Penobscot County, Maine Genealogy

United States &gt; Maine &gt; Penobscot County

County Courthouse
97 Hammond Street Bangor, Maine 04401

History
THE ANCIENT PENOBSCOT, OR PANAWANSKEK

Parent County
Created 15 February 1816 from Hancock County.

Boundary Changes

 * 2 counties were created over the years:
 * Piscataquis County 23 March 1838.
 * Aroostook County 16 Mar 1839.
 * Maine was an exclave of Massachusetts until 1820, when as a result of the growing population and a political agreement regarding slavery; it became the 23rd state on March 15 under the Missouri Compromise. Penobscot County was created in 1816 from Hancock County.

Cities
Bangor is the third largest city in Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The first survey of the Bangor area was done between 1797 and 1801 by Park Holland. He included all of the lots of the first settlers. Each who settled before 1784 was to receive a lot of 100 acres for the price of $8.70 and each who settled after that date could purchase a lot of 100 acres for $100. The population in 1800 was 277 and over the next thirty years it would grow to about 8,000.

The second “garden cemetery” in the country, Mount Hope Cemetery, was opened in Bangor in 1834. April 30, 1911 is a day that forever changed Bangor. That is the day of the great fire. It began in a hay barn and because of high winds spread rapidly across the Kenduskeag and in the nine hours it raged, it destroyed over 100 buildings and 285 residences.

Neighboring Counties
Aroostook | Hancock | Piscataquis | Somerset | Waldo | Washington

Church
Few church records have been published or microfilmed for Maine, making them a major untapped source for genealogical research. No complete survey of what exists has been made, but the Congregational Church was the largest denomination and its records were usually quite comprehensive. According to John Frost, “Genealogy in Maine: A Pragmatic Approach,” Family History in the Northeast, vol. 1, Hartford ’83 Conference (Hartford, Conn.: Connecticut Society of Genealogists, 1983) records for over two dozen Congregational churches are located at Maine Historical Society, as well as thirteen Baptist, three Universalist, and ten Quaker meetings.

Literally hundreds more church records probably exist in various repositories or the churches themselves. The most likely genealogical material can be found in the lists of memberships with letters of admission or dismissal and the baptisms.

Court
An extensive array of courts has existed in Maine since the beginning of the settlements in the early 1600s. Jurisdictional changes are quite complicated. A detailed publication of the early records can be found in Province and Court Records of Maine, 6 vols. (Portland, Maine: Maine Historical Society, 1928), as well as on microfilm through the FHL. All of the original court records for York County are at Maine State Archives. Counties formed from York after 1760 (Cumberland and Lincoln) and 1789 (Washington) from York were also under Massachusetts jurisdiction, although these records appear not to have been microfilmed. Most extant court records to 1929 for all counties except Lincoln can be found at the Maine State Archives. Later court records after 1929 continue to be received by the archives. Lincoln County court records are at the courthouse in Wiscasset.

Before statehood, Maine’s court of appeals was the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature (1692–1780). This also served as the original court for some other cases such as murders. Records for this court are filled as “Suffolk Files” at the Massachusetts State Archives where they are indexed. The supreme judicial court replaced the superior court of judicature after 1780. According to the Massachusetts State Archives, their holdings include circuit court records for this court for Maine counties through 1793. Online access to some private held indexes to court records can be found through Maine GenWeb

Penobscot County Superior Court 78 Exchange Street, Bangor, ME 04401 Phone: 207-561-2300

Penobscot County District Court - Bangor 78 Exchange Street, Bangor, ME 04401 Phone: 207-561-2300

Penobscot County District Court - Lincoln 52 Main Street, Lincoln, ME 04457 Phone: 207-794-8512

Penobscot County District Court - Millinocket 207 Penobscot Ave. Millinocket, ME 04462 Phone: 207-723-4786

Penobscot County District Court - Newport 12 Water Street, Newport, ME 04953 Phone: 207-368-5778

Penobscot County Probate Court 97 Hammond Street, Bangor, Maine 04401 Phone: 207-942-8769 Fax: 207-941-8499 • Oct 2010: You are allowed to access our files except for adoptions after August 8, 1953 which are confidential. Our records cover the period of 1816 to present. Our office hours are 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. You do not need an appointment. We are open during the lunch hours. We are closed Thursday, November 11 and Thursday, November 25 and Friday November 26. Copies are $1 per page. • Maine Wills, 1650-1760 (1887), William Sargeant, reprint Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Company, 1972. • Maine Probate Abstracts, 1687-1800, John E. Frost, Salt Lake City: Microfilm Service Corp., 1986-87)

Land
Maine is a state-land state. Lands were generally acquired by proprietor grants, deeds from proprietors, or deeds from other individuals.

