The Mailman Family of Danforth Maine

So I thought that I would start by posting about my family first just as a launching point. I have to begin somewhere, why not where I am the most familiar. So just some background, I started working on my family tree when I was in college in 2004 because of an assignment in Anthropology class. I was supposed to go back four generations but ended up going back much further than that. What I did find was very interesting.

The Mailman's of Danforth can trace their way back to Canada to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Mostly Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. The name Mailman morphed from the German name Mehlman. I am not sure why, I have read some speculation, but I do not want to publish that until I can get some more factual information. The Mehlman's hailed from an area in Germany known as the Palatinate. They left for Nova Scotia at the bidding of the English Government in order to escape the religious persecution that they face for being protestants.

Archie Mailman married a lady in Danforth, Maine, by the name of Zella Spinney. We can trace the Spinney's back to the Golding's and if you follow this line you meet some interesting people. Like Rebecca Nurse (B. Feb 21, 1621 - D. Jul 19, 1692) being my 14th Great Grandmother. Who is Rebecca Nurse? Well she was executed in Salem Mass, for being a witch after she was falsely accused by two young girls.  Her house still stands today as a museum. The 1996 film "The Crucible", staring Elizabeth Lawrence, is based on her.

Not to mention the Golding's go back to Stephen Golding of Gagetown, New Brunswick. He is known for being a loyalist during the Revolutionary War and helping the British at the Battle of Ticonderoga. There is in fact a display dedicated to him at a museum there in Gagetown.

This line of Goldings track back via parentage of Joseph, Thomas, Ephraim, Percival Jr, Percival Sr, Arthur and a long line of Goldings extending to approximately 1360. This line can be traced by back, thru marriage, to William the Conqueror. When I first traced this back I was pretty excited. That is until I read an article that said that about 25% of people of English decent can trace their lineage back to William the Conqueror. So really, not that uncommon. 

I will update this more at a later date, with more in depth and specific information.

Any questions, thoughts, information that you may have can be commented on here or emailed to me directly at mailman9394@gmail.com Thank you!

Union Hall - Danforth, Maine

A beautiful landmark that is in the center of downtown Danforth is Union Hall also known as the Town Hall. A beautiful building that was built in 1888 with a towering clock tower that has a commanding presence in the town. You can hear that clock bell ring out for miles around. 

It was added to the National List of Historic Places in 1987.

Union Hall 1920 

National Registry of Historic Places in Washington County

Here is a link to the application to the NRHP http://focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/87000938.pdf

This link contains a lot of information on the building, architect and the history of the building.

This building is full of memories and history. A good many people have their names signed on one of the walls behind the stage. It is kind of an unwritten rule that if you were part of play in Union Hall you had to sign your name. 

Union Hall served many purposes. The Veterans Memorial is located in front of Union Hall. In the basement there are a couple of jail cells. The upper floors were used by the Masonic Lodge and the Odd Fellows. Town meetings were held here, concerts, plays, dances and just about anything else that you can imagine. Even Santa Clause comes here to visit the kids once a year!

These two beautiful ladies (anyone want to try and guess who) are standing in front of what is now Toby Mailman's house. Rail road station to the right and the clock of Union hall is visible in the back ground. It seems, that there is hardly a picture of down town Danforth without Union Hall! 

This landmark is an important part of our town and I am look forward to seeing it for many more years to come. Maybe even check out my name in the back of the building. 

Purpose of this page and for future postings

In my first posting, I thought that I would explain the purpose of this Blog. 

It is mostly to put a lot of the old stories and histories of the families in this region of the State of Maine. To shed some light on what has happened, the difficulties that the great men and women of the area over came as well as the stories of great success. But it is also to track the families that settled in this area, explore where they came from and also to examine where they went and hopefully to understand why.

The area I would like to focus on is the following - Amity, Bancroft, Brookton, Danforth, Forest City, Kingman, Orient, Reed Plantation, Topsfield and Weston.

Maybe if we can shed some light on the past, we can brighten the future of this area as well. Please contact me any information, pictures, stories and even videos and especially family trees that you would like to share! Thank you, I am looking forward to hearing from you with both feedback and additional stories!