Maine Archives and Libraries

United States Maine  Archives and Libraries

These archives, libraries, societies, and museums preserve sources, maintain indexes, and provide services to help genealogists document their ancestors who lived in Maine. Remember, Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1819, so early Maine records are often found in Massachusetts repositories.

Wiki Articles on Major Repositories for Maine
Allen County Public Library· American Antiquarian Society· Bangor Public Library· Farmington Public Library· Haverhill Public Library· Maine Historical Society· Maine State Archives· Maine State Library· Massachusetts Historical Society· National Archives at Boston· New England Historic Genealogical Society· Penobscot Marine Museum· Skidompha Public Library· University of Maine Fogler Library

Online Records of Maine
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National Archives at Boston
National Archives at Boston 380 Trapelo Road Waltham, MA 02452-6399 Phone: (781) 663-0130 Fax: (781) 663-0154 E-mail: [mailto:waltham.archives@nara.gov waltham.archives@nara.gov] Internet: National Archives at Boston {| style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
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 * The Boston archives branch has Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont documents, photos, and maps of 80 federal agencies, War of 1812, forts, World War II research at Harvard and MIT, federal bankruptcy courts, First Circuit Court of Appeals, Navy, Coast Guard, westward expansion, ethnology, Revolutionary War, Civil War, captured German records, territorial papers, censuses, passenger arrival records for Boston and New England, Canadian border crossings.
 * The Boston archives branch has Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont documents, photos, and maps of 80 federal agencies, War of 1812, forts, World War II research at Harvard and MIT, federal bankruptcy courts, First Circuit Court of Appeals, Navy, Coast Guard, westward expansion, ethnology, Revolutionary War, Civil War, captured German records, territorial papers, censuses, passenger arrival records for Boston and New England, Canadian border crossings.

Maine Historical Society Brown Library
Maine Historical Society Brown Library 489 Congress Street Portland, ME 04101 Telephone 207-774–1822 Fax 207-775–4301 E-mail: [mailto:info@mainehistory.org info@mainehistory.org] Internet: Maine Historical Society Brown Library


 * They have a very good collection for genealogists including 100,000 books, and 2 million manuscript pages from the 1400s to the present. They also provide in-library online access to NewEnglandAncestors.org, Ancestry Library, HeritageQuest™ Online, and the Proquest Digital Sanborn Maps of Maine.


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Maine State Archives
Maine State Archives State House Station 84 Augusta, ME 04333-0084 Telephone: 207-287-5795 Fax: 207-289-5739 Internet: Maine State Archives


 * Original records from all Maine counties, towns, and plantations. A wiki article describing this collection is found at Maine State Archive Collections (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Maine State Library
Maine State Library 64 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333 Telephone: 207-287-5600 Fax: 207-287-5624 E-mail: Ask a Librarian, Information Form Internet: Maine State Library


 * Has history, genealogy, town histories, counties, Indians, boundary changes, rivers, maps, oral histories, and town/plantation records. This is the best genealogical repository in Maine.

Bangor Public Library
Bangor Public Library Bangor Room 145 Harlow Street Bangor, ME 04401 Telephone: 207-947-8336 Fax 207-945-6694 E-mail: [mailto:info@bangorpubliclibrary.org info@bangorpubliclibrary.org] Internet: Local History, the Bangor Room, and Special Collections


 * Genealogical and historical references for Bangor, the Penobscot Valley, the state of Maine, and the entire region of New England. They have censuses, Maine Register town histories, the Bangor Daily News Index, county histories, family records and research, genealogy handbooks, Bangor city directories, military histories, passenger lists, and scanned photos. They also provide free access to Ancestry Library and HeritageQuest Online.

Farmington Public Library
Farmington Public Library 117 Academy Street Farmington, ME 04938 Telephone: 207-778-4312 E-mail: [mailto:jenscott@farmington.lib.me.us jenscott@farmington.lib.me.us] Internet: Farmington Public Library


 * The Genealogy Room has over 1,700 works: town histories, published and unpublished family histories, local newspapers, Ancestry.com access, vital records, and cemetery transcripts.

Penobscot Marine Museum
Penobscot Marine Museum Stephen Phillips Memorial Library 11 Church Street (PO Box 498) Searsport, Maine 04974 Telephone: 207-548-2529 ext.212 E-mail: [mailto:cgood@pmm-maine.org cgood@pmm-maine.org] Internet: Stephen Phillips Memorial Library


 * Their collection includes an important biographical index of Maine people. They also have records of shipping companies, ship registers, logbooks, and journals.

