2024 Events
Join Green Ellsworth, the Ellsworth Historical Society, Frenchman Bay Conservancy, and numerous other sponsors and participants for a two-day summit focusing on our own Union River!
Register here to attend Zoom component (Friday, May 17, at 4 p.m.)
The Ellsworth Historical Society and the Hancock County Genealogical Society announce a series of bi-weekly
workshops on "Finding Your Roots," an introduction to tracing your family tree.
The four-session series of workshops will run from March 16 to April 27 and will be held on Saturday afternoons from 2:00-4:00 in the Riverview Room of the Ellsworth Public Library.
Session #1: March 16, 2 p.m.
Session #2: March 30, 2 p.m.
Session #3: April 13, 2 p.m.
Session #4: April 27, 2 p.m.
Each session will focus on different aspects of genealogical research: (1) The Basics: What you can do close to home; (2) Discovering online resources; (3) DNA and Genetics: What you can learn by going inside; and (4) How to write up and present your discoveries.
REGISTRATION
Participants are encouraged to bring their laptop computers as they will receive advice on accessing online materials (including genealogy software), assistance with foreign language research and guidance in using resources available in the Ellsworth Public Library. In order to allow for personal guidance in starting a specific genealogical research project, class size will be limited to 12 on a first come, first served basis. These classes are for people who have always wanted to search out their roots but have not known where to begin.
PAST EVENTS
On the afternoon of May 12, 1815, Mrs. Mary Adams was found brutally murdered in her home on Riverside Lane in Ellsworth. Mary was the mother of several young children and the wife of Dr. Moses Adams, High Sheriff of Hancock County and local physician. The weapons included a boot jack and an axe, and pieces of her hair comb were found embedded in her scalp.
Dr. Adams claimed it was a robbery, but was it really? Or was it a crime of passion?
Dr. Adams was a veteran of the War of 1812. He had previously been the subject of controversy, including possession of British contraband during the war, and was known for a rabble-rousing speech calling for violence against privateers. The governor liked his spirit and thought he was cut from the right cloth to keep such a motley folk as the people of Hancock County in check. Thus he appointed him Hancock County Sherrif.
Again with Mary’s tragedy, Dr. Adams found himself at the center of a controversy. He was tried in Castine, the county seat at the time, for this heinous crime a few weeks later. This was a time before true roads existed so it would have taken around twelve hours on foot to make the trek from Ellsworth to Castine. A horse would have made it a little faster, but it was still a day’s journey. Nonetheless, so many people from across the area came to his trial that the gallery in the meetinghouse almost collapsed. A door and window were broken in the kerfuffle.
Regardless of the draw, the official trial transcript states that “the whole number of Jurymen peremptorily challenged, and objected to for cause, was twenty-one”. This means that some of the jury were rejected for undisclosed reasons.
Was the jury rigged by this peremptory challenge? Or does evidence and witness testimony show beyond reasonable doubt that he was innocent?
On February 24th at the Moore Center, The Ellsworth Historical Society is partnering with Friends in Action, The Grand, and other community partners and volunteers to do a mock murder trial using the official transcripts obtained from the University of Maine. We are seeking both volunteer jury members and volunteers to read witness testimonies. Come hear the evidence yourself and we'll see what our modern jury thinks about this infamous case from one of the darkest corners of Ellsworth's history.
WHERE: Bryant E. Moore Community Center, 125 State Street (Ellsworth)
WHEN: 10:00 a.m.
WHAT: Be a part of the jury OR take a starring role as a part of the trial!
Join us for one of our most popular and well-attended annual traditions, in collaboration with our partner organization “Friends In Action”! Come and share your stories, memories, tall tales, and humor about Ellsworth or about your life growing up in a world that was a little bit different than the one we live in today!
WHEN: Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 1 p.m.
WHERE: Moore Community Center auditorium (upstairs)
COST: Free!!!
FUN LEVEL: High
Unleash your inner creativity at our Victorian Ornament Make-and-Take Event! Dive into the holiday spirit with history-inspired decorations that will add an elegant touch to your celebrations.
Join us for an enchanting experience where you'll receive materials and expert guidance to craft up to five exquisite Victorian-inspired ornaments. Create your very own cornucopia, fan, star, ball, and even a gold-gilded walnut. These charming ornaments will transport you back in time to the opulent Victorian era.
To ensure an intimate crafting atmosphere, registration is required for this one-hour session. The cost is $5 per person (minimum age: 5 years old). We have three seatings available, with materials for up to twelve people per session. Don't miss this opportunity to infuse your holiday festivities with a dash of historical charm. Register now to secure your spot and let your artistic spirit shine!
Dozens of photographic techniques have been used over the past 150 years. Before there were digital image files and even before there were film negatives, photographers captured images on glass plate negatives, in use from the early 1850s until the late 1920s.
