This week I’m giving a huge shout-out to the staff at the Maine State Library.
I am thankful that there are wonderful people, like the staff at MSL, to help me discover my ancestors.
The research on my Krewson/Kroesen line has led me time and time again to a book, The Croesen Families of America by Warren D. Cruise. (Gateway Press, Baltimore, Maryland 1998). It’s out of print, but locations of where to find a copy are at WorldCat (www. worldcat.org).
The nearest one was a few hours away in Boston. I knew I wanted to spend more than a day with this book, so I headed to the Maine State Library in Augusta to see if they could help. A few copies of the book were at other state libraries so I thought an interlibrary loan was possible. I made my request and crossed my fingers.
Several days later I received an email that said it was not available. Perhaps, I could get an index from the book, but that was about it. I was going to be happy with anything, but unbeknownst to me, the staff kept looking.
A couple of weeks later I received another email saying they found a copy of the book from a library in Independence, Missouri and it was on its way to Maine!
The library staff went above and beyond to help me and I couldn’t be more appreciative. As far as research goes, I realize this is an authored source, but I don’t care! This book has history, family group sheets, maps, deeds, wills, and bios from associated families. It is a treasure!
I can’t wait to take the information and go digging for the original records.
Genealogy Tip: Use the library and don’t give up!