All deeds before 1737 have been transcribed and published in 18 volumes York Deeds 1642-1737 (Portland, ME: Maine Historical Society, 1887-1910).

Following the American Revolution, land was sold to help pay for the cost of the war in lotteries, tax sales, grants, patents and a few war grants. All original papers are held at the Massachusetts State Archives and they have been published in The Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder, vol 4-8. Between 1824 and 1891 the Maine Land Office took over the task of land distribution, records are located at the Maine State Archives (maps, field notes and deeds starting 1794 as Massachusetts deeds). A brochure entitled "Land Office Records in the Maine State Archives" is available from the archives. Land grant applications from the Revolutionary War are also available.

Land transactions are recorded at the county level and are available in the county deed office. PENOBSCOT COUNTY REGISTRY OF DEEDS (note that many deeds are also online)

SUSAN F. BULAY REGISTER OF DEEDS 97 Hammond St Bangor, ME 04401 (207) 942-8797

Military
• 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.

Vital Records
Vital records are also kept by town clerks or selectmen. Although some towns have existed since the 1650s, most vital records date from about 1700. The vital statistics are often arranged by family. Before 1892, records of births, marriages, and deaths were kept by the towns and cities of Maine. Some municipalities kept good records, some kept no records, and some kept adequate records only to have them lost to fire, flood, or storage in private homes. The information on these municipal records is in most cases sparser than found on more modern records. Marriages and deaths, for example, rarely listed parents' names or the parties' places of birth. When, in the 1920's, the State requested copies of pre-1892 vital records from the towns, only about 80 towns responded (these records are available at the Maine State Archives).The Maine State Archives holds original vitals from 1892-1922 and microfilmed records from 1922-1955 including a bride’s index (1892-present), groom’s index (1956-present) and a death index (1955-present).

Maine State Archives: http://www.state.me.us/sos/arc/research/homepage.html, Maine State Archives, LMA Building, State House Station 84, Augusta, ME 04333, To contact staff for questions regarding their holdings, email the Research Room or by phone at (207) 287-5795. Online indexes are available for marriages (1892-1996, excluding 1967-1976) and deaths (1960-96).

Maine State Archives is the state’s official repository for state governmental records, beginning with 1639 court records and including many war and genealogical records for the state. In addition it holds all census records, adjutant general’s records, most court records, Maine land office records, a few county marriage returns, and the updated microfilm collection of extant Maine town records. Researchers will find the Maine Historical Records Repository Guide on the Maine State Archives website

Vital record copies may be obtained from: Maine Department of Human Services Office of Data Research and Vital Statistics 244 Water Street 11 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333 Telephone: (207) 287-3181 Toll Free: 1-888-664-9491 e-mail: lorraine.wilson@maine.gov http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/boh/phs/odrvs/vital-records/index.shtml

The Vital Records Unit located at 244 Water Street in Augusta, is available to take walk in requests. There is a 24 hour turnaround time for all requests made in person. You will be given a choice to have your records mailed to you, or you can pick them up the following business day.

Penobscot County Clerk 97 Hammond Street Bangor, ME 04401 (207) 942-8535

Bangor birth, death and marriage copies are available for $7.00 each from:

City Clerk 73 Harlow Street Bangor, ME 04401 Info: (207) 945-4400 Fax: (207) 945-4449

Societies and Libraries
Penobscot County Genealogical Society http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mepcgs/

Society founded in 2002, site lists several volunteers who will assist with local research gratis (or copying fees), the membership year runs October 1st - September 30th, and dues are $10.00 for an individual membership or $15.00 for a family membership.

The Penobscot County Genealogical Society meets on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 6:00 p.m. Meetings are held at the Bangor Public Library.

A newsletter is published every other month (October, December, February, April, June and August). It included meeting news, queries, research tips, member experiences with research (both successes and disappointments), genealogical website recommendations, announcements of other society events, and much more. Earlier newsletters 2002-2009 are published on their website in .pdf format. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mepcgs/newsletter/newsletter.htm

University of Maine at Orono Raymond H. Folger Library Special Collections Dept. Orono, ME 04469 www.library.umaine.edu

In addition to focusing heavily on Orono, the collection has state, county, and town histories as well as special collections of various Maine families.

Web Sites

 * The Penobscot County MEGenWeb Project, an member of The MEGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Penobscot County
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project for Penobscot County (backup site)
 * Family History Library catalog for Penobscot County
 * There is a very good article for Maine, Nicholas Noyes and Jamie Kingman Rice, "A Guide to Genealogical Research in Maine", New England Ancestors, Summer 2008, 19-25. It is available through PERSI and on the NEHGS website (available to members only): http://www.newenglandancestors.org/publications/nea_nea_summer2008_vol9_3_toc.asp
 * History of Penobscot County, Maine 1882; with illustrations: http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028809576ca