Pages

The Life From The Roots blog topics have changed several times since I began this blog in 2009. I initially wrote only about the family history I had been working on for 20 years. Years later, I was into visiting gardens, historical homes, churches, libraries that had genealogical collections, historical societies, war memorials, and travel/tourism places. I also enjoy posting autographs and photos of famous people I've met or have seen.

Along with my New England roots, other areas include New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.

Please check out the labels on the right side for topics (please note, they need work). Below the labels and pageviews is a listing of my top nine posts, according to Google. Four of them pertain to Lowell, MA. These posts change often because they are based on what people are reading.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Lewiston Public Library, Lewiston, Maine


Lewiston Public Library
200 Lisbon St.
Lewiston, Maine 04240

(Under the Library Service tab, you will see Genealogy and Library Services listed. I've included the library images of these sections below.)

In September, my husband was anxious to use the Lewiston Library because he has ancestors from the area. Since it is in the center of the city, and on a major corner, I was worried about parking, but we got a spot right in front, however, to enter, we had to walk to the opposite side of the library. (Photo of entrance is at the end of this post.)

Main reference desk, from this location we were guided upstairs to the genealogy area.
Facing the Reference desk, the genealogy room is on the right. On the left side is a lovely computer room. Several librarians working there knew their holdings.

My husband signing in.
The knowledgeable staff member looking up something for my husband in the genealogy room. Three photos below were taken in this room. There is an archives area but is off-limits to the public. The librarian did retrieve some material for Bill.





The reference area computer room, next to the genealogy room.

Plenty of books on the 2nd floor.

Entrance to the library. The street below is Lisbon Street (sliver of library shown on the lower right side).


The original library has the green roof, and the new addition has the white roof.


Genealogy

Trying to track down branches of your family tree? Our local genealogy collection has many sources of information to help. The following are just some of the sources we offer. Please also see our Lewiston History resources. The Maine State Library also has a great collection of genealogical materials and services.

Materials (books & electronic files)

Online Services

We offer Ancestry.com (in-library use only) and Heritage Quest for online genealogy searches. Both are excellent and comprehensive resources. Learn more on the Genealogy Digital Services page.

Lewiston History

We have historical & genealogical resources on Lewiston, Androscoggin County, and Maine. The non-genealogical materials are detailed below; please see our Genealogy page for those resources.

Lewiston Newspapers

Evening Journal, Daily Sun, & Sun Journal

Lewiston’s first newspaper, The Evening Journal, was begun in 1861. The Daily Sun started publishing in 1896. These two papers combined in 1989 to become the current paper, The Sun Journal. We have the complete print runs of all three papers on microfilm. The microfilm can be browsed here in the library by anyone. However, it is not indexed or searchable by keyword.
 
Google Newspaper Archive
Google has scanned and indexed many, but not all, of these newspapers. Those archives are available from anywhere:

Other Local Newspapers

Also on microfilm, we hold the complete print runs of:
  • The Maine Times (1968 – 1976)
  • Le Messager (1880 – 1968)

Lewiston Collection (digital resources)

Our Digital Archives has over 5000 images of historical Lewiston/Auburn, as well as 10,000 references to various topics in local media during the past 150 years.

Lewiston Collection (physical materials)

The Lewiston collection is an amazing collection portraying the history of the city through various documents such as:
  • City and County Directories
  • Bates College Theses
  • The Franklin Company papers
  • scrapbooks
  • personal accounts
  • reports & records of organizations

Related materials



Labels: ,

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Dublin Public Library, Dublin, New Hampshire

Dublin Public Library
1114 Main Street
Dublin, New Hampshire 03444

The entrance through the original door takes us past the 1900 rooms then into the new addition. On this day, the weather was warm, so the door was open.

For many years, I thought about visiting this library, on scenic route 101, but it was often closed when I drove by. Then it was under the construction, which seemed to take a very long time. In August 2019, we made a special trip to visit the library and a few surrounding towns. In looking over the webpage history, I read, "1999: The town voted to build the library addition at a cost of $684,885; at least $214,885 was to be raised privately. The addition to the present library was completed by 2000." I'm not sure when the building was completed.
I loved the new ceiling, handcrafted by a local craftsman, who happened to be at the library and talked to my husband for over 30 minutes about his ceiling. The beautiful ceiling is in the old section. As you can see the new section below is very plain.
New Hampshire shelves, labeled, but still empty. This is why I was unable to see any genealogy or local history material. There was a group of volunteers working in this room on the Saturday we were there.
Reference area.

