The Abbott Memorial Library in Dexter, Maine has put a lot of
obituaries online. These obituaries were originally published in the Eastern
Gazette, the local newspaper. I spent some time this week using the obituaries
database and found that it covered not just the town of Dexter but also all
the surrounding towns served by the newspaper. It also frequently lists the
deaths of former residents who had since moved elsewhere.
Not all of the obituaries are online yet; apparently this is an
on-going project. However, when I used the database, I found some obituaries
as early as 1858 and others as late as 2000.
The menus to use the database are a bit stark although very simple
to use. You can search by last name or by year, or you can search for any word
in the database. I found the last option to be a great way of finding relatives.
Obituaries will often state that "the deceased is survived by" and
then will list many names. Sometimes a search for a family name found someone
listed as a survivor of the deceased, thereby giving me information about an
ancestor. In addition, scanning through the list of other survivors often identifies
siblings, cousins, and children.
I should point out one reason why I found this database so useful:
Dexter is my hometown. That’s where I was born and raised. I found a number
of my ancestors and other relatives listed in this new online resource. If you
have ancestors who lived in or near this small town in central Maine, you may
find it as valuable as I did. However, the site also serves as an excellent
example of what a group of individuals can do in any small town: put your obituaries
on the Web where everyone can easily search them.
The Dexter, Maine online obituaries can be found at the Abbott
Memorial Library’s website at: www.abbott-library.com.
I’d like to thank my schooldays friend, Evelyn White, for telling
me about the Dexter obituaries online database.
Dick Eastman Online
