Friday, October 3, 2008

Wawenoc News

The Wawenoc Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society, which is sponsored by the BFL, is working on recording early Waldo and Knox County families for inclusion in the Maine Families in 1790 project. Here you see Joyce Julian, and group president, Roger Sprague, using BFL resources to gather information for their entries. The purpose of this book project, being produced by the MGS, is to record all Maine families that were included in the first federal census of 1790. 9 volumes have been produced thus far (available in the Special Collections area) and #10 is in the works. Entries in the books must include complete vital information (with documented proof) of each listed person their parents and their children, thus providing 3 generations of accurate, proven family information. The result is a great source of reliable information for people doing research of early Maine families. In order to prove information included in an entry, group members must find primary vital record documents such as birth, marriage, or death certificates, or reliable records kept in town or county offices, many of which have been published and are available in the library. Other primary resources that provide information include deeds, probate records, military records, cemetery and funeral home records and personal records, such as diaries and family bibles. If you are interested in becoming involved in this project, feel free to join us at our next meeting on Wednesday, November 19, at 2:00 p.m. on the third floor. For more information, contact me at bparadis@belfastlibrary.org or 338-3884 ext. 25 or go to the MGS site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs/families.htm.