New computer station area, in the new addition, with the original stone wall behind the desks. I always wanted to see the original library, and I pretty much did, as you'll see by the photos below.






Reference desk, looking unto the new room, and the photo below is facing the front door.

No computer used for checking out books! I was quite surprised, but apparently, this system works for them.
Card catalog unit by the front door.

Lovely reading room, three photos.


In Memory of
Horace Putnam Farnham M.D.
Born in Salem Mass. 1824
Died in New York, N.Y. 1886

Erected By His Wife.
1900
Another nice reading room, in the new section. The room faces the Yankee Magazine Publishing Company, see below.
Labels: ,

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Wells Public Library, Wells, Maine

Wells Public Library
1434 Post Road
Wells, Maine 04090
(207) 646-8181

 http://www.wellslibrary.org/

I visited here several times. The top photo was taken in January, and the one above was taken in the spring.
Lots of flyers by the inside entrance, as this town is very touristy and near the ocean. These make it easy to play your visit.

A planned visit to the Wells Ogunquit Historical Society in January 2019 was a disappointing waste of a lovely warm winter day. Even though we read from the website the would be open, it wasn't. Wells is active beach community in the summer, but it was dead this day. Fortunately, the public library was just up the street, maybe a mile. So, we went to see if they had any genealogy information for my husband and information as to why the Historical Society was closed.

The reference librarian was very kind and tried to find out about the opening, but they came up empty-handed. She did made a photocopy of the Historical Society's flyer and gave it to me (shown below). Information about the library and the Reference Section is shown below.
The library was rather quiet. My husband is in the reference section, checking over a book.
See the Maine books below.










Sweet clock made of books, and wall hanging with a photo of Taylor Swift.


Since it was a nice day, we walked the grounds of the Historical Society and took photos. The Historical Society is in the church shown below.
The Google map shows the library at the very top, and the Historical Society at the bottom. Unfortunately, the Historical Society was closed.






Reference Services
The Wells Public Library’s Adult Services Librarian is glad to assist you in finding the most helpful and appropriate sources for your research or reference needs. The library has a well-stocked reference department including many books, local history materials, and online resources.

We have a collection of information about Wells and surrounding towns, York County and the State of Maine.  We have many sources for your local history or genealogical research including in-library access to Ancestry.com, Town Reports, Wells High School yearbooks, vital records, cemetery inscriptions, marriage records, Maine wills, information about historical buildings in Wells, newspaper clippings, and pamphlets, and some old maps.  If we don't have what you need,  we can refer you to other libraries, historical societies and museums in our area.

In addition to our own resources, the Wells Public Library is part of the Minerva Consortium, which is comprised of more than 65 participating libraries. Wells Public Library patrons are able to browse and borrow items from all other Minerva libraries. Want instruction on using our shared Minerva catalog? Patrons may schedule an appointment with the Reference Librarian to learn how to search for and request items.

The Wells Public Library also offers our patrons a free connection to many online magazines and newspapers via Digital Maine Library Using this resource, patrons can search for and download full articles from magazines, newspapers, scholarly journals and online reference sources.
As part of the Southern Maine Library District, Southern Maine residents are able to apply for a free Portland Public Library card at our library.  With a Portland Public Library card patrons have access to many additional online resources including downloadable audio and e-books, an online auto and small engine repair reference center, genealogy databases, online foreign language instruction, testing resources, and business and research materials.
We welcome you to our library and will gladly assist you with all of your reference needs. Please feel free to call, email or stop by today!
New Building Information
The Wells Public Library is pleased to report that their new 3,340 square foot addition opened on June 16th, 2018. It contains a quiet study room, administrative space, and an 86 seat community program room. For photos, a history of the project, or more information, please see our website at:


Labels: ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)