What Our Members are Working On
Our members
are doing many wonderful things with genealogy. Below is a list of
some of our members, with links to a brief description of something
they are currently working on, or have accomplished.
Just click on a name to learn more!Linda R. (Zeaman) Aaskov
Diane Dellamano Brakeley
Pam Eagleson
Janice Gower
Jerry Gower
William Cabot Haskell
Lois Wardwell Knight
Carol McCoy
Roland E Rhoades IV
Nancy Vachon
Linda R. (Zeaman) Aaskov, 2012 GPCMGS Secretary
I was born in Waterville,
Maine the oldest of three children, moved to the West End of Portland at the
age of nine. My home was where the Reiche School is now
located. I graduated Portland High School & married my high school sweetheart.
I
had a curious mind, often asking my Grandparents who this
person was and who were they related to. I always visited several cemeteries
with my Grandparents and read the headstones with great interest. My
Grandparents are no longer living so I have carried on the family tradition
of caring for the cemeteries
in Fairfield and Clinton where family members are
buried. In doing my family research I found that my maiden name is actually
spelled ZEMAN, but within the family there are several variations of the
name all claiming they are correct. My research lines are Zeman,Decker,
Crockett, Tucker, Worcester, Carroll, Patience, Boston (Baston), Aaskov,
Campbell and Milligan. As past Genealogical Chair of the Mount Desert
Island DAR Chapter I copied numerous cemeteries throughout the state and
they are printed and bound and are in the Augusta State Library, Bangor
Public Library and I believe the Maine Historical Society. I submitted a
family sketch to the first 1790 project and hope to submit some/one for the
next volume out.
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Diane Dellamano Brakeley, GPCMGS Webmaster
I was born in Portland, Maine, but all
of my grandparent’s were born outside of the US, so my research
focuses on Italy and Nova Scotia.
Italy is my favorite. Last summer,
a relative visited me from Dervio, Italy (Lake Como). He had found me through my
Dellamano Web site. When he returned to Italy, he was able to locate an
engraving of a hand in a wall that I had only read about. The wall is located near where
my grandfather was born, and is now in someone’s private lemon garden. Dellamano means
“of the hand” in Italian, and this hand, engraved in a 10th century wall, is believed to
be an
early record of my family and their coat of arms. I doubt that I could have ever
found it on
my own! Don’t you love genealogy?
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Pam Stone Eagleson, CGSM
Genealogy is my passion and I feel
fortunate to be able to follow it wherever it takes me. I teach, lecture and write and enjoy
mentoring beginning genealogists. Dividing my time between personal research focusing on the
mid-Atlantic, mid-West and Germany; and client work in New England, I utilize the resources
of several Maine, New England and national repositories.
I have contributed to the Maine Families in
1790 series and participate on a limited scale in the Cumberland County Deed Indexing Project.
I regularly attend local and national conferences and institutes (NIGR, IGHR, SLIG) and also
serve on the Board of the Association of Professional Genealogists representing the Northeast.
I contribute articles to different genealogical publications (my article The Art, Trade and Mystery
of a Mariner: Captain William Greenway of Philadelphia, Mariner and Patriot won the 2004 NGS
Family History Writing Contest) and am now working on a compiled genealogy of the descendants
of Thomas Stone (d. 1791) of Prince William County Virginia. I also co-administrator of the
Stone Surname DNA project. For more information on my personal genealogy and projects check out
my website home.roadrunner.com/~peagleson.
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Janice Gower
I am a Maine native with
ancestors in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Nova Scotia, Canada
and England.
In 1995 I compiled and self printed a small genealogy titled Tallman Bradbury
Lowell 1805-1870 And His Descendants. He is on my mother’s side of the family.
Sure would have it better documented if doing it again.
I am a member of the Maine Genealogical Society. I served as MGS secretary for 6 years and am
now serving as one of the directors.
I have written many sketches for the Maine Families in 1790 series and am working on more. I also
have had a bible record and a few little fillers on ear marks and deeds printed in The Maine Genealogist.
I have submitted gravestone photos and transcriptions for gravestones.
earlymaine.org gravestone photo project and findagrave. Along with my husband Jerry, I have
cleaned, repaired and reset many gravestones in various cemeteries in Maine.
Jerry and I have also given a few genealogical presentations to various MGS chapters and the Oxford LDS c
hurch including those on census research, deeds and how to do a Maine Families in 1790 sketch.
I have exhibited my genealogical notebooks and Woolwich material at the Taconnett Genealogical Fairs
and helped with "How to write a Maine Family in 1790 Sketch" workshops at Taconnett.
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Jerry Gower
Jerry Gower devotes much of his genealogical research to the Maine
Families
in 1790 project of the Maine Genealogical Society, to which he has
contributed
over 130 family sketches. He has additionally authored several problem
solving articles for the Maine Genealogist since 2000. In 2007 Jerry
was appointed as one of the four contributing editors of The Maine
Genealogist.
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William Cabot Haskell, 2012 GPCMGS Vice-President
I was born in Portland, Maine
and grew up in New Gloucester, Maine. My 5th great grandfather, Jacob Haskell, was born on 27 Oct
1718 in Gloucester, Massachusetts and moved to New Gloucester, Maine sometime in the
mid-1700’s. I have yet to find Jacob’s death date, but have evidence that he was still
living in New Gloucester around 1778. Two more generations also lived in New Gloucester
(Eliphalet and Amos) and both are buried in the Lower Village Cemetery.
My grandmother,
Grace Ware (Holbrook) Haskell compiled the genealogies for the Haskell and Holbrook
lines and I am in the process of entering her data into The Master Genealogist and
documenting sources. My maternal line needs some attention and I hope to get to that soon.
