FootNote
The new kid on the block, FootNote is known for digitizing historical
documents... many of which are genealogical gems. With naturalizations,
city directories, war records, newspapers, town records, etc... this new
kid is quickly being recognized as an alternative to Ancestry.
Maine Census online research should begin with
what is available online for free. If this proves fruitful then
congratulations! If not, then I would suggest signing up for the online
census images (links to the right) where you can access all the available
online Maine federal census information directly from your computer at
home.
Federal censuses for the state of Maine began in 1790, and
continue every ten years thereafter. They are currently available through
1920 except for the mostly destroyed 1890 census. Even though Maine was a
part of Massachusetts until 1820, the National Archives sees in its wisdom
to catalog the early census (1790-1810) under Maine.
Parts of some of the earlier Maine census are incomplete
or missing entirely:
York County in 1800 is incomplete
Oxford County in 1810 is partially missing
Houlton Plantation, Washington County in 1820 is missing
the 1890 Federal Census for Maine was completely destroyed by fire
Maine also has a special 1837 revenue-sharing census.
Unfortunately only part of this census survives