Maine County Resources
This entry was originally written by Alice Eichholz, Ph.D., CG for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
Since Maine was part of Massachusetts for a long time, it should be expected that it would conform to a similar system for recording deeds, probates, and vital records. Such is the case. Deeds and probates were filed at the county seat and vital records at the town office. However, in Maine, marriages were to be submitted to the county clerk as mandated by the legislature in 1828, although the practice was never uniform and the results have not been completely assessed. The following chart reports what has been found regarding marriage returns on a county basis and where they are located (either at the Maine State Archives or with the county clerk). The Maine Town Resources that follow will also have marriage records.
| Map | County | Address | Date Formed | Parent County/ies | Marriage | Land | Probate |
| C12 | Androscoggin | 2 Turner St. Auburn 04210-5978 | 1854 | Cumberland/Oxford/Kennebec/Lincoln | 1851'84 Maine State Archives | 1854 | 1854 |
| G3 | Aroostook | Court St., Box 787 Houlton 04370 | 1839 | Washington | 1839'92 county clerk | 1839 | 1839* |
| *Previous deeds dealing with Washington County land from 1808, now in Aroostook, are located here as well. | |||||||
| B14 | Cumberland | 142 Federal St. Portland 04101-4151 | 1760 | York | See Portland Under Towns | 1760 | 1908* |
| *Fire loss; 1900-08 index survived. | |||||||
| B8 | Franklin | 38 Main St. Farmington 04938 | 1838 | Cumberland/Kennebec/ Oxford/Somerset | 1848'91 county clerk | 1838 | 1838 |
| H11 | Hancock | 60 State St. Ellsworth 04605 | 1789 | Lincoln | 1842'91 county clerk | 1790 | 1790 |
| D12 | Kennebec | 95 State St. Augusta 04330 | 1799 | Lincoln | 1828'87 Maine State Archives | 1799 | 1799 |
| F13 | Knox | 62 Union St. Rockland 04841 | 1860 | Lincoln/Waldo | 1859'87 Maine State Archives | 1860 | 1860 |
| D13 | Lincoln | High St. Wiscasset O4578 | 1760 | York | 1760'1865 county clerk | 1763 | |
| B11 | Oxford | 26 Western Ave. South Paris 04281-1417 | 1805 | York/Cumberland | 1830'75 Maine State Archives | 1805 | 1805 |
| G8 | Penobscot | 97 Hammond St. Bangor 04401-4996 | 1816 | Hancock | 1827-88 Maine State Archives Archives | 1814 | 1816 |
| E7 | Piscataquis | 51 E. Main St. Dover-Foxcroft, 04426-1306 | 1838 | Penobscot/Somerset | 1839'89 Maine State Archives | 1838 | 1838 |
| D13 | Sagadahoc | 752 High Bath 04530-2436 | 1854 | Lincoln | 1852'87 Maine State Archives | 1826* | 1854 |
| *Includes Lincoln County earlier deeds. | |||||||
| C8 | Somerset | Corner and High Streets Skowhegan 04976-9801 | 1809 | Kennebec | 1828'89 county clerk | 1804 | 1830 |
| F11 | Waldo | 73 Church St. Belfast 04915-1705 | 1827 | Hancock | 1828'87 Maine State Archives | 1789* | 1827 |
| *Includes Hancock deeds covering Waldo land before county formation. | |||||||
| K10 | Washington | Court St./P.O. Box 297 Machias 04654 | 1789 | Lincoln | 1827'90 Maine State Archives | 1783 | 1783 |
| A15 | York | 1 Court St. Alfred 04002 | 1652 | original | 1771'94; 1833'87 county clerk | 1642 | 1689 |