Join the Ellsworth Historical Society for a presentation by Dale Joyce of Downeast Photography, an expert in antique photography techniques. Dale will be discussing the history of plate photography in general and also providing examples from the work of William Henry Titus, editor and owner of the Ellsworth American during the early 20th century, whose collection of over 125 glass plate negatives is held by the Historical Society.
In collaboration with the Ellsworth Public Library, Ellsworth Historical Society president Jen Sala will give a presentation entitled “Victorian Death Culture, Mortality, and the Spiritualism Movement” on Saturday, October 28, at 4 p.m. in the Riverview Room of the Ellsworth Public Library (lower level).
In the period before medical death certificates, viewing and touching the corpse was commonplace - to confirm identity and that the person was dead. Children were not spared from viewing the dead, and in poor homes would have shared the room and even the bed with a dying sister or brother.
Death surrounded the Victorians - at home and in the streets. Aristocratic funeral processions were major sights, often involving all the elements of a baronial funeral, including plumes, ushers, countless attendants and elaborate hearses. Extravagant funerals had become the norm well before the reign of Queen Victoria. The determination to secure a 'decent' burial for family members was characteristic of all classes in Victorian society, even if it meant hardship for the surviving family members. The ultimate disgrace was to be assigned a pauper's grave.
After the death of Prince Albert in 1861, Queen Victoria went into deep mourning, increasing the public's demand for formal mourning attire such as black crepe clothing and jet jewellery. Mourners, including children and servants, were expected to adhere to heavily regulated mourning periods.
Join us for an end-of summer potluck birthday celebration! Bring a covered dish or salad (or dessert!).
Stay for a meeting to discuss members’ ideas and suggestions.
WHEN: Monday, Sept. 11 at 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: 357 State St. (next door to Tradewinds)
The Alice Mullan Diaries 1914 - 1919
Irish-Catholic Women in Ellsworth
Recently discovered diaries of Alice Mullan (1889-1961) spanning the years 1914 through 1919 depict a fascinating network of young Irish Catholic women in Ellsworth during a period of great social and technological change. Like Alice, many become teachers, educating multiple generations of Ellsworth children in the schoolhouses of the day.
Some marry during this time, while many remain single. Almost all are musically trained and actively participate in the ongoing programs of various clubs and societies. St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on Chapel Street is a religious and social center for the families. During the period of the diaries, these middle-class families gain electricity, running water, and telephones in their homes, regularly attend popular silent films of the day, and begin to enjoy the pleasures and perils of automobile travel.
Join the Ellsworth Historical Society on Monday, July 10, at 7 p.m. in the Riverview Room of the Ellsworth Public Library to hear and see this well-researched presentation by Holly Hendricks. Holly is a retired archivist and active member of the Ellsworth Historical Society Board of Directors.
Hancock County Conference on Genealogy and History
A collaboration between the Hancock County Genealogical Society and the Ellsworth Historical Society, this multi-speaker, day-long conference explores the common areas that concern genealogists and historians — and the general public — alike.
How many enslaved people were there in Hancock County? The answer is not zero. Historian Vana Carmona will present what life was like for 17th and 18th century enslaved people in Maine. When Ms. Carmona learned her relatives were enslavers, she began her research, which is now a database of about 2,000 people of color who lived in Maine prior to statehood. She will present the Conference Keynote, titled “Enslavement in Maine, 1600-1800.”
The Conference will take place at the Moore Community Center beginning at 9:00 a.m with coffee, and will include three break-out sessions with six genealogists and historians who will present their research and methodologies. Lunch is included with the $20 registration fee, and the Conference will conclude at 3:00 p.m.
The six break-out session speakers with their presentation title are:
Shannon Byers - Next of Kin Finders. Ms. Byers specializes in finding next of kin for unclaimed person cases, and directs the NOK Finders Academy.
Dana Murch - The French Connection: Acadian and Québecois Ancestries. Case study of the ancestors and descendants of Mr. Murch's grandparents in the context of 400 years of history of Maine and Atlantic Canada.
Jen Sala - Researching & Understanding Ellsworth's Black History. Covering Black Ellsworthians on Civil War muster rolls, the rise of the KKK, and the Sundown era to tell Ellsworth’s side of the story of why we are considered the whitest state.
Dana Murch - Early Murch Settlers of Hancock County. Tracing the reasons the Murch family chose this area, and how they made a living and made a life from settlement to the present.
Holly Hendricks - Alice Mullan’s diaries, 1914-1919, and her social network of young Catholic women. By researching the names and places mentioned, this diary reveals a vivid description of day-to-day Ellsworth during WWI from a woman’s point of view.
Mark Honey - Question and Answer Session with Hancock County Historian. This is a unique opportunity to hear from an esteemed researcher steeped in local history and Maine history – ask him anything.