Bücher von Benjamin Lewis Keene

The authors are to be commended for completing this project, which was originally started in the 1940s by the National Youth Administration, but was abandoned when funds were no longer available. This collection of abstracts, including birth, death and other miscellaneous news items, will be useful to both professional and amateur genealogists, not only for the information the abstracts contain, but also for the clues they give to finding further information. For ease of use, the abstracts are arranged alphabetically by surname. This volume contains several valuable research tolls in addition to the abstracts. First, a very informative section that contains letters written by children. These letters often reveal important details of family history, such as, "Daddy went to California to work in the gold mines. I have a sister named Sally, she is eight years old. I had a little brother named Tommy but he died." The next part, Communications and Editorial Correspondence, contains interesting letters and comments from the newspaper's readers. Another section includes selected news articles, chosen for their historical or genealogical value. An index of names of the dozens of ships which were featured in many news stories in included. Finally, the other newspapers which contributed information to the Farmer (and the cities in which they were published) are listed alphabetically for quick reference.

The Maine Farmer newspaper was established in 1833 by Dr. Ezekiel Holmes and was issued regularly for nearly a hundred years. Published weekly, it was devoted to the interest of agriculture and the "mechanic arts." The first issue was dated January 21, 1833, and called the Kennebec Farmer. The name was changed to the Maine Farmer on March 18 of the same year. The Maine Farmer carried marriage notices from the entire state, but most of the entries were from the Kennebec Valley. These records will prove to be of value to both the professional and the amateur genealogist, not only for the information that they contain, but for the clues that they give as to where further information may be found. The book is alphabetically arranged and includes both brides' and grooms' names. Entries typically list the full name of each party, and often give the date and place of the wedding, father's name (when known), and name of minister or official who performed the ceremony. A citation at the end of each entry gives the date of the newspaper issue in which the original notice appeared. A helpful appendix lists (alphabetically) all of the ministers mentioned in the book, including the denomination, location of the ministry, and dates during which he practiced in that area. This valuable feature may help the researcher find the location of important church records-another great source of family information. Yet another locating aid included in this book is a list of all the towns mentioned in the text.