Preserving Falmouth's Heritage The Falmouth Historical Society 





Research - Falmouth History References


The first stop when researching the history of a town or its people is often a visit to the town library or historical society.  There one can access published histories and references seldom found on shelves elsewhere.  That's still true, but many of those dusty old tomes have been digitized and are now accessible via the Internet.  Here you will find our digital library of books that our volunteers consult when responding to queries from the community.  These volumes are out-of-copyright and links are posted here to Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files.  For more recently published references, you must still visit a library or historical society.


Clicking on the title will open the webpage at which the volume is hosted by a digital library.  Clicking on the image of a volume will cause the PDF to be downloaded directly.  Please alert us if a link is broken.


 
  Books - Local History

 

Records of the Town of Falmouth Book One 1718-1728


Falmouth, Maine, Town Records, Book 1, 1718-1728
Town of Falmouth, Maine (1955), Cumberland County

Source: www.archive.org (46 MB)


Early town records of Falmouth.

 

Records of the Town of Falmouth Book One


 

Records of the Town of Falmouth Book Two 1728-1773


Falmouth, Maine, Town Records, Book 2, 1728-1773
Town of Falmouth, Maine (1955), Cumberland County

Source: www.archive.org (110 MB)


Continuation of early town records of Falmouth.


Town records prior to 1718 were lost in the destruction of King William's and Queen Anne's Wars.  Book 3 of this series, covering 1773-1786, was lost during a fire on October 6, 1849.


 Records of the Town of Famouth Book Two

Willis' History of Portland


The History of Portland from 1632 to 1864
Willis, William (1865), Bailey & Noyes, Portland

Source: www.archive.org (54 MB)


This is the most authoritative history for Ancient Falmouth.  Willis had the advantage of access to documents that were later lost plus original and second-hand oral histories.

History of Portland
 

History of Cumberland County


History of Cumberland County, Maine
(1880), Everts & Peck, Philadelphia

Source: www.archive.org (62 MB)


An overview of Cumberland County and its more prominent citizens in 1880.

 History of Cumberland County
 

Records of the Proprietors of Falmouth for the years 1718-1826 


Cumberland County Registry of Deeds
Copied by F.A. Gerrish (1861), Index Revised (1948)
Sources: familysearch.org, archive.org (485 MB)


Due to the massive size of the PDF, links are provided only for the online copy at archive.org.


This is a meticulous transcription of the three volumes of the Proprietor's Records held by the Registrar of Deeds.  The Proprietors' Map is the companion to this document.


 Records of the Prpprietors of Falmouth

 

Book of Eastern Claims


Book of Eastern Claims
Transcribed by M.J. Moore

Source: Family History Library (14 MB)


A transcription of disputed and extinguished land claims in Maine from the 17th and early 18th century, many of which involve land in the towns by Casco Bay.  These claims often contain information about the early settlement of Falmouth and surrounding towns not found elsewhere.


Book of Eastern Claims

 

Baptisms and Admission - First Church in Falmouth


Baptisms and Admission from the Records of the First Church in Falmouth
King, Marquis (1898), Maine Geneological Society, Portland

Source: familysearch.org (7 MB)


First Parish Church in Portland was the principal place of worship for Puritans of Falmouth  prior to the establishment of Third Parish in 1754.  These compiled church records span 1727-1753.



 

Journals of Rev. Smith and Rev. Deane


Journals of the Rev. Thomas Smith and the Rev. Samuel Deane, Pastors of the First Church in Portland
Freeman, Samuel, and Willis, William, editors (1849), Portland

Source: archive.org (54 MB)


The tenure of these two clergymen spanned 1727-1814.  Their journals are filled with details about the people and history of Ancient Falmouth.


 
 

Quakers in Early Falmouth and Portland, Maine


Quakers in Early Falmouth and Portland, Maine : 1740-1850
Cobb, Wayne (2018), Portland

Source: digitalcommons.portlandlibrary.com (8  MB)


This is a chronicle of Quaker settlements in greater Portland.  During the mid-18th century, Quakers comprised a majority of the English settlers in the area comprising modern Falmouth.


 

Falmouth Town and Vital Records, 1712-1891


Falmouth Town and Vital Records, 1712-1891
Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah (1956), Salt Lake Cit

Source: familysearch.org


These are digital images of the Town of Falmouth's early vital records.  Registration for a free account is required.


 


 
  Books - Cumberland and North Yarmouth History

 

Vital Records of Cumberland, Maine 1701-1892


Vital Records of Cumberland, Maine 1701-1892
Bennett, Thomas (2014), Cumberland

Source: digitalmaine.com (8 MB)


Cumberland shares 8¾ miles of border with Falmouth.  Many families spanned the border.  Researching events in Falmouth often ends up in Cumberland.

 Vital Records of Cumberland 1701-1892
 

Vital records of North Yarmouth, Maine, to the year 1850


Vital records of North Yarmouth, Maine, to the year 1850
Society of Mayflower Descendants (1980), Warwick, R.I.

Source: familysearch.org (31 MB)


When North Yarmouth was established in 1680, it encompassed the present-day towns of Harpswell (until 1750), Freeport (until 1789), Pownal (until 1808, from Freeport), Cumberland (until 1821), Yarmouth (until 1849), and North Yarmouth.  Prior to 1821 when Cumberland split off, North Yarmouth was Falmouth's northern neighbor.

 Vital Records of North Yarmouth to 1850

 

Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine


Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine (1636-1936)
Rowe, William Hutchinson (1937), Yarmouth, Maine

Source: familysearch.org (51 MB)


The definitive history of Ancient North Yarmouth (including present-day Cumberland).  This is the companion to Willis' history of Portland for the towns bordering Falmouth to the north.  Many families spanned Falmouth and Cumberland making it necessary to look beyond the borders of Falmouth to obtain the complete story.


 

Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth


 

Old Times of North Yarmouth, Maine


Old Times of North Yarmouth, Maine (A Magazine)
Corliss, Augustus W. (1877-1885), Yarmouth, Maine

Source: archive.org



The eight volumes of this magazine are filled with information about Ancient North Yarmouth (including present-day Cumberland) not readily accessible elsewhere including transcriptions of the records of the Proprietors of Ancient North Yarmouth.

 

Old Time of North Yarmouth Vols 1-2  Old Times of North Yarmouth Vols 3-4

Old Time of North Yarmouth Vols 5-6  Old Times of North Yarmouth Vols 7-8


Wescustago Journal Vol 1



Sign: "Under Construction"
 More volumes to
be added soon!


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Telephone: (207) 781-4727
Email:
info@thefhs.org

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The Falmouth Historical Society
190 US Route One PMB 367
Falmouth, ME 04105

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