Maine, State Archive Collections - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
The records in this collection are for the years 1636 to 1964

Record Description
The collection includes the following various county records:


 * Military 1775 to 1865
 * Naturalization and citizenship 1790 to 1913
 * Court 1636 to 1929
 * Land 1794 to 1964

Most of the records are military records and are handwritten on preprinted forms.

Record Content
The records generally include the following information:


 * Date of the event, transaction, or recording with the county
 * Names of individual, witnesses, family members, sometimes neighbors
 * Ages
 * Relationships
 * Residences
 * Occupations
 * Signature or mark
 * Legal descriptions of land
 * Amount of money exchanged as part of business transactions.

How to Use the Record
Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the index. Name indexes make it possible to access a specific record quickly. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

When searching the index it is helpful to know the following:


 * The type of event.
 * The place where the event occurred.
 * The approximate date the event occurred.
 * The name of the individual or individuals such as the names of the soldier, the deceased, or grantor and grantees.

Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the records. Some on-line indexes, such as indexes to FamilySearch Historical Records, will take you directly to an image. Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example:


 * Use the age to calculate a birth date.
 * Use the names, ages and residence church and census records.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as military records.
 * The name of the officiator at a christening, marriage, or burial may be a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county.
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom, this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been born, married, or died in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

Keep in mind:


 * The information in the records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of individual counties nearby states.

Record History
The Maine State Archives maintains the state and local records considered to be permanently valuable.

Why this Record Was Created
The individual records were made to establish legal rights and to help track the population for health and taxation purposes. The state collection was created to insure that the records are retained and archived properly.

Record Reliability
The information is generally reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant. Some transcription errors may have occurred.

Related Websites
Maine State Archives

Maine State Library

Related Wiki Articles
Maine Archives and Libraries

Maine Vital Records Index (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Maine Military Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections, including how to cite individual archives is found in the following link: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections Create a link to the wiki article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection:

 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71


 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023