Some of the surnames that I am researching on my paternal line include: Haskell, Owen,
Johnson, Woodman, Merrill, McIntire, Holbrook, Goodhue, Cabot, Brooks, Knowlton and Nourse.
Surnames on my maternal line include: Ackerman, Pearson, McKenzie and Adams.
One of my favorite artifacts
that was passed down is a cross-stitch sampler created by my 4th cousin
Charlotte Bennett Haskell in 1830
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Lois Wardwell Knight, 2013 GPCMGS Secretary
I grew up in Stockholm, Maine, graduating from Caribou High School. My mother’s family is from Sweden. My mother’s father (Morfar) immigrated in 1903 when he was 6 years old to New Sweden, Maine. There was the Maine Swedish Colony there (an older brother & sister were there) – started in 1871 when W.W. Thomas, who was from Portland, Maine and was the Swedish wartime consul for President Lincoln, persuaded 51 strong, healthy Swedish people to emigrate to Amerika.
I’ve always been interested in genealogy, hearing stories of Great-Uncle Cy Wardwell from my Dad. I started researching my mother’s side as she had been contacted by a man in Sweden who was doing research on the town of Berg, Smaland, Sweden where my grand-father was from. My sister, Carol & I were able to take Mom to Sweden in July 2007 to meet her 3rd cousins, whom she had been corresponding with for 10 years. Since then, the cousin’s family have been here twice (2008 & 2012). My husband and I were able to go back in 2010.
The Swedish families that I have been researching in the families of Sven Nilsson Rask (Quist family); Magnus & Svenborg Abrahamson; Johan Klingman; and Anders & Ingrid Ek. I belong to the Swedish Ancestors Research Association which is based in Massachusetts.
I have also started doing research on my husband’s family. The Knight family that was from the Hollis/Buxton area and the Burgess family from Sandwich, Mass.
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Carol Prescott McCoy, Ph. D., 2088-2009 President
Carol Prescott McCoy, Ph.D., past-president of the Greater
Portland Chapter of the MGS, has her
own genealogical research firm, Find-Your-Roots based in Yarmouth, Maine.
She helps people to find their ancestors and also gives talks and workshops on genealogy.
She is currently leading the Greater Portland MGS Chapter's project to index the early deeds of
Cumberland County Maine. She will be giving talks on how to research using deeds and also using the
census, strategies for researching New England Ancestors, and a case study on The Maine-Canada-Ireland
Connection: Finding Rogers' Roots. For her schedule or to seek her assistance,
please visit
www.find-your-roots.com or call her at 207-847-3271.
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Roland E. Rhoades IV, UCG, 2010-2011 President
I'm a native Mainer, born in Gardiner,
and most of my ancestors have been in Maine for many generations, which has made tracing my tree
much easier. I also have some foreigners coming from Quebec, New Brunswick, and Sweden, and even
NH and MA. I currently live in Gorham with wife Cyndy and two cats.
I was always interested in my
family history and began my actual researching in 1980, spending a week at a time with my grandmother
Boudway/Rhoades in Farmingdale and spending all day at the State Archives and Library. I'm proud
of my UCG title, Un-Certified Genealogist (like everyone else). I have run into many brick walls,
but also solved many of them years later. I have occasionally written articles for genealogy newsletters.
One of my problem lines was my LEAVITT line in Cambridge Maine, so I joined and later became President
of the National Assn of Leavitt Families 2005-2009, and became their Genealogist in 2009. I collect
everything Leavitt and offer free help with Leavitt families anywhere.
Likewise collecting many FRENCH
families finally tracing back to Edward French of Salisbury, I became a co-founder and President of the
French Family Assn in the 1980s. I've been an MGS member since 1984 and was a founding member of the
York Co Genealogy Society in 1986, along with chapter member Linda Aaskov. I also volunteer with MOCA,
compiling all the Cambridge cemeteries and posting on my website with photos, along with others
scattered across the state, and am transcribing the Cambridge town records. I am also compiling
every-name genealogies of my other main families on my website, including STINNEFORD of Wells and
northward, MORGRAGE/MORGRIDGE of Kittery and northward, RHOADES, FLAGG of Northport/Belmont area,
SAFFORD of Dexter, BOARDWAY of Orono, and others. I have also traced back to five Mayflower passengers.
The photo is of me hugging my newly discovered
gggg-grandmother in 2009, Sarah Carter Walls Wilkins
1782-1858 in Cambridge. Her re-marriage made her go undiscovered without in-depth research.
My website is
www.RolandRhoades.com.
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Nancy Vachon
My Great-Great-Grandfather Samuel Paine Blake (Dec. 31, 1803 - Sept. 10, 1882)
Samuel Paine Blake was a Methodist Minister in Maine.
He traveled through out the state and all nine of his children were born in various towns during his career.
Some of the towns he ministered in were; Bath, Industry, Nobleboro, Skowhegan, Fairfield, Corinna,
Dresden, and Rumford. He was one of the first (if not the first) minister on Chebeague Island and his
wife Sarah W. Mc Donald from Bath (1805-1865) died when they lived there. He kept a short diary/log
while on Chebeague which I donated to the Chebeague Island Historical Society.
In his later years Samuel lived in North Yarmouth with his daughter Elizabeth Dunn and her family.
Samuel, Sarah and some of their children, including Elizabeth are buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in
North Yarmouth. His tombstone reads:Also, I have done a lot of research on Torrey
Street where I live in Portland, across from Cheverus High School. It is a very short dead end with
mostly Cape Cod style homes build post WW II. I have researched many of the deeds and most of the people
who have lived on this street. I wrote about the history of Cape Cod style homes and mass developments s
uch as Levittown,NY for my masters degree. I have lots of obits as well as pictures of their grave
stones. If anyone is interested in any of the people who lived on Torrey St. or the deeds, please contact me.
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