Sagadahoc County – Research By The Century
Herbert Douglas, one of Bath’s most prolific photographers
17th-18th Centuries | 19th Century | 20th Century
Early European charters that included the land area currently known as Maine include two charters granted by James I of England. These were the Virginia charter of April 10, 1606, and the New England charter of November 3, 1620.
The charter of the Province of Maine was granted by Charles I to Sir Ferdinando Gorges in 1639. York County was established in 1640. It included all of present-day Maine. Lincoln County was set off from York in 1760. Sagadahoc County was incorporated from Lincoln in 1854. It is the smallest and newest county in Maine. The name “Sagadahoc” comes from the Abanaki word for the meeting of a river and the sea.
The municipalities presently within Sagadahoc County are: Arrowsic, Bath, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Georgetown, Phippsburg, Richmond, Topsham, West Bath, and Woolwich — one city (Bath) and nine towns.
Very few seventeenth century records deal with the Sagadahoc area as it was a place of turmoil until the Treaty of Utecht in 1714, which ended the hostilities between the English and the French & Indians. The few settlers who had reached the area in the 1600s had been driven out. Their heirs returned to the family claims, and these are the people that are documented herein.
Town records of the eighteenth century were often lost in fires. Those of Bath were destroyed during the night of February 14, 1838, while in storage awaiting the completion of the new town hall across the street. Attempts were made to compile similar information from extant copies and other documents, but the success was limited. Some vital records were collected from the notes of physicians and ministers and listed in the new town records. The Sagadahoc History & Genealogy Room has a microfilm copy of these compiled records. They are indexed on the film by surname.
The population of the nineteenth century has been fairly well documented in town histories and records and through the diligence of Dr. Alfred Holt, genealogist extraordinaire, whose work is an important part of the collection in the Sagadahoc History & Genealogy Room in Patten Free Library.
Vital records of the twentieth century are well documented through obligatory municipal records that are submitted to government agencies in Augusta. Copies of Bath marriages and deaths 1892-1995 are available on microfiche in the History Room. Birth records are held at Bath City Hall, 55 Front Street, Bath, Maine, 04530. Each town/city office holds copies of their own vital records.
SAGADAHOC COUNTY” IN THE 17th and 18th CENTURIES
Dates Covered Title / Author / Notes
1607-1980 Georgetown, ME, records; separate index; 974.1
1630-1850 Families of Georgetown Pioneers, Kernoul; 974.1
1640-1760 Maine Wills, Sargent; 346.054 (Purrington, p. 824)
1645-1737 York Deeds; 346.3 (Robt Gutch Bk 2, Folio 32)
1687-1800 Maine Probate Abstracts, Frost; 929.3
1710-1788 The Will…Probate Records of James McCobb; 346.05
1730-1892 Vital Records, Georgetown (and other towns until separation)
1741-1891 Arrowsic Vital Records; microfilm
1756-1801 Woolwich Vital Records; microfilm
1757-1891 Compiled Records, Bath (mostly marriages; microfilm)
ca. 1758 Arrowsic Cemetery Records; 929.5 (oldest cemetery in cty)
1759-1777 Marriages, Lincoln County; microfilm
ca. 1760 Land ownership after division of Gutch estate, Owen; map
1760-1818 Woolwich Town and Vital Records; microfilm
1760-1800 Probate Records of Lincoln County; 346.052
1780-1837 Bowdoinham Vital Records; microfilm
1782-1840 Revolutionary Pensioners Living in Maine, Flagg; 973.34
1785-1820 Vital Records from Maine Newspapers, Young; 929.3
1786-1892 Richmond Town and Vital Records; microfilm
1790 Federal Census-Maine; Maine Families in 1790; 929.3
SAGADAHOC COUNTY” IN THE 19th CENTURY
Sagadahoc County was incorporated in 1854 from one city and nine towns previously contained in Lincoln County. Bath was named as shiretown. The other municipalities were: Arrowsic, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Georgetown, Phippsburg, Richmond, Topsham, West Bath, and Woolwich.
