Maine Colonial Records

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United States

U.S. Colonial Records

Maine

Colonial Records

Online Records

Many records from the colonial era in New England were kept at the town or county level. Search the catalog at the town or county level to locate those records.

History

The first settlement in Maine occurred in 1607 by the British, although permanent settlements were not found until the 1620s. Maine was originally part of the Popham Colony and later part of the Plymouth Colony. In 1639, the Province and County of Maine were charted, and in 1658 The Province of Maine was formed and the County of Yorkshire. In 1664, part of Northern Maine was granted to the Duke of York and Cornwall County was formed. In 1677, the "Georges Rights" of Maine were purchased by Massachusetts, and Maine was generally called York County. In 1716, Maine became York County in Massachusetts, and later the district of Maine before becoming a state in 1820.

Resources

Because all of Maine was previously part of Massachusetts, court records are available in both Maine and Massachusetts.

• Province and Court Records of Maine, (Portland: Maine Historical Society, 1928-75, fiche, 6046855).
• York Deeds [1642-1737], 18 Vols., (Portland: John T. Hull, 1887-1910, fiche 6056839).
• Suffolk County, Massachusetts Court Files, 1629-1797 by Suffolk County Massachusetts Court, film 0909879. Digital images online at FamilySearch. This collection contains records for Cumberland, Lincoln, Hancock, and Washington Counties in Maine, 1734-1797.
• Maine Family Records: Miscellaneous Papers and Genealogies, (film 0010375 ff). Original records are located at the Maine Historical Society in Portland, Maine.
• Maine Probate Abstracts by John E. Frost, 2 Vols., (Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1991, fiche 6332995).
• Maine Wills, 1640-1760 by William M. Sargent, (1887, Reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1972, fiche 6046701).
• Collections of the Maine Historical Society, (Portland: The Society, 1831-1906).
  

• First Series, 10 Vols., (film 0844654 ff).
  
• Second Series, 10 Vols., (film 0844654 ff).
  
• Third Series, 2 Vols., (film 0844659 ff).
  

• The Baxter Manuscript by James Phinney Baxter, (Portland: Maine Historical Society, 1889-1916, film 0599177).
• Maine at Louisbourg in 1745 by Henry Sweetser Burrage, (Augusta: Burleigh and Flynt, 1910, film 1035530).
• The Eastern Frontier: The Settlement of Northern New England, 1610-1763 by Charles E. Clark, (1970, reprint, Hanover, NH: university Press of New England, 1983).
• Maine Genealogy: A Bibliographical Guide by John E. Frost, 2nd ed., (Portland: Maine Historical Society, 1985).
• Maine Families in 1790 by Ruth Gray, (Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1988-1994).
• Microfilm List: Maine Town Records and Maine Census Records by Maine State Archives, (n.p., 1965, film 1036379).
• The Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire 1623 to 1660: A Descriptive List Drawn from Records of the Colonies, Towns, Churches, Courts and Other Contemporary Sources by Charles Henry Pope, (1908, reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965, fiche 6049825).
• Public Record Repositories in Maine, (Augusta: Maine State Archives, 1986, film 1036235).
• Pioneers on Maine Rivers with Lists to 1651 by Wilbur D. Spencer, (1930, reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1973, film 1307614).

Maine Land Office

Original records are at the Maine State Archives in Augusta, Maine.

• Massachusetts Land Agent Deeds, 1794-1860, (film 0010248 ff). Some digital images online at FamilySearch.
• Record of Deeds of the Land Office of Maine, 1824-1861, (film 0010238 ff). Digital images online at FamilySearch.

Tax Records

• Maine Tax Valuations, 1760-1811, various years (film 0959904 ff). Digital images online at FamilySearch. Originals are at the Maine State Archives in Augusta, Maine.
• Direct Tax Census of 1798, (film 0940072 ff).

Town and Church Records

In most New England towns, colonial records were kept at the town level. In order to find these records, search at the town level. Many of these records are kept locally at the town clerk's office, at the county clerk, or at the State Archives.