Recently, I described the genealogy records that a beginner could use to start writing their ancestor’s story. They included census records and vital records. And from those records, you learned what clues could lead you to more interesting records to enhance their life story.
In this blog post, let’s take that extra step and find genealogy records that are fun to discover and valuable for learning who our ancestors really were. Facts are good, everyday details of their lives, even better.
We’ll continue to look at the life of James Rounds Lunt, born about 1830 in Maine and died 11 October 1891 in Portland, Maine. Let’s start with his obituary and see what clues we can find.
Obituary
James R. Lunt died on 11 October 1891 in Portland, Maine. In a previous post, we learned from census records that James was a druggist. His obituary says he received a medical degree from Bowdoin Medical School.
Just by Googling “Bowdoin Medical School,” I found out that the current Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, had a medical school from 1820 to 1920. Remember, Maine became a state in 1820, so this college was one of the first after statehood.
He practiced in Vermont, then moved back to Portland and set up a drugstore in Market Square. After a fire, he moved his business to Congress Street, “just below Oak.” He married Miss Cammett of Portland and had two sons.
Where do I look next?
I already knew about his marriage to Abby Ellen Cammett in 1856, but what about his business, which is mainly what his obituary was about?
More Newspaper Research
I searched for “James R. Lunt” from 1850-1880 and got over 300 hints, so I narrowed it down by year and then eventually by month and year. Here’s what I found:
Newspaper ads for his new store tell me he set up shop around March, 1857:
And in the same column I find:
Benjamin F. Lunt was James’ brother and they went into business together. He took out ads in the newspaper almost daily for months.
James and Benjamin stayed in business at this location until 4 July 1866 when a huge fire ripped through their part of Portland:
After the fire, they moved to 348 Congress Street and started advertising for that address:
348 Congress Street is now Lincoln Park in front of the federal building in downtown Portland. So, I don’t have a picture of their old building on Congress Street, but I did find one of the building at 108 Middle Street. You can see that picture HERE (not shown in blog due to copyright).
Land Records
Well, all this research about James’ business is screaming for a look into land records. I go to FamilySearch and utilize their Full Text Search feature. I wrote a blog post how to use it. You can read it HERE. I search for “James R Lunt” and narrow it down to Maine in the 1850s.
While, I haven’t yet found the 108 Middle Street deed, I did discover where he lived in January 1854 in Vermont: St. Johnsbury.
Many times your research will take you on a journey. You may not find answers where you look first, but you may later in a different record set.
While I’m still searching for the land records for 108 Middle Street and 348 Congress Street, Full Text Search gave me images of James serving jury duty, of James being a witness to some other person’s life event, and of city directory listings. Here’s one of those from 1882:
I’ll have to go back to earlier Portland, Maine city directories to see when his business moved to 546 Congress Street. Will there be land records for that move?
Rabbit Hole?
You may think that all this jumping around is going down a rabbit hole, but it’s not. Here, I’m trying to show you what clues you can find from other records. I want to write my ancestor’s story in full, so that may take many different record sets.
I don’t want to jump from one to the other without fully analyzing the record I’ve found, transcribing it (if necessary) or at the very least, extracting vital information. If I find somewhere I may want to go next, it gets put on my future research list.
Other Records
Military
You must always think if your ancestor’s story involves military service. If James was born about 1830, he would have been of fighting age in the Civil War.
Ancestry has a record set, “Maine, U.S. Veterans Cemetery Records, 1676-1918,” and James is there:
He fought for the Union in Company G, 7th Regiment Infantry of Maine Volunteers. Here is his entry in the roster:
He’s listed as 31 years old in June 1863 and married. That would put his birth somewhere around 1832. Notice in the card above, his birth is 1831. I still haven’t found birth information for him, so I’m good with 1830-1832.
Also, notice in the card above the enlistment date is different than the roster. That’s a piece of conflicting evidence I will have to work through. I have ordered James’ Civil War records, so I’ll see which is correct.
Charitable Work
Was your ancestor a volunteer or an appointee for some type of charitable work? In FamilySearch Full Text Search, I found records where James was appointed one of the Overseers of the Poor and Work House…
and he was one of four appoinments as Overseer of the House of Correction.
As a physician and druggist, he probably had a kind spirit and would have been perfect for this type of work.
Finally
When writing your ancestor’s story, it’s important to get the facts straight. But to write an interesting or compelling story, you have to go beyond the facts. Find out more about your ancestors outside of census and vital records. Go through land records and newspapers. Search the location your ancestor lived to find unique records to that place. Perhaps they are mentioned and perhaps they’re not. But it’s fun looking!
Genealogy tip: I have often mentioned how important writing is. If you find an interesting fact, write one or two paragraphs and include a short citation. When you add up the short stories, you may find a biography on your ancestor that is truly worth reading.
If you need a little help with these newer record sets, set up a coaching session. You can find out more under Services or give me a call. Click below to get started.