Skidompha Public Library
Skidompha Public Library Lincoln County Genealogy and History Center 184 Main Street (PO Box 70) Damariscotta, Maine 04543 Telephone: 207-563-5513 E-mail: [mailto:skid@msln.net skid@msln.net] Internet: Genealogy:Find Your Roots


 * Their genealogy and local history collection is outstanding. It is strongest for Lincoln County, but also includes other areas of Maine, New England, US, Canada, and other countries.

University of Maine Fogler Library
University of Maine Fogler Library Orono, ME 04469-5729 Telephone: 207-581-1661 Fax: 207-581-1653 E-mail: Ask a Librarian form Internet: University of Maine Fogler Library


 * They have excellent collections about early Maine settlers, fisheries, Acadians, ships, and shipping companies.

Outside of Maine Repositories

 * Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1819, so early Maine records are often found in Massachusetts repositories.

Allen County Public Library
Allen County Public Library 900 Library Plaza Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802 Telephone: 260-421-1225 E-mail: [mailto:genealogy@acpl.info genealogy@acpl.info] Internet: Genealogy Center ACPL


 * This is the second-largest genealogy collection in the United States and the largest genealogy collection in a public library. Its holdings include more than 350,000 printed volumes and 513,000 items on microfilm and microfiche. It has a premier genealogical periodical collection, local histories, genealogies, databases, military, censuses, directories, passenger lists, ethnic sources, and Canadians. They have a great eastern seaboard and Maine collection.

American Antiquarian Society
American Antiquarian Society 185 Salisbury Street Worcester, Massachusetts 01609-1634 Telephone: 508-755-5221 Fax: 508-753-3311 E-mail: [mailto:Library@americanantiquarian.org Library@americanantiquarian.org] Internet: American Antiquarian Society


 * Best known for its U.S. newspaper collection of over 18,000 bound volumes 1704-1820, history, genealogy, Bibles, maps, biography, directories, Native Americans, women, canals, railroads, photos, manuscripts. They have Maine vital records, newspapers, and town histories. One of the best genealogy centers in America.

Haverhill Public Library
Haverhill Public Library 99 Main Street Haverhill, Massachusetts 01830 Telephone: 978-373-1586 E-mail: [mailto:hpl-ref@mvlc.org hpl-ref@mvlc.org] Internet: Haverhill Public Library Special Collections


 * One of New England's largest collections of original manuscripts, books, genealogical periodicals, and surname folders, local history collection, genealogy databases, Massachusetts vital records to 1910, federal and state censuses, 9,000 New England town and family histories. Their collection of New England and Maine sources is larger than most.

Massachusetts Historical Society Library
Massachusetts Historical Society Library 1154 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts 02215-3695 Telephone: 617-536-1608 Fax: 617-859-0074 E-mail: Contact Us Internet: Massachusetts Historical Society


 * Excellent historical materials, original town records, and genealogies related to Maine. This collection does not repeat the New England Historic Genealogical Society collection.

Massachusetts State Archives
Massachusetts State Archives 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 Phone: (617) 727–2816 E-mail: [mailto:archives@sec.state.ma.us archives@sec.state.ma.us ] Internet: Massachusetts Archives Division


 * The Massachusetts Archives Index, also known as the Colonial Index, cites almost every early New England immigrant inlcuding those for Maine.

New England Historic Genealogical Society
New England Historic Genealogical Society 101 Newbury Street Boston, Massachusetts 02116-3007 Telephone: 617-536-5740; Library 617-226-1231 Fax:  617-536-7307 E-mail:  [mailto:info@nehgs.org info@nehgs.org] Internet: AmericanAncestors.org


 * Best overall collection for New England vital records and probates, and excellent collection for Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and Europe. The manuscript collection for members only has diaries, letters, account books, business papers, church and town records, sermons, maps, wills, deeds, unpublished town and family genealogies, photos, and papers of the region's best genealogists since 1850. The Maine collection has great detail on some early families, unpublished family histories, and many town and county histories.

For Further Reading

 * Maine State Archives, Public Record Repositories in Maine. (Augusta, Maine: Maine State Archives, 1972). ; 1983 online digital edition..
 * Maine (Directory of Historical Societies) in D'Addezio A Directory of Historical Societies in the United States, Canada and Australia online.
 * Usgennet.org Online Historical and Genealogical Societies of Maine.

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:
 * Maine State Archive Collections (FamilySearch Historical Records)