In 24 years of reporting and editing for the Bangor Daily News, my favorite story to write was certainly the interview I did with my dad, Gayland A. Moore Jr., for the 50th anniversary of the 1944 Battle of Leyte in World War II. He died in 2002, but his ...

Happy Mother’s Day this coming weekend. And Happy Mother’s Mother’s Day. And Happy Mother’s Mother’s Mother’s Day… As a genealogist, I certainly do mean that, and what a great opportunity to give more thought to our foremothers. Let’s just start by thinking of the female lines of the mothers who ...

Machias is preparing for a week of activities to mark its 250th anniversary this year, starting with the popular Margaretta Days Festival and Craft Fair, sponsored by Machias Historical Society on Saturday, June 15, on the mall at the University of Maine at Machias. The Battle of the Margaretta was ...

I would guess that there aren’t as many lineage societies now as there were during the year of our country’s Bicentennial in 1976, but there still are plenty. In this corner of the United States, the best-known include the Mayflower Society, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of ...

Last week, we shared information from the Civil War pension application of Daniel M. Wescott of Maine and Vermont, a veteran of the Battle at Gettysburg who filed a Declaration for Original Invalid Pension on Nov. 27, 1884, in Bangor. According to a pedigree chart filled out in the early ...

What would really kindle your interest in searching for a Civil War veteran on your family tree? Finding out that he served at the Battle of Gettysburg? Then keep reading if you’re related to Daniel M. Wescott of Maine — or Daniel M. Wescott of Vermont. They’re the same person. ...

For many of those climbing their family tree, vital records may seem the most important resource, or, if they are lucky, a carefully kept Bible record or family record. I certainly value those highly, but there is a special place in my heart for the U.S. census, which has been ...

If you have Acadian forebears, you will want to know the name Stephen A. White, widely respected for his two-volume “Dictionnaire Genealogique des Familles Acadiennes,” published in 1999 as a project of the University of Moncton’s Centre d’Etudes Acadienne, or Center for Acadian Studies. The resource covers 1636-1714. My husband’s ...

Blanchard, Carver, Colcord, Eaton, Ford, Griffin, McGilvery, Nichols, Nickels and Pendleton are among the Searsport sea captains you will find on the Penobscot Marine Museum’s larger and newly designed history website, “Penobscot Bay History Online,” at penobscotmarinemuseum.org/pbho-1/. The updated website offers even more museum resources for researchers and educators, including ...

The Maine Tourism Council has announced that “Originality” will be the theme of its marketing campaign this year, according to a front page story in the BDN on Feb. 1. The council and Maine businesses also want to build on the fact that last year, “day-trippers” accounted for $1.2 billion ...

Might actress Cate Blanchett include Eagle Lake in her 2014 vacation plans to meet her Blanchette cousins? Would famed Yankee pitcher Ron Guidry seek out his Acadian cousins at a gathering in Van Buren? Will the Doucette brothers who are the mainstay of Cajun music group Beausoleil feel the pull ...

A recent busy day with four of my grandchildren had me thinking about great-great-aunt Lucy (Given) Baker, a relative I never met because she died on Dec. 28, 1918, in Millinocket. Her death certificate cites influenza, leading to bronchial pneumonia. The official count of Mainers killed by the 1918 influenza ...

Any genealogist will tell you that one of the most rewarding things that can happen is for one of your family members to show an interest in your shared ancestry. Before my niece, Stephanie Taylor, married Andrew Zimmerman, she told me that she would like to have as a wedding ...