Cushing

On Line Genealogy Page

Cushing, Maine

A Fishing and Farming Community

Well Off the Beaten Path

History

In 1789, a group of small settlements on the west bank of the St. Georges River was incorporated and named after Lt. Gov. Thomas Cushing of Massachusetts. It was not until 1816 that Maine seceded from Massachusetts and 1820 that it was admitted to the Union. Prior to 1789, the area on both sides of the river had been known as the Lower Plantation of St. Georges. The present villages of St. George separated from Cushing in 1803, Cushing retaining the West side of the St. George River .

A 1605 inscription on a rock suggests the date of the first European exploration of the area and was probably left by a crew member of the Captain George Weymouth expedition. 1998 and 1999 excavations have confirmed settlement by an English trader about 1634. He was soon driven out by the French, however, who retained control until 1654. Little is known about settlement until the mid 1700's, when scattered traders, fishermen and farmers began to acccept offers of land. Problems with the Indians and the French made life difficult and slowed developed from what it otherwise might have been. There are said to have been only about 30 settlers in 1743, but by 1820 there were 600 occupying 75 residences.

Today, the Town remains almost entirely residential, with a population of about 1300, one K through four school, one fire station and one store. Twenty-three burial sites have been identified and 1163 burials indexed from 1750 to 1996 by the Cushing Historical Society.

Features

The town lies on a north-south peninsular between Friendship and St. George. It is entered via Wadsworth Street, south off Route One in Thomaston. It is on the west bank of the St. George River and includes Gay's Island and Crotch Island. It contains anchorages in Pleasant Point Harbor, often referred to as "The Gut," and in Maple Juice Cove.

Other features are Broad and Hyler Coves, and McCarthy, Bradford, Bailey and Montgomery Points.

Sources

  • Thanks to Chester Knowles and the Cushing Historical Society, the Cushing Cemetary and Burial Grounds Surname Index is now on line in the USGenWeb Archives

  • The Camden Area History Center has been renamed the Edward J. Walsh History Center, Heather Bilodeau, Director, and has been relocated to new quarters at the Camden Public Library. It is located on the 2nd Floor, 55 Main Street, Camden, ME 04843 and is open Monday-Saturday 9:30-4:00 and Tuesday evenings until 8:00. The phone is 207-236-3440.

  • Go to Camden Library, then click on 'History Center', then 'Search Our Collection' on the left hand side. This will take you to the interactive searchable database. Type in any search word (for example "Babb") and it will pop up all items associated with that term.

    •    Volunteers With Books   

    To request a lookup from any of the references, click on the address of the owner and ask them politely. Please make your requests as specific as possible.

    Reference

    Author

    Owner/Email

    Many resources, including her own extensive research.

    .

    Marie Sprague

    Cushing, formerly Lower St. George: 'Records of Lower St. George, 1605-1897'

    transcribed by Ruth J. Aiken, 1987

    Marie Sprague

    'Settlers & Soldiers of Cushing, Maine Before 1760 & Their Descendants', surname index

    .

    Chester Knowles

    'Saltwater Farm'

    Luthera Burton Dawson, 1993

    George Hoyt
    Joseph Carr

    Census Records

    .

    Ann Davis

    'Rockland Courier Gazette',1897 to present plus an earlier paper from 1861

    Microfilm. Births, Marriages and Deaths

    Rockland Public Library, 86 Union St. Rockland ME 04841
    SASE + $1.

    'Vital Records Published in Rockland, Maine, Prior to 1892', The Rockland Courier Gazette's Births, Marriages and Deaths 1846 to 1892

    Charles Candage

    Malcolm Jackson

    'Thomaston Recorder, of Thomaston, Me. The newspaper's marriages and deaths from 1837-1846, indexed

    Steven Sullivan

    Malcolm Jackson

    'Maine Families in 1790'Vol. 1-6, one generation back and one forward

    ed. by Gray and Anderson

    Mary J. Coombs

    'Maine and NH Families'

    Walter Goodwin Davis

    Mary J. Coombs