will was written…

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Added by Chris Harvey on June 10, 2011 at 9:30am — No Comments

The Civil War Battle of Portland, Maine??

Yes, that isn't a typo. The confederates actually made it to Maine, which caused quite a stir for those New Englanders who thought they were safely away from the civil war fighting.

In June 1863, Lieutenant C.W. Read commanded a confederate ship named the Archer (a ship he had captured), which marauded off the east coast. He and his men intercepted American trading vessels and set about burning and scuttling them. Union forces…

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Added by Chris Harvey on June 7, 2011 at 8:30pm — 4 Comments

The Loves of a Sailor.....James Henry Fuller

It may be true the old saying that a sailor has a girl in every port.

My Great-Great Grandfather, James Henry Fuller was a sailor living in Portland, Maine. He was a captain or first mate on commercial ships which sailed from Portland to Boston and New York. He was born 9/12/1827 in Windsor, Nova Scotia and was a commercial sailor from 1847-1905. These weren't steam or diesel ships, but the old three masted schooners powered by nothing but sails and wind.

When not at…

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Added by Chris Harvey on June 6, 2011 at 8:30am — No Comments