Probate records previous to 1854 are held in the Lincoln County Courthouse, High Street, Wiscasset. Records of 1854 and later are at the Sagadahoc County Courthouse, 752 High Street, Bath.
Deeds previous to 1826 are in the Wiscasset courthouse. Deeds dating from 1826 to 1854, Lincoln County West, and 1854 and later are held at the Sagadahoc County Courthouse, Bath.
The town records of Bath were destroyed by fire on February 14, 1838. Efforts were made to reconstruct these records from extant copies and authentic documents but many entries were lost.
Partial records of marriages and deaths from 1838 to 1892 for Bath are on microfilm in the History Room. Birth records are held by the municipality.
Dates Covered Title / Author / Notes
to 1892 Vital Records; by town; 929.3
1741-1891 Arrowsic Vital Records; microfilm
1756-1818 Woolwich Vital Records; microfilm
1757-1892 Compiled Records (mostly marriages), Bath; microfilm
1760-1818 Woolwich Town and Vital Records; microfilm
1780-1837 Bowdoinham Vital Records; microfilm
1785-1820 Vital Records from Maine Newspapers, Young; 929.3
1786-1892 Richmond Town and Vital Records; microfilm
1787-1879 Marriage Intentions, Bath; microfiche
1795-1853 First Congreg. Church (Winter St) Records, Bath; 929.3
1800s Bath Families, Holt; 929.374
Maine Families, Cutter, Little; 929.374
Town Histories; 974.1
1800-1860 Federal Census-Maine-Sagadahoc Cty; microfilm and index
1800-1891 Bowdoinham Vital Records; microfilm
1800-1976 Cemetery Inscriptions; 929.5
1803-1830 Eastern Argus (newsp.), index of marriages & deaths; 312
1811-1851 Death Notices from Freewill Baptist Pub., Young; 929.3
1812-1815 War of 1812 roster; 973.3
1819-1851 Marriage, Divorce Records from Freewill Bapt. Pub.; 929.3
1838-1857 Newspapers (various), indices, marriages & deaths; 929.3
1839-1891 Baptisms, Methodist Church, Bath
1845-1891 West Bath Vital Records; microfilm
1849-1901 Baptisms, Grace Episcopal Church, Bath; indexed
1850-1880 Birth Registrations, Bath; microfiche
1855-1900 Marriage Register, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Bath; index
1856-1899 Baptisms, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Bath
1861-1865 Civil War, various sources; 973.7
1867-current City Directories, Bath area
1870-1880 Federal Census-Maine-Sagadahoc County; microfilm
1890 Special Civil War Schedule, Maine; film; index, fiche
1897-1960 Voter’s Registration Book, Bath; microfiche
SAGADAHOC COUNTY IN THE 20th CENTURY
Sagadahoc County contains the municipalities of: Arrowsic, Bath, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Georgetown, Phippsburg, Richmond, Topsham, West Bath, and Woolwich.
Beginning in 1892, all municipalities in Maine were required to submit a copy of their records of births, marriages, and deaths to state offices in Augusta. These constitute the Vital Records of a city or town. The Maine State Archives, located in the Cultural Building in Augusta, has copies of all vital records in Maine from 1892 (or 1923, depending on the starting date of compliance) to 1955. These records are accessed by surname, not by location or by date.
Dates Covered Title / Author / Notes
1824-current Newspapers, partially indexed; microfilm
1867-current City Directories, Bath area; 917.418
1892-1966 Maine Marriages, Picton Press; CD-ROM
1892-1995 Death Records, Bath; microfiche
1892-1995 Marriage Records, Bath; microfiche
1897-1960 Voter’s Registration, Bath; microfiche
1900-1920 Federal Census-Maine-Sagadahoc County; microfilm
1900-1976 Cemetery Records; 929.5
1914-1919 Roster of Maine [veterans] in WW I; 940.4
1919-current Morse High School [Bath] yearbooks; 371.897
1953-1961 Woolwich Annual Reports [death notices]; 917.418
1976-current Georgetown Tide [family histories, obituaries]