Hancock County, Maine Genealogy

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Guide to Hancock County, Maine ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Hancock County, Maine
Map
Map of Maine highlighting Hancock County
Location in the state of Maine, United States Genealogy
Facts
Founded June 25, 1789
County Seat Ellsworth
Courthouse
Address Hancock County Courthouse
50 State Street
Ellsworth, ME 04605
Phone. 207.667.9542
Hancock County Website


Description[edit | edit source]

Hancock County was named for John Hancock. The county is located in the southeastern area of the state.[1]

Hancock County, Maine Record Dates[edit | edit source]

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records[2]
Marriage Court Land Probate Census
1892 1789 1892 1790 1790 1790 1790
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1892. General compliance year unknown.

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

  • Town clerks have birth, marriage and death records.
  • Clerk of the Superior Court has divorce and court records.
  • Probate office has probate records.
  • Register of Deeds has land records.
  • County Clerk has marriage records 1789-1891. [3]

History[edit | edit source]

Parent County[edit | edit source]

1789 - Created 25 June 1789 from Lincoln County. [3]

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

  • Two partitions:

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

1933 - Hancock Hall, which housed the records for the City of Ellsworth, was destroyed by fire on May 7, 1933. [4]
For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

Places / Localities[edit | edit source]

MaineHancock CountyWaldo CountyKnox CountyPenobscot CountyPiscataquis CountyWashington CountyPenobscot Indian Island ReservationTownship 4 North Division and North Strip (aka Oqiton Township)Township 3 NDTownship 41 MDTownship 40 MDTownship 39 MDTownship 32 MDGreat PondTownship 34 MDTownship 35 MDTownship 28 MD BPPAuroraAmherstMariavilleOsbornTownship 22 MDTownship 16 MDEastbrookWalthamOtisDedhamBucksportVerona IslandOrlandEllsworthFletchers Landing TownshipFranklinTownship 9 SDTownship 10 SDTownship 7 SDGouldsboroWinter HarborSorrentoSullivanHancockLamoineTrentonBar HarborMount DesertCranberry IslesSouthwest HarborTremontSwan's IslandFrenchboroSurryPenobscotBlue HillCastineBrooksvilleSedgwickEagle Island TownshipBrooklinDeer IsleStoningtonIsle au HautVinalhavenNorth HavenIslesboroLincolnvilleNorthportBelfastSearsportStockton SpringsProspectSwanvilleFrankfortMonroeWinterportSteubenMilbridgeHarringtonCherryfieldColumbiaDebloisTownship 18 MDTownship 19 MDTownship 25 Middle DivisionTownship 24 MDBeddingtonDevereau TownshipTownship 30 MDDay Block Township (Township 31 MD BPP)Township 37 MDTownship 36 MDTownship 43 MDTownship 42 MDSakom Township (Township 5 NDTownship 6 NDGrand Lake Stream (Plantation)Township 6 R1 NTalmadgeOrneville TownshipMedfordMiloLake View PlantationBrownvilleNewburghHampdenOrringtonHoldenBrewerEddingtonCliftonCarmelHermonBangorVeazieBradleyOronoGlenburnKenduskeagLevantOld TownMilfordGreenfield TownshipSummit TownshipGrand Falls TownshipCorinthCharlestonHudsonBradfordAltonArgyle TownshipGreenbushLagrangeEdinburgPassadumkeagHowlandMaxfieldEnfieldSeboeis PlantationTownship 2 R8 NWPMattamiscontis TownshipChesterLowellLincolnBurlingtonTwombly Ridge Township (3 R1 N)LeeSpringfieldLakevilleCarroll PlantationWhitney Township (aka Pukakon) (5 R1 NBPP)Kossuth TownshipTopsfield
Modern town borders in Hancock County, Maine. Towns with records are named in black. Unincorporated green places usually lack records.

Neighboring Counties

Knox | Waldo | Penobscot | Washington

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this census area:[5]

Cities
Towns
Villages
Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places
Unorganized territories
  • East Hancock
    • Township 3 North Division and Strip North
    • Township 4 North Division and Strip North (a.k.a. Oqiton Township)
    • Township 7 South Division
    • Township 9 South Division
    • Township 10 South Division
    • Township 16 Middle Division
    • Township 22 Middle Division
    • Township 28 Middle Division (Number 28 MD Plantation)
    • Township 34 Middle Division
    • Township 35 Middle Division
    • Township 39 Middle Division
    • Township 40 Middle Division
    • Township 41 Middle Division


Extinct Towns and Plantations:[6]  Eagle Island Military Plantation | Islandport | Mansel | Number 28 MD Plantation | Seaville[7]

Resources[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Tombstone Transcriptions Online Tombstone Transcriptions in Print List of Cemeteries in the county
Findagrave.com Family History Library Findagrave.com
USGenWeb WorldCat Billion Graves
USGenWeb Archives FamilySearch Places
Tombstone Project
Billion Graves
See Maine Cemeteries for more information.

Census Records[edit | edit source]

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1790 9,542 —
1800 16,358 71.4%
1810 30,031 83.6%
1820 31,290 4.2%
1830 24,336 −22.2%
1840 28,605 17.5%
1850 34,372 20.2%
1860 37,757 9.8%
1870 36,495 −3.3%
1880 38,129 4.5%
1890 37,312 −2.1%
1900 37,241 −0.2%
1910 35,575 −4.5%
1920 30,361 −14.7%
1930 30,721 1.2%
1940 32,422 5.5%
1950 32,105 −1.0%
1960 32,293 0.6%
1970 34,590 7.1%
1980 41,781 20.8%
1990 46,948 12.4%
2000 51,791 10.3%
2010 54,418 5.1%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records[edit | edit source]

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Maine denominations, view the Maine Church Records wiki page.

List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records[edit | edit source]

Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]

Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

History[edit | edit source]

Local histories are available for Hancock County, Maine Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Maine Local Histories.

Land and Property[edit | edit source]

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Maine Land and Property for additional information about early Maine land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Maps[edit | edit source]

Penobscot CountyWaldo CountyHancock CountyWashington CountyME Hancock.jpg
Click a neighboring county
for more resources


Military Records[edit | edit source]

Revolutionary War[edit | edit source]
Civil War[edit | edit source]

Regiments. Service men in Hancock County, Maine Genealogy served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Hancock County, Maine Genealogy:

- 2nd Regiment, Maine Infantry, Company B.

Online Records

World War I[edit | edit source]

Naturalization[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Finding More Maine Newspapers[edit source]

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Hancock County, Maine Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

Online Probate Indexes and Records

Taxation[edit | edit source]

Maine tax records complement land records and can be used to supplement the years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years in the records.

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

In Maine, vital records are kept by town clerks or selectmen. Although some towns have existed since the 1650s, most vital records date from about 1700. The vital statistics are often arranged by family. For more information, see the Wiki page for the town and the Wiki page, Maine Vital Records.

Birth[edit | edit source]

Marriage[edit | edit source]

Death[edit | edit source]

Libraries, Archives, Museums[edit | edit source]

Abbe Museum
"Inspiring New Learning About the Wabanaki Nations with Every Visit"

Two Locations:
26 Mount Desert Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609

Abbe at Sieur de Monts Spring
Acadia National Park

(207) 288-3519

Family History Centers[edit | edit source]

Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries

  • Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
  • FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Societies - Genealogical, Historical, Lineage[edit | edit source]

Hancock County Genealogy Society
Website
Facebook

Hancock Maine Genealogy
Website

Websites[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Hancock County, Maine" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hancock_County,_Maine."
  2. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Hancock County, Maine. Page 304-305 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 275.
  3. ↑ 3.03.13.23.3 Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Hancock County, 181, and 304. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  4. ↑ Ellsworth, ME Great Fire, May 1933 http://www.gendisasters.com/maine/11041/ellsworth-me-great-fire-disaster-may-7-1933
  5. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Hancock County, Maine," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hancock_County,_Maine, accessed 8 March 2019.
  6. ↑ Before an extinct town was discontinued, it created official town records of interest to genealogists. For preservation these records were usually turned over to a nearby functioning town in the same county.
  7. ↑ Michael J. Leclerc, Genealogist's Handbook for New England Research, 5th ed. (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2012), 99. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 974 D27g 2012.
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