Knox County, Maine Genealogy
Guide to Knox County, Maine ancestry, family history, and genealogy, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Knox County, Maine | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Maine, United States Genealogy | |
| Facts | |
| Founded | April 1, 1860 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Rockland |
| Courthouse | |
| Address | Knox County Courthouse 62 Union Street PO Box 885 Rockland, ME 04841-0885 Phone: 207.594.9379 Knox County Website |
Contents
- 1 Description
- 2 Knox County, Maine Record Dates
- 3 County Courthouse
- 4 History
- 5 Parent County
- 6 Places / Localities
- 7 Resources
- 8 Societies and Libraries
- 9 Websites
- 10 References
Description[edit | edit source]
Knox County was named for Henry Knox. The county is located in the southern area of the state.[1]
Knox County, Maine Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1892 | 1892 | 1892 | 1860 | 1860 | 1860 | 1790 |
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
- Town Clerks have birth, marriage, and death records.
- Clerk Superior Court has divorce and court records.
- 1860 - Probate Court has probate records from 1860.
- 1860 - Register of Deeds has land records from 1860.[3]
History[edit | edit source]
- Named for American Revolutionary War general and Secretary of War, Henry Knox, who lived in the county from 1795 until his death in 1806.
Parent County[edit | edit source]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
Maine: Individual County Chronologies
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Places / Localities[edit | edit source]
Neighboring Counties
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 | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Census-designated places | ||
| Unorganized territories | ||
Plantations
Extinct towns and plantations[6]
Criehaven Plantation | Hurricane Isle | Muscle Ridge Plantation
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 | ||
| ME Interment | ||
| Billion Graves | ||
| See Maine Cemeteries for more information. | ||
- 1620-2014 - Maine, Tombstone Inscriptions, Surname Index, 1620-2014 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
- 1676-1918 - Maine, Veterans Cemetery Records, 1676-1918 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
- 1780-1999 - Maine, J. Gary Nichols Cemetery Collection, ca. 1780-1999 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
- 1800-2007 - Maine, Knox County Cemetery Records, ca. 1800-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at: Maine, Knox County Cemetery Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
Census Record[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1860 | 32,716 | — |
| 1870 | 30,823 | −5.8% |
| 1880 | 32,863 | 6.6% |
| 1890 | 31,473 | −4.2% |
| 1900 | 30,406 | −3.4% |
| 1910 | 28,981 | −4.7% |
| 1920 | 26,245 | −9.4% |
| 1930 | 27,693 | 5.5% |
| 1940 | 27,191 | −1.8% |
| 1950 | 28,121 | 3.4% |
| 1960 | 28,575 | 1.6% |
| 1970 | 29,013 | 1.5% |
| 1980 | 32,941 | 13.5% |
| 1990 | 36,310 | 10.2% |
| 2000 | 39,618 | 9.1% |
| 2010 | 39,736 | 0.3% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
Churches[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
Courts[edit | edit source]
- 1718-1957 - Maine, State Archive Collections, 1718-1957 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:
Maine, Knox County, Probate Estate Files - FamilySearch Historical Records
Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]
- 1837 - 1965 - Maine & Massachusetts Case Files of Deceased and Deserted Seamen 1837-1965 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
Gazetteers[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
Land[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.
- 1718-1957 - Maine, State Archive Collections, 1718-1957 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
- 1791-1926 Maine, Knox County deed records, 1791-1926 at FamilySearch Catalog — images
- 1836-1860 Lincoln records, Eastern District, 1836-1860 at FamilySearch Catalog — images
- 1835-1838 Maine Revolutionary War Bounty Land Applications, 1835-1838 at FamilySearch — How to use this collection - index and images
- 1860-1920 Indexes to deed records, 1860-1920 at FamilySearch Catalog — images
- 1873-1917 Deed records, 1873-1917 at FamilySearch Catalog — images
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Knox 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.
Maps[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
for more resources
Military[edit | edit source]
- 1676 - 1918 - Maine, Veterans Cemetery Records, 1676-1918 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
- 1718 - 1957 - Maine, State Archive Collections, 1718-1957 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
Revolutionary War[edit | edit source]
- 1835 - 1838 - Maine Revolutionary War Bounty Land Applications 1835-1838 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
Civil War[edit | edit source]
Regiments. Service men in Knox 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 Knox County, Maine Genealogy:
Online Records
- 1962 - 1865 - Maine, Civil War Enlistment Papers, 1862-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
World War I[edit | edit source]
- 1914 - 1950 - Maine, State Archives, World War I (WWI) Grave Cards, 1914-1950 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
- 1917 - 1919 - Maine, World War I Draft Registration Index, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
Naturalization[edit | edit source]
- 1718-1957 - Maine, State Archive Collections, 1718-1957 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
- 1918-1991 - Maine, United States Naturalization Records, 1918-1991 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Finding More Maine Newspapers[edit source]
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Knox County, Maine Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Knox County, Maine Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Places Search).
Probate[edit | edit source]
Online Probate Records
- 1584-1999 Maine, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1584-1999 at Ancestry ($) — index and images
- 1760-1979 Maine, County Probate Records, 1760-1979 at FamilySearch.org - How to use this collection - images
- 1861-1915 Maine, Knox County, Probate Estate Files, 1861-1915 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection, images
- 1861-1915 Maine, Knox County, estate files, 1861-1915 at FamilySearch Catalog — images
- 1860-1928 Index to probate records, 1860-1928 at FamilySearch Catalog — images
- 1861-1979 Probate records, 1861-1979 at FamilySearch Catalog — images
- 1903-1908 Maine, Knox County, estate files, 1903-1908 at FamilySearch Catalog — images
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.
- 1589-1966 - Maine, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
- 1670 - 1921 - Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921 at FamilySearch - How to Use This Collection
- 1897-1920 State of Maine, certificates of marriage, East Penobscot Bay Region, Maine, abt. 1897-1920 at FamilySearch Catalog — images
Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
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
Websites[edit | edit source]
- The USGenWeb Archives Project for Knox County
- FamilySearch Catalog for Knox County
- KNox County, Maine History and Genealogy (Genealogy Trails)
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:
Maine, Knox County Cemetery Records, 1800-2007 - FamilySearch Historical Records
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Knox County, Maine" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knox_County,_Maine."
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Knox 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.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Knox County, Maine page 304, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 181. [FHL book 973 D27e 2002].
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Knox County, Maine," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knox_County,_Maine, accessed 4 July 2019.
- ↑ Before an extinct town (or plantation) 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.
