Maine Archives and Libraries

These archives, libraries, societies, and museums preserve sources, maintain indexes, and provide services to help genealogists document their ancestors who lived in Maine. Remember, Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1819, so early Maine records are often found in Massachusetts repositories.

Wiki Articles on Major Repositories for Maine
Allen County Public Library (Ft. Wayne IN)· American Antiquarian Society (Worcester MA)· Bangor Public Library· Farmington Public Library· Haverhill Public Library MA· Maine Franco-American Genealogical Society· Maine Historical Society· Maine State Archives· Maine State Library· Maine Vital Records Office· Massachusetts Historical Society (Boston MA)· Massachusetts State Archives (Boston MA)· National Archives at Boston (Waltham MA)· New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston MA)· Penobscot Marine Museum· Skidompha Public Library· University of Maine Fogler Library

Online Records of Maine
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National Archives at Boston
380 Trapelo Road Waltham, MA 02452-6399 Phone: (781) 663-0130 Fax: (781) 663-0154 Website [mailto:waltham.archives@nara.gov/ Email] {| style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
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Maine Franco-Amercian Geneal Society
Maine Franco-Amercian Genealogical Society Library Fortin Group Funeral Home (2nd Floor) 217 Turner Street Auburn, ME 04210 Telephone: 207-786-3327


 * Over 1,700 volumes including marriage repertoires from Canada, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, the Loiselle Marriage Index of 520 Catholic parishes in Québec from mid-1600s to 1960, computers, books, microfiche, census indexes, Maine marriages 1892-1966, and local obituaries.


 * Maine Historical Society Brown Library.jpg

Maine Historical Society Brown Library
489 Congress Street Portland, ME 04101 Telephone 207-774–1822 Fax 207-775–4301 Website [mailto:info@mainehistory.org/ Email]
 * They have a very good collection for genealogists including 100,000 books, and 2 million manuscript pages from the 1400s to the present. They also provide in-library online access to NewEnglandAncestors.org, Ancestry Library, HeritageQuest™ Online, and the Proquest Digital Sanborn Maps of Maine.


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Maine State Archives
84 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-0084 Telephone: 207-287-5790 Fax: 207-287-5517 Website
 * Original records from all Maine counties, towns, and plantations. A wiki article describing this collection is found at Maine State Archive Collections (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Memory Networks'''Including letters,photographs, maps and much more.

Maine State Library
64 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333 Telephone: 207-287-5600 Fax: 207-287-5624 Website There are boundary changes, rivers, maps, oral histories, and town/plantation records. This is the best genealogical repository in Maine.

Maine Vital Records Office
220 Capitol Street 11 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0011 Telephone: 207-287-3181 or 888-664-9491 toll free
 * Maine Vital Records collects records statewide of births, deaths, marriages, and divorces from 1892 to present, issuing certified copies on request. There are three ways to request their copies:
 * Walk-in request with payment by cash or check
 * Written request through the mail with payment by check or money order, or
 * Online request (for an extra fee) with payment by credit card through the independent company VitalChek Maine.
 * Some local plantation or town records may also include BMD vital records before 1892.

Bangor Public Library
Bangor Room 145 Harlow Street Bangor, ME 04401 Telephone: 207-947-8336 Fax 207-945-6694 Website [mailto:info@bangorpubliclibrary.org/ Email]
 * Genealogical and historical references for Bangor, the Penobscot Valley, the state of Maine, and the entire region of New England. They have censuses, Maine Register town histories, the Bangor Daily News Index, county histories, family records and research, genealogy handbooks, Bangor city directories, military histories, passenger lists, and scanned photos. They also provide free access to Ancestry Library and HeritageQuest Online.



Farmington Public Library
117 Academy Street Farmington, ME 04938 Telephone: 207-778-4312 Website [mailto:jenscott@farmington.lib.me.us/ Email]
 * The Genealogy Room has over 1,700 works: town histories, published and unpublished family histories, local newspapers, Ancestry.com access, vital records, and cemetery transcripts.



Penobscot Marine Museum
Stephen Phillips Memorial Library 11 Church Street (PO Box 498) Searsport, Maine 04974 Telephone: 207-548-2529 ext.212 Website [mailto:cgood@pmm-maine.org/ Email]


 * Their collection includes an important biographical index of Maine people. They also have records of shipping companies, ship registers, logbooks, and journals.



