Maine, State Archive Collections - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Maine 

What is in the Collection?
The collection includes various county records, most are military records. The collection is located at the Maine State Archives. The records cover the years 1718-1957.

Coverage Table
The Coverage Table shows the record types and time periods covered. Most of the records in the collection are from the time periods listed in the table; however, the collection may have a few records from before or after the time period.

Collection Content
Civil War Cards of Maine include the following information:


 * Name, age, rank and company of soldier
 * Whether service was in the infantry, cavalry, or heavy artillery
 * Birth place and current residence
 * Marital status
 * Physical description
 * Date of enlistment
 * Date and reason for leaving service
 * Record of previous service

Maine Draft Cards required the following information:


 * Name, age and current residence
 * Date and place of birth
 * Race, occupation and marital status

World War I Military Records include the following information:


 * Name and residence
 * Date and place of birth
 * Rank and military unit
 * Marital status
 * Date and place where soldier entered military service
 * Date and place where soldier left military service
 * Person to be notified in case of an emergency

Enlistment Lists of Volunteers included the following information:


 * Name and age
 * Date of enlistment
 * Residence and occupation
 * Marital status
 * Additional remarks, comments

How Do I Search the Collection?
The records in this collection are arranged by type of record and then by date. To begin searching these records you need to know the following:


 * The name of the individual or individuals such as the names of the soldier, the deceased, or grantor and grantees
 * Identifying information such as the date and place of the event

To search the collection by name: Fill in the requested information on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "State, County, Town" category ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Category" category ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Description" category which takes you to the images.

Look at each image. Again you will need to compare the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor.

Be aware that with either search you may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips.

What Do I Do Next?
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. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors. The following examples show ways you can use the information:


 * Use the age to calculate a birth date.
 * Use the names, ages and residence church and census records.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been in the same area.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, Now What?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the records of nearby localities.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals with the same family number.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation