Adoption records from 1800's in Chelsea, MA?

tiggerella · #1 Sep 8, 2006, 03:45 AM

Hi -

I've been researching my family tree since my father died in 1980, but I've hit a major snag when it comes to my great-grandfather, James Parker Dow. James was born in apx. 1850-1851 and died in a drowning accident at a Vassalboro, Maine sawmill in February 1876. (I've found his unmarked grave and am working on getting permission to place a marker.)

In "The Book of Dow" by Robert Piercy Dow, he was listed as the son of Alexander Dow of Palermo, Maine "by conjecture", but I have been able to prove he wasn't related to Alexander by researching extensively in the Palermo area. Family rumor has it that James was the son of Samuel and Roxanne Lamont, that he was adopted by a Dow some time before moving to Palermo, Maine (where he married my great-grandmother in April 1870 according to the Palermo census for that year), and that he was originally from Chelsea, Massachusetts. My problem is that I have not located him in a Chelsea census under either Lamont or Dow - and the fee for getting a copy of the adoption information mailed to me from Chelsea is pretty steep, even though the information could be obtained for free if I could afford the gas and time to get to a Chelsea library or the town office, or so I'm told, since all the parties are now deceased and the information has been made public.

If you live in the Chelsea area, would you be able to get the adoption info for me and email it to me? I'd be willing to pay a reasonable fee for your time and effort, if needed.

Thank you in advance to anyone who responds.

caradoc · Oct 20, 2006, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiggerella

Hi -

I've been researching my family tree since my father died in 1980, but I've hit a major snag when it comes to my great-grandfather, James Parker Dow. James was born in apx. 1850-1851 and died in a drowning accident at a Vassalboro, Maine sawmill in February 1876. (I've found his unmarked grave and am working on getting permission to place a marker.)

In "The Book of Dow" by Robert Piercy Dow, he was listed as the son of Alexander Dow of Palermo, Maine "by conjecture", but I have been able to prove he wasn't related to Alexander by researching extensively in the Palermo area. Family rumor has it that James was the son of Samuel and Roxanne Lamont, that he was adopted by a Dow some time before moving to Palermo, Maine (where he married my great-grandmother in April 1870 according to the Palermo census for that year), and that he was originally from Chelsea, Massachusetts. My problem is that I have not located him in a Chelsea census under either Lamont or Dow - and the fee for getting a copy of the adoption information mailed to me from Chelsea is pretty steep, even though the information could be obtained for free if I could afford the gas and time to get to a Chelsea library or the town office, or so I'm told, since all the parties are now deceased and the information has been made public.

If you live in the Chelsea area, would you be able to get the adoption info for me and email it to me? I'd be willing to pay a reasonable fee for your time and effort, if needed.

Thank you in advance to anyone who responds.

http://www.machelseafamilygroup.org/index.php

contact me at [email address]



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