Skidompha Public Library
Lincoln County Genealogy and History Center 184 Main Street (PO Box 70) Damariscotta, Maine 04543 Telephone: 207-563-5513 [mailto:skid@msln.net/ Email] Website
 * Their genealogy and local history collection is outstanding.[3] It is strongest for Lincoln County, but also includes other areas of Maine, New England, US, Canada, and other countries. They have cemetery records, local ships and shipbuilding, maps, periodicals, scrapbooks, vertical files, some Lincoln County vital records, the Maine 1790 Census, town histories, 257 family histories/genealogies, military records from the Revolutionary War and Civil War, local history researchers' notes, and local history newspaper clippings. The library computers can be used to access Ancestry.com.[1]



University of Maine Fogler Library
Orono, ME 04469-5729 Telephone: 207-581-1661 Fax: 207-581-1653 Website
 * They have excellent collections about early Maine settlers, fisheries, Acadians, ships, and shipping companies.[2] Their Special Collections is dedicated to Maine related material including printed bibliographical, historical, and descriptive works about Maine's cities, towns, counties, her people and institutions.[3] This library is a regional United States government document depository, and collects selected Canadian and United Nations documents as well.

Outside of Maine Repositories
Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1819, so early Maine records are often found in Massachusetts repositories.

Allen County Public Library
900 Library Plaza Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802 Telephone: 260-421-1225 Website [mailto:genealogy@acpl.info/ Email]
 * This is the second-largest genealogy collection in the United States and the largest genealogy collection in a public library. Its holdings include more than 350,000 printed volumes and 513,000 items on microfilm and microfiche. It has a premier genealogical periodical collection, local histories, genealogies, databases, military, censuses, directories, passenger lists, ethnic sources, and Canadians. They have a great eastern seaboard and Maine collection.

American Antiquarian Society
185 Salisbury Street Worcester, Massachusetts 01609-1634 Telephone: 508-755-5221 Fax: 508-753-3311 Website [mailto:Library@americanantiquarian.org/ Email]
 * Best known for its U.S. newspaper collection of over 18,000 bound volumes 1704-1820, history, genealogy, Bibles, maps, biography, directories, Native Americans, women, canals, railroads, photos, manuscripts. They have Maine vital records, newspapers, and town histories. One of the best genealogy centers in America.

Haverhill Public Library
99 Main Street Haverhill, Massachusetts 01830 Telephone: 978-373-1586 Website [mailto:hpl-ref@mvlc.org/ Email]
 * One of New England's largest collections of original manuscripts, books, genealogical periodicals, and surname folders, local history collection, genealogy databases, Massachusetts vital records to 1910, federal and state censuses, 9,000 New England town and family histories. Their collection of New England and Maine sources is larger than most.

Massachusetts Historical Society Library
1154 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts 02215-3695 Telephone: 617-536-1608 Fax: 617-859-0074 Website Email
 * Excellent historical materials, original town records, and genealogies related to Maine. This collection does not repeat the New England Historic Genealogical Society collection.

Massachusetts State Archives
220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, Massachusetts 02125 Phone: (617) 727–2816 Website [mailto:archives@sec.state.ma.us/ Email]
 * The Massachusetts Archives Index, also known as the Colonial Index, cites almost every early New England immigrant inlcuding those for Maine.

New England Historic Genealogical Soc
New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) 101 Newbury Street Boston, Massachusetts 02116-3007 Telephone: 617-536-5740; Library 617-226-1231 Fax:  617-536-7307 info@nehgs.org] Website [mailto:info@nehgs.org/ Email]
 * Best overall collection for New England vital records and probates, and excellent collection for Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and Europe. The manuscript collection for members only has diaries, letters, account books, business papers, church and town records, sermons, maps, wills, deeds, unpublished town and family genealogies, photos, and papers of the region's best genealogists since 1850. The Maine collection has great detail on some early families, unpublished family histories, and many town and county histories.

Family History Centers
Some of the above collections are partially duplicated at the Family History Library and its branch Family History Centers around the world. Most centers can help you by: There are several centers located in Maine, for example:
 * Giving you limited, personal, one-on-one research suggestions (but they do not do research for you)
 * Providing access to genealogical records through the premium online Internet FHC Portal for free.
 * Offering free how-to classes (varies by location)
 * Fostering contact between genealogical enthusiasts
 * Bangor Maine Family History Center 639 Grandview Ave Bangor, Maine USA Telephone: 207-942-7677
 * Each center is staffed by volunteers and has varying hours and services. Telephone in advance to verify their hours.

To locate one of these 4,500 centers in your own neighborhood, see Find a Family History Center.

For Further Reading

 * Maine State Archives, Public Record Repositories in Maine. (Augusta, Maine: Maine State Archives, 1972). ; 1983 online digital edition..
 * Maine (Directory of Historical Societies) in D'Addezio A Directory of Historical Societies in the United States, Canada and Australia online.
 * Usgennet.org Online Historical and Genealogical Societies of Maine.

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:
 * Maine State Archive Collections (FamilySearch Historical Records)