All posts by Alyssa True

About Alyssa True

Alyssa True, library assistant, joined the NEHGS staff in 2011. She received a B.S. and a B.A. from Boston University and is currently completing her M.S. in library science, with a concentration in archives management, from Simmons College. Alyssa’s interests include Maine and lineage societies.

Maine deeds online: a rich resource

American History, Collections, News, Research Methods, , ,
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The deed naming Moses True as the son of Winthrop True (and grandson of Israel True). Image courtesy of Cumberland County Registry of Deeds

A happy discovery in my genealogical research was the online availability of deeds for the state of Maine. The Maine Registers of Deeds Association provides links to each Maine county website. Users can download up to 500 pages per calendar year for free. As Lindsay Fulton wrote in her April post 8 More Vital Record Alternatives, deeds are often an acceptable source for proving specific relationships between family members. And if you haven’t gone hog wild and used up your quota already, you can stay in during this snowy end of the year downloading just about every mention of your Maine ancestors in these deeds.

The site for Cumberland County is a particularly rich example of this resource’s offerings. While other counties may only have a few decades of digitized deeds, Cumberland County has put up online records from 1753 to December 2015! Furthermore, it is especially valuable for Cumberland County researchers, as probate records for this area before the 1908 fire in Portland are (ahem) toast. Deeds for this county are currently not online at FamilySearch nor are they available on microfilm at NEHGS. Continue reading Maine deeds online: a rich resource →

Choosing a Lineage Society

Lineage Societies
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Program of the Boston Tea Party Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Photo by Karen M. True.

So you’ve decided to join a lineage society. Maybe you’ve found an ancestor who meets the qualification for a society you’ve known about for years. Or possibly you’ve just found out about a society that sounds really interesting and you want to join. Either way, deciding to join a lineage society is just the first in a series of decisions about your membership.  Continue reading Choosing a Lineage Society →