Our Maine Ancestors

The major 18th century land claims in Maine.

From the book The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier by Colin Woodard, published by Viking in 2004. Map drawn by Jojo Gragasin. Map used by permission of the author.

Eastern New England in 1730 shows Sagahadoc and Nova Scotia as Crown Colonies.

From book, The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier by Colin Woodard, published by Viking in 2004. Map drawn by Jojo Gragasin. Map used by permission of the author.

17th century settlements along the Maine Coast from St. Croix in 1604 to Wells in 1640.

From The Maine Bicentennial Atlas: An Historical Survey, 1976. Courtesy of Maine Historical Society.

Map of early European exploration along the Maine Coast.

This map shows the routes of Walker in 1500, Pring in 1603, Waymouth in 1605, Pring and Hanham in 1606, Raleigh Gilbert in 1607-08 and John Smith in 1614. Recent research indicates that Waymouth is likely to have gone up Penobscot Bay and River to Bangor.

From The Maine Bicentennial Atlas: An Historical Survey, 1976. Courtesy of Maine Historical Society.

Map of early European exploration along the Maine Coast. This map shows the routes of Cabot in 1498, Verrazano in 1524, Gomez in 1525, Ferdinando in 1579 and Champlain in 1604 and 1605. Early routes have been interpreted from explorers accounts, while Champlain left maps.

From The Maine Bicentennial Atlas: An Historical Survey, 1976. Courtesy of Maine Historical Society.

This reconstruction of George Waymouth's "Lighthorseman" pulling boat was built by the Atlantic Challenge Apprenticeshop to help researchers better understand where Waymouth had gone on his 1605 excursion from Allen Island. Some say he went up the St. George River, and others say he made it to the mouth of the Penobscot River.

Godspeed is a reconstruction of the one of the three 1607 vessels that brought settlers to the Jamestown Colony in 1607. This vessel was completed in 2006 by Rockport Marine in Rockport, Maine.

Her masts are all in place with the topmasts ready to hoist. In the foreground are her bowsprit and yardarms.

Godspeed is a reconstruction of the one of the three vessels that brought settlers to the Jamestown Colony in 1607. This ship was completed in 2006 by Rockport Marine in Rockport, Maine. Here she is at dock during sea trials. Judging from the crew size, she was similar in size to George Waymouth's Archangel.

From Fanny Eckstorm's book, Indian Place-Names of the Penobscot Valley and the Maine Coast, 1941.

Majabigwaduce was the Penobscot name for what is now known as the Bagaduce River at and above Castine.

Johannes van Keulen succeeded a generation of earlier Dutch cartographers. In 1681, he published the first part of his five volume Sea Atlas; it appeared in further editions, carried on by his son. This chart shows the fishing banks in the Gulf of Maine and details the coast between Cape Cod and Cape Sable.

Map of New England: Pas-Kaart Vande Zee Kusten inde Boght van Niew Engeland Tusschen de Staaten Hoek en C. de Sable.