I bought the long-sought “Biographical Review of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock and Aroostook Counties,” published in 1898, thrilled to have the volume with the one page on my great-great-grandfather, Sumner Robinson Bennett, also known in Abbot at S.R. Bennett.
It’s a heavy book, and I am proud to have it in a pile of books that are, somehow, in the middle of the living room floor.
Still, I continue to be grateful to readers who give me a nudge to let me know that the resource is closer than the nearest library or old book seller — make that seller of old books.
I’m pleased to share with readers in the Bangor Daily News, in print and online, that you can access my book on the Web, as reader Lisa Segura did, writing to tell me about her good fortune on Sept. 22.
I give credit for this to the University of Maine System, whose campus libraries are catalogued on URSUS at ursus.maine.edu. (And although the financial challenges of UMS do shiver my timbers, I hope the countless assets the state university has furnished Maine include graduates such as myself and my sons, 1973, 2000 and 2003, including the working lives and ongoing tax dollars of two of the three of us.)
As a journalist, genealogist and historian, I have long used the resources at the University of Maine’s Fogler Library in Orono, including library hours that have accommodated a work life that encompassed days, nights, weekends and holidays, and including free photocopies made from microfilm of newspapers and vital records. That makes these vital records, 1892-1955, available to everyone, not just those who need and can afford pricey certified copies.
And now this URSUS catalog for UMaine libraries, Bangor Public Library, Maine State Library in Augusta and Maine Historical Society in Portland — and I do love real live card catalogs in weighty wooden file cabinets — fits nicely in my laptop, even before I replace morning jammies with big-girl clothes. (Thanks for all your service efforts, University of Maine.)
Of course, to find what you want in an online catalog, you must be steadfast and not be distracted by all the other wonderful offerings on URSUS. Here are a few of what I uncovered, using “biographical sketches” as a title:
— “Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes of 95 of 120 principal chief of Indian Tribes of North America,” by Thomas McKenney, 1967, a reprint of the 1838 “History of Indian Tribes of North America,” in government documents at UMaine’s Fogler Library.
— “Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes of Persons of Color,” by Abigail Mott, 1837. Available as e-book.
— “Biographical Sketches and Review: First Presbyterian Church in Toronto and Knox Church,” by Henry M. Parsons, 1890, microform at UMaine.
— “Biographical Sketches of Adherents to the British Crown in the War of the Revolution,” by Lorenzo Sabine, 1864, microform, Volume 1 and Volume 2, UMaine.
— “Biographical Sketches of Capt. Ebenezer Davis and His Son, the Hon. Charles Stewart Davis of Portland, Maine, Members of the Society of the Cincinnati,” by David Greene Haskins, 1873, Maine State Library. Available as e-book. Ebenezer Davis was born 1753 in Newton, New Hampshire.
— “Biographical Sketches of Distinguished American Naval Heroes in the War of the Revolution,” by S. Putnam Waldo, includes Nicholas Biddle, John Paul Jones, Edward Preble and Alexander Murray. Bangor Public Library and on microform at UMaine and University of Southern Maine at Portland.
— “Biographical Sketches of Distinguished Officers of the Army and Navy,” by Lewis Randolph Hamusley, 1905, Bangor Public Library.
— “Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Cumberland County,” “Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Oxford and Franklin Counties,” “Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of York County,” all three available on e-book.
— “Biographical Review of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock and Aroostook Counties,” 1898, available on e-book.
I also think it’s reasonable to ask where a resource is still available as a book, as not everyone uses computers.
On the URSUS page for the last book, I clicked on “MaineCAT” and found listings for where it is available as a book: Colby College Special Collections in Waterville, Maine State Library, UMaine’s Fogler Library Special Collections, Maine Historical Society, Witherle Library in Castine and Hartland Public Library.
No doubt other libraries in Maine have it, as well, but not every local library is catalogued on MaineCAT.
As I write this the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, my husband and I are so grateful to those who helped make our recent trip to Minnesota and Ohio so memorable: Tony and Heather Saucier, children Aidan and Arabelle, and Heather’s grandmother, Lee Wilcox Barthel; George and Joyce Saucier Denny and daughter Aimee Maychack; Rosemarie Rossetti, who welcomed us to the Independent Living Demonstration Laboratory, her home demonstrating universal design outside Columbus, Ohio; airline and airport staff who assisted us, especially at our favorite airport, Bangor International Airport; and to a special friend.
For i nformation on researching family history in Maine, see Genealogy Resources under Family Ties at bangordailynews.com/browse/ family – ties. Send genealogy queries to FamilyTies, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402, or email familyti@bangordailynews.com.