Introduction
Scarborough’s 18th-century birth records can be challenging to locate, but many have been preserved thanks to the work of early genealogists. This post explains where to find these transcribed Scarborough records in the Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder, how to access them online, and tips for searching them effectively.
Why Use the Recorder?
Original town records from the 1700s can be scattered or hard to read. Fortunately, historian S. M. Watson transcribed many early Scarborough births and published them in the late 1800s. Today, these volumes are digitized, OCR-scanned, and freely available on the Internet Archive.
Where to Look
Scarborough birth records appear in three volumes:
• Volume V (1888) — Scarborough Town Records – Births, copied by S. M. Watson. See pages 56–60, 114–121, 134–138, and 214–220. Available at: https://archive.org/details/mainehistoricalg05port/page/n55/mode/2up
• Volume VI (1889) — Scarborough Town Records – Births, copied by S. M. Watson. See pages 302–310, 367–377, and 396–406. Available at: https://archive.org/details/mainehistoricalg06port/page/n301/mode/2up
• Volume VII (1893) — Scarborough Town Records – Births, copied by S. M. Watson. See pages 46–51. Available at: https://archive.org/details/mainehistoricalg07port/page/n45/mode/2up
How to Search
Use the “Search Inside” box (usually in the top left corner of the Internet Archive page) to search for surnames. For example:
– A search for “Harmon” in Volume V brings up 27 matches.
– The first result is in the index.
– The fourth result (page 58) shows that Elizabeth Harmon, daughter of James and Elizabeth, was born November 28, 1764. Isaac, their son, was born March 31, 1770.
– Page 60 shows that John and Mary Harmon had eight children from 1747 to 1761.
This method saves time and can help you quickly find ancestors in these historic records.
Genealogy Tip
Always cross-check transcriptions with any available original records to confirm accuracy.
Thanks to S. M. Watson’s dedication, these volumes remain a valuable resource for anyone researching Scarborough’s earliest families.
