At the March 8, 2008 meeting of the Greater Portland Chapter of the Maine Genealogical Society, President Carol McCoy suggested we work on indexing the Cumberland County Deeds covering the years 1760 to 1796. The membership approved her idea, and voted to start work on this major project. In February, 2011, the purpose of the project was redefined.

We need many volunteers to complete this project.
If you are interesting in helping or would like to see our progress, please continue to read this page!

We are now working on Phase II - How can you help?

the location of the deed

the year the deed was signed

the year it was recorded

any additional names of grantors/grantees not in the original index (including wives who released their right of dower)
Please contact Carol McCoy at cmccoy3333@aol.com for a tutorial on Phase II. It's easy! She will assign you a Deed Book to work on. See below for blank forms and samples.

The results so far . . .

Even though we are not finished with the project, you may have access to the information we have collected so far. You may download the information in Excel or .pdf format here. The data is listed alphabetically by grantor or by grantee. If you download the Excel file, you can sort as you like, but you must have Excel software to open it.

For .pdf format sorted by Grantor, click here.
For .pdf format sorted by Grantee, click here.

For Excel format sorted by Grantor, click here.
For Excel format sorted by Grantee, click here.

Phase II progress

Deed Book #	Dates	People working on this volume	Phase II complete	Members hard at work!
1	1717 - 1762	Carol McCoy
2	1734 - 1764	Diane Brakeley & Norm Jordan
3	1735 - 1771	Janice & Jerry Gower
4	1742 - 1767	Carol McCoy
5	1743 - 1773	Norman Jordan & Diane Brakeley
6		Carol McCoy
7	1731 - 1773	Ray Niro
8		Liz Johnson & Cathleen Decourcy
9		Norm Jordan and Diane Brakeley
10		Ray Niro
11	1722 - 1788	Pam Eagleson
12		Heidi Conover
13		Dana Edgecomb
14	1746 - 1790	Norman Jordan & Diane Brakeley
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16
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18
19
20
21
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24
25

Phase II Data Input Guidelines

Please click here (or on the heading above) to download the guidelines for inputting data for Phase II. Please print these out and bring them with you to the courthouse. You may want to refer to them when you are working at the courthouse.

Phase II Blank Data Form

Please click here (or on the heading above) to download the form you will need to record any data that was left out during Phase I. Please print this form to take with you to the courthouse. Your tutorial will explain how to use this form. If you want to input the data directly to your laptop, you may not need this form, but you will need to have Microsoft Excel software on your computer. Please note: you may bring a laptop into the courthouse, but you may not plug it in. (This saves the County energy costs!)

Phase II 1767 Estate Deed Sample

Please click above to see an estate deed from 1767. It is from Joshua and Ruth Curtis to Benjamin Ingersell & Heirs of Captain James Parker. There is a copy of the deed as well as a translation. You can see how the current index lists the parties and what additional information our index would indicate. This deed is more complex than most.

Phase II 1765 Agreement Deed Sample

Please click above to see deed. This is a sample agreement deed between the heirs of Theophilus Bradbury, executed 1765; recorded 1767. This file includes a photocopy of the old deed as well as a translation. It also shows how to record this deed, which does not seem to have been indexed at all in the Cumberland County Deed Index (1760-1870). (Cumberland County Deeds Vol. 6:45.)

Phase II 1761 Bond Deed Sample

Transcription of Bond Deed from Nathan Partridge to Thomas Gray regarding settlement of New Boston (later Gray) Maine. Cumberland County Deeds Vol. 1: 182-184

Not Just Deeds are Recorded in Deed Books!

Sometimes people were told they were not welcome. See the "Warning Out of Mary and Broadstreet Bookman" from New Gloucester, Maine 1774. Recorded 27 Feb. 1775, Cumberland County Deeds 8:14, Virtual Books Real Property Database, Cumberland County Maine Courthouse, Portland, ME."

Phase I

Phase I was completed at the end of September. The people who completed this work are listed below.

Vol. #	Names starting with	People working on this volume	Phase I complete
1	Abbe - Aylwin	Carol McCoy
2	Bab - Berry	Janice & Jerry Gower
3	Berry - Bridges	Harold Leland & Will Haskell
4	Bridgham - Byram	Rita Weimer, Sue Hawes, Diane Brakeley & Norman Jordan
5	Cabot - Clapp	Carol McCoy
6	Claridge - Coyle	Harold Leland & Will Haskell
7	Crabtree - Davis	Carol McCoy
8	Davis - Doull	Charlotte Olson & Will Haskell
9	Dover Savings Bank - Eibell	Charlotte Olson & Will Haskell
10	Ela - Flynn	Sheri Bishop & Tricia Breeze
11	Fobes - Gay	Harold Leland & Will Haskell
12	Gee - Grew	Janice & Jerry Gower
13	Gribbon - Harmon	Janice & Jerry Gower
14	Harmon - Higgins	Diane Brakeley & Norm Jordan
15	Higginson - Hynes	Diane Brakeley & Norm Jordan
16	Iles - Jordan	Diane Brakeley & Norm Jordan
17	Jordan - Lang	Diane Brakeley & Norm Jordan
18	Langdon - Lithgow	Roberta & Craig Libby
19	Little - Manning	Janice & Jerry Gower
20	Mannix - Melcher	Janice & Jerry Gower, Sheri Bishop, and Carol McCoy
21	Melendy - Morrill	Sheri Bishop & Will Haskell
22	Morrill - Noonan	Janice & Jerry Gower
23	Nooning - Peary	Janice & Jerry Gower
24	Pease - Plunkett	Janice & Jerry Gower
25	Poak - Quirk	Carol McCoy
26	Race - Robinson	Bob Greene
27	Rock Bottom Co. - Seymore	Rita Weimer & Diane Brakeley
28	Shackford - Smullen	Pam Eagleson
29	Snell - Storey	Diane Brakeley & Norm Jordan
30	Stour - Thompson	Diane Brakeley & Norm Jordan
31	Thorn - Varney	Janice & Jerry Gower
32	Varnum - Webster	Liz Johnson & Bob Greene
33	Wedgewood - Wimble	Janice & Jerry Gower
34	Winch - Zitkor	Liz Johnson & Bob Greene

What will the index look like when it's completed?

Here's a short sample of what the completed index will look like.

1871 Map - Plan of Cumberland County Maine in 1871

If you would like to read more about the Purpose of this project as well as some of the history of the Maine Cumberland County Deeds